Dr Laura Hobson

Dr Laura Hobson (Clare Holman)

Dr Laura Hobson, played by Clare Holman is the leader of the forensic team in the later series of Inspector Morse, and in Lewis.

In Inspector Morse

She is introduced to the series late in its run, and is the first regular pathologist since Grayling Russell, who departed after the show's third season (the series had no regular pathologist in the interim). Although Hobson is young and gets along well with Morse, she is not a woman drawn into Morse's charms like Dr Russell.

She also gets on well with Lewis, but there is no romantic attachment between them until Lewis' own series after Inspector Morse, largely because Lewis was still married at this point.

She is similar to Max, who was Morse's first Pathologist, being more humourous about her job and less delicate than her predessesor.

In Lewis

Younger Dr Hobson

She returns to Lewis as a pathologist. Even though she's a lot older in character, it's still the same. Apparently, during Lewis's absence, she didn't do much of a career move.

Sie kehrt in Lewis als Pathologe. Obwohl sie sehr viel älter ihr Charakter ist, ist immer noch das Gleiche. Während der Zeit von Lewis 'Abwesenheit hat sie offenbar nicht viel von Einems Karriereschritt gemacht.

Hobson still remains a good friend to Lewis, and even a potential love interest. She also gets on well with Hathaway, often describing him as the better of the two to annoy Lewis.

She is revealed to have gone to Oxford, Gresham College. She shared a house with a group of other people, one of them being Ligeia Willard who later has two twins and puts down the mother at the adoption agency as 'Laura Hobson' causing the twins to seek their revenge on her in Falling Darkness. They almost end up burying Laura alive in a grave until Lewis and Hathaway come to her rescue. Hathaway is the one who jumps down to comfort her while Lewis confronts the killers. In series five, Hobson has met up with an old boyfriend Franco and Hathaway is the one who spots them together while picking up an order. In the sixth series of Lewis, Hobson is attractive enough to attract the attention of DI Alan Peterson, and Lewis is clearly not happy about him being around. In The Indeliable Stain, Hobson is seen attending a lecture with Peterson while Lewis is watching a football match on TV in a pub. Peterson later came to discuss some forensic results and to invite her to dinner. Lewis asks her where but Hobson confesses that he is not her type. There is an awkward moment between them before Lewis switches the subject. Lewis also has toothache and she recommends her dentist but he refuses to go.

She later is in a romantic relationship with DI Robbie Lewis in the second episode of series seven and as well as episode three. The pair get together in The Ramblin' Boy, in which they share a kiss in the pub much to the surprise of Innocent and Hathaway. Laura is the one who kisses him first and he actually does the same in return. She says she has been wanting to do that all day and it is reckoned this may not have been their first kiss. In the potential final episode, Lewis is seen revealing to her that he is considering retirement, to which she replies that it is about time. Lewis and Hobson almost share a kiss in the lab but are interrupted someone passing through. At one point in the first episode of Intelligent Design, she and Lewis are seen on the sofa watching TV and are seen having a chinese together.

Personality and appearance

In Morse she gives as good as she gets and stands her ground. She is mostly professional in Morse although she does have a brief flirtation with him. But nothing ever happened between them.

DI Robbie Lewis

Hobson first met Lewis when he was still only a sergeant in the Morse episode, The Way Through the Woods alongside DCI Morse. In Inspector Morse, Lewis is still a happily married man with kids. They get on well professionally but there isn't any romantic attachment until Lewis' own series. It is from series four onwards that there may be some kind of will-they-won't they? between them. But there were also a lot of things that were seemingly preventing them from getting it together.

Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent