Joanne Froggatt leads COVID medical drama from Line of Duty creator
Breathtaking will be an adaptation of the memoir by Rachel Clarke.
ITV has announced a brand-new drama from Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio, based on doctor and writer Rachel Clarke's personal memoir of the same name about the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The three-part series, which has already been filmed in Northern Ireland, will star Joanne Froggatt as acute medicine consultant Dr Abbey Henderson, through whose eyes we will witness the devastating impact of the pandemic.
The show has been adapted for television by Clarke herself, alongside Mercurio and actor Prasanna Puwanarajah (Ten Percent), who are both former junior hospital doctors themselves. It has been directed by Craig Viveiros (The War of the Worlds).
Froggatt said: "I feel truly honoured to be playing Dr Abbey Henderson in Breathtaking, based on Dr Rachel Clarke’s beautifully written, poignant and shocking book of the same name."
Froggatt continued: "When I first read the incredible scripts, they moved me to tears on many occasions. I felt so passionately that I had to be a part of telling this story, the real story, of what was really happening behind the closed doors of the hospitals during the pandemic.
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"Our NHS staff are nothing less than absolute heroes in my eyes, and I hope telling this story goes a little way towards us understanding their truth, their lived experience, and honouring their unbelievable commitment and sacrifice on behalf of us all."
The series will be set in a fictional big-city hospital, with the drama narrating how frontline medical staff endured fear and frustration as they desperately tried to save the lives of coronavirus patients.
The central character of Abbey, a mother of two small children who is known for her calm approach in a crisis, witnesses first-hand the virus begin to take hold, overwhelming the NHS and creating conditions of unprecedented adversity.
The drama will include news footage from the early months of 2020, and will follow Abbey in her daily work while weaving together the stories of her fellow doctors, nurses, patients and paramedics.
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Mercurio added: "Everyone at HTM Television has felt privileged to dramatise Rachel Clarke’s hauntingly illuminating memoir of health workers struggling to cope with the extraordinary challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I’m honoured to have collaborated with Rachel and Prasanna on this important drama, and thrilled to be working with a cast led by Joanne Froggatt and crew led by director Craig Viveiros."
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
