Michele Austin was "blown away" by This Is Going to Hurt's tragic turn

While This Is Going to Hurt is currently airing on BBC One, those who've already watched all seven episode will know that it ends on a shockingly tragic note that none of us saw coming.

At the end of the show's penultimate episode, we learn that Shruti (Ambika Mod) decided to take her own life after suffering with depression compounded by the high-stress nature of being a junior doctor – a plot point that This Is Going to Hurt star Michele Austin found "heartbreaking".

The actor, who plays Tracy on the show, told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that she was "blown away" by Mod's performance in the comedy-drama.

When asked how she managed to balance the funny scenes with devastating moments like Shruti's death, Austin said: "There's so much information out there and because of the success of Adam [Kay's] book, there's so many other books about working in the NHS. So I did read a book about a midwife.

"The pace at which they work – unfortunately, there is a lot of suicide and depression and PTSD because they're making life or death decisions.

"So how did we deal with it? By absolutely being in the reality of it, you know, it's acting at the end of the day. So you've got to imagine what that looks like. And the statistics show that it's not unusual, unfortunately, that it's really tough training."

She went on to talk about Mod's final scenes as Shruti, adding: "I mean, Ambika is so heartbreaking as Shruti.

"I obviously was in scenes with her, and now watching it, I'm blown away by her really. I just think it's an incredible performance."

She continued: "She's so heartbreaking. She's so sweet. So it wasn't difficult – it wasn't difficult to kind of go there with stuff."

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Read more:

• This Is Going to Hurt star addresses truth about complaint against Adam
• This Is Going to Hurt fans praise "funny, thought-provoking" episode 2
• This Is Going to Hurt ending explained: Is Adam struck off?

This Is Going to Hurt is available to stream in its entirety on BBC iPlayer.

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