BREATHTAKING - itv 9pm -mon 19 - wed 21 - TV PACE NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

This looks really good and meant to be very powerful

3 parts on this week mon Tue and wed

After the huge impact of Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, another social and political reckoning could be coming with the searing new three-part drama (https://www.stylist.co.uk/tag/drama) Breathtaking.

Based on palliative care doctor and writer Rachel Clarke’s personal memoir about the Covid-19 crisis, the hard-hitting series is an account of the life of a frontline NHS doctor through the pandemic.

“There is so much misinformation and rewriting of history around what really happened inside our hospitals during the pandemic,” says Clarke.

“The truth is, NHS staff gave everything they had in impossible conditions that sometimes cost them their lives.

It is an honour to try and depict the courage and decency of my NHS colleagues on screen, and I’m so grateful to ITV and HTM Television for giving me the
chance to show the public the truth.”

The three-part series is based on Rachel Clarke’s personal memoir, where she wrote about her own experience of working during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Set in a fictional big-city hospital, the drama narrates how frontline medical staff endured fear and frustration as they desperately tried to save the lives of coronavirus patients,” reads the show’s synopsis.

It recounts the devastating impact of the pandemic through the eyes of acute medicine consultant Dr Abbey Henderson (Froggatt).

Who is in the cast of Breathtaking?
• Joanne Froggatt as Dr. Abbey Henderson.
• George Georgiou as Hue.
• Lucy Montgomery as Clare Boxall.
• Georgia Goodman as Divina Aquino.
• Jodie McNee as Jules Jarmen.
• Mark Dexter as Mike.
• Bhav Joshi as Dr. Ant Vyas.
• Henry Meredith as Tommy.

I really can’t be bothered reiterating how the country (like other rich countries) were prepared for a long predicted pandemic virus, but the Tories couldn’t be arsed with it when they were elected in 2010, so stopped funding and updating it. Perhaps educate yourself about that.

I'm no shambolic Tory lover @AnnieSnap I don't need educating on that thanks.

That wasn't my point. The previous poster I was replying to was spouting a great deal of hindsight.

Sorry my mistake. The naysayers on the thread have really pushed my buttons. It was some of them who my response was aimed at.

I wish they'd found a way to weave the experience of others into the story. I worked in a school and we felt under so much pressure to make sure children were safe and not being infected and taking it home to their families. The schools being closed was fricking awful. It was really hard trying to balance online learning and accommodating the key worker children in school. Plus we'd worry about taking it home to our own families as we had dcs whose parents worked on the frontline. Then we had to put up with so many people thinking teachers were skiving and loved having schools closed.

It is as a drama about how the NHS coped with Covid though
Not about how Covid affected the population
Maybe somebody will do a drama about lockdown In general.at some point
But I don't think it was necessary or relevant in this particular. drama .

@x2boys I get that.

I watched episode 3 today and was in tears.

Boris Johnson et al have blood on their hands.

I also worked in a school during the lockdowns. I would love a drama sharing our stories too.

I watched all 3 episodes tonight. My heart goes out to all the nhs staff who did an amazing job.
it really did bring back some memories, but was a surreal watch at the same time. I prob had covid right at the start in March 2020 so we effectively locked down a week earlier than the rest of the population
Thankfully no-one close to us died, but I do know of someone who lost her dh and his parents too like in the programme. Horrific.,
I think it affected all of us one way or another - mentally, physically, educationally, financially etc.

Not read the whole thread as I have just watched all 3 now.

But my recording of the last episode cut off just before the end !

I was upto the bit where they were gathered in an counseling ? session and the young student doctor has just walked in.

Did I miss anything afterwards ?

Did anything come from Abby's radio show ?

Do you not want to watch the last bit on it X?

#itvx

My ITVX can be temperamental!

But I will put it on and try and fast forward !

Does seem a shame to miss the end .

@bizzey mine did exactly the same, I didn’t think about itvx but please do let me know if it’s worth watching if you get round to it

I think it ended then tbh

@bizzey it ended there, i think thats what’s called Reflective Practice and it just showed them taking their seats, then came the credits and the narrative on screen about how many healthcare workers sadly died and how many were left with PTSD (60,000) 😳

Found it unwatchable.

Tiniest violin in the world.
Front line included public transport workers who were felled in great numbers.

Apologies. My previous message was directed to @JSMill

They needed more than fucking clapping and hitting pans. PPE would have been more helpful.

And it was disgraceful that people were discharged to care homes without being tested.

Just finished it. Thought it was really well done and all the more powerful for being understated.

Thanks to the Covid enquiry I think all of the issues that this show brought up about the utter chaos of the Government and NHS response, particularly in the early days of the pandemic, is already public knowledge. However there's something about seeing how the big fuckups like PPE and sending infected patients back to care homes affected people on the ground that was gut-wrenching.

Well that was a hard watch.
Mr Williams nearly broke me, his hand 😢

I agree it was really well portrayed. Dh a dr on the wards all throughout said it was very similar to his experience. He’s never really talked about it, and in fact downplayed it hugely at the time. I think it was just his coping mechanism.

Started watching this tonight, so strange to think we lived through such a time.