The series is based on Rachel Clarke’s memoir of the same name.
ITV has released a trailer for its upcoming Covid-19 drama Breathtaking, which could be the most affecting British series since Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
It stars Joanne Froggatt (Liar, Downton Abbey) as Dr Abbey Henderson, and is based on the real-life Dr Rachel Clarke’s personal memoir detailing the early days of the pandemic.
The trailer promises a tough watch as we get our first glimpse at how the escalating virus impacts Abbey’s big city hospital, and the frontline staff’s efforts to cope in its wake.
Abbey’s calm approach to a crisis is sure to carry her far, but with two small children at home and the NHS’s resources overwhelmed, she witnesses conditions of unprecedented adversity.
Actual news footage of then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and then-Health Secretary Matt Hancock ground the series in reality, while harrowing scenes from the hospital are chillingly juxtaposed with people clapping in celebration of frontline workers.
It’s a period of recent history that is likely to be viewed very differently in light of some of the stark revelations that have come since, which many will not have been aware of at the time. As the trailer itself states, this is “the story you haven’t been told”.
The three-part series has been adapted by Line of Duty‘s Jed Mercurio and actor Prasanna Puwanarajah (Ten Percent), both of whom are former junior doctors, with The War of the Worlds’ Craig Viveiros directing.
Speaking of the drama, Mercurio called Clarke’s memoir “hauntingly illuminating” and praised the crew and cast.
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Froggatt added: “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.
“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.”
Breathtaking starts Monday 19th February at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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