By Lauren Morris

Published: Tuesday, 08 February 2022 at 12:00 am

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Brand new comedy-drama This Is Going to Hurt made its BBC One debut tonight, with Ben Whishaw starring as a junior doctor trying to balance his relentless job with his crumbling personal life.

With a cast featuring the likes of Dame Harriet Walter, Ambika Mod and Alex Jennings, This Is Going to Hurt is adapted from Adam Kay’s best-selling book of the same name – a collection of diary entries written by Kay during his time as a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010.

But is the actual series based on a true story and how much of the book features in the seven-part comedy-drama?

Here’s everything you need to know about whether This is Going to Hurt is based on a true story – be aware there are spoilers for the full series below.

Is This Is Going to Hurt based on a true story?

This Is Going to Hurt is a loose adaptation of Adam Kay’s autobiographical book of the same name.

While Adam Kay was a junior doctor and many of the stories that feature in the show are true, some plot lines are embellished versions of entries from the book.

For example, in one episode, Adam is called to remove an object from a woman’s vagina which turns out to be a ring – she had been planning on proposing to her boyfriend by asking him to fish it out. This short plot line is based on an entry from This Is Going to Hurt.

There is an entry in the book where Adam finds red stickers all over a patient’s file, which indicates that they could be a victim of domestic abuse, only to realise that the patient’s toddler had actually just gotten a hold of the stickers – however, the series develops this storyline further in episode 3 by having Shruti become suspicious of the patient’s partner.

Speaking about the BBC adaptation, Adam Kay said: “The nature of the book – hundreds of diary entries in a single person’s voice – meant that a totally direct adaptation would have been something of a one-man sketch show.”

“The TV series expands the world, predominantly in terms of the other characters we meet: from Adam’s family and boyfriend, to his midwife colleagues and other doctors,” he added. “I’m sure people who have read the book will recognise lots of the scenes and hopefully feel that it’s still as funny, sad and of course repulsive as they remember.”

Other plot lines in the show that are based on Kay’s book entries include a patient’s husband thinking their baby had no face, the sewing of the dolphin tattoo, Adam’s degloving story and the patient wanting to eat her placenta.

Which characters are based on real people?

While the character of Adam is very clearly based on the author Adam Kay, many of the characters in the series do not appear in the book.

For example, while a number of nameless Senior House Officers feature in the book, it seems Shruti (Ambika Mod) is a character that Kay has created for the show – as are Tracy (Michele Austin), Ms Houghton (Ashley McGuire), Mr Lockhart (Alex Jennings) and Greg (Tom Durant-Pritchard).

It’s likely that Harry (Rory Fleck Byrne), Adam’s boyfriend, is based on Kay’s partner who he refers to as ‘H’ throughout the book, while Adam’s mother Veronique (Dame Harriet Walter) is based on Kay’s mother – although Walter has revealed that the character does not bear many similarities to his real-life mother.

“I’m assured she’s not really like his real mother,” Walter said. “So apologies to his real mother if anyone believes that I am playing her.”

This is Going to Hurt airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC One, and all episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. While you’re waiting visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.

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