‘Breathtaking’ trailer: ‘Downton Abbey’ star’s hospital drama reveals start date
We’ve got a trailer for Joanne Froggatt‘s new ITV series!
Best known as Anna Bates in all six seasons of Downton Abbey, the English actress heads up the cast of Breathtaking later this month.
The moving three-part drama is set in a big-city hospital in early 2020, paying tribute to the sacrifices made by NHS staff during the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing the reality of hospital life in the face of momentous challenges.
“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,” commented Froggatt last year.
“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,” she said.
Breathtaking comes from writer and former junior hospital doctor Jed Mercurio, the creator of Line of Duty and Bodyguard, so we expect this to be a tense watch.
When’s the release date?
Breathtaking will premiere in the UK over three consecutive nights at 9pm from Monday 19 February 2024 on ITV1.
All three episodes will also be available to stream on ITVX.
We don’t yet have details of an American broadcaster, but we expect this will end up on BritBox or PBS, who have just snapped up ITV’s smash hit drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office to air in the US this spring.
Watch the trailer here:
“Hopefully creates as much action as the Post Office TV series did! Clock is ticking, Hancock!” wrote a viewer on YouTube after seeing the trailer.
Others are understandably not sure about reliving such a stressful period, with someone commenting on our Facebook page: “I can’t watch anymore Covid related shows. I’d rather the Covid era become a distant memory.”
“Kudos to ALL healthcare workers, my son included, who had to work through it all, but I just don’t feel the need to watch shows about it anymore,” they added.
“Weeks before the UK’s first national lockdown, acute medicine consultant Dr Abbey Henderson and her team struggle with the first wave of Covid-19 patients.” the official synopsis reveals.
“Running out of PPE, staff, and beds, Abbey is forced to make difficult healthcare decisions as her colleagues begin to be infected with Covid-19.
“When lockdown is finally imposed, the pandemic stretches Abbey and the team to their limits as they confront government policy in relation to care home discharges and inadequate PPE.
“They try their best to save patients but are forced to endure the trauma of loss and tragedy caused by Covid-19. As winter arrives, a new wave hits the hospital, this time with Covid-19 deniers surfacing too, which causes the team to reach their breaking point.
“Scarred and enraged, Abbey cannot maintain her silence any longer and decides to risk everything by speaking out.”
The complete Downton Abbey box set is available on DVD on Amazon.