The
ultimate antidote to hospital drama - Bodies by Jed Mercurio
Bodies
is a unique new medical drama created by writer-producer Jed
Mercurio.
The
six part series is made by Hat Trick Productions and co-commissioned
for BBC THREE and BBC TWO.
Dark
and disturbing, yet rich in humour, Bodies is the ultimate antidote
to mainstream medical drama.
Laced
with action, scandal and sex, yet complex in its handling of moral
dilemmas, this is a uniquely visceral and compelling view of hospital
life inspired by former doctor Mercurio's acclaimed debut novel.
When
Rob Lake (Max Beesley) begins work in a city maternity unit,
he soon comes to suspect that his new boss, consultant obstetrician
and gynaecologist Roger Hurley (Patrick Baladi), may be error-prone.
He
tries to turn a blind eye, but then one of Hurley's blunders leads
to a young mother being left brain-damaged and her baby stillborn.
Rob must risk his career to put a stop to Hurley's negligence.
Starring
alongside Beesley (Fields of Gold) and Baladi (The Office) are -
Neve
McIntosh (Trial and Retribution, The Hound of the Baskervilles)
as Sister Donna Rix;
Keith
Allen (Loving You) as consultant Mr Tony Whitman;
Susan
Lynch (Enduring Love) as anaesthetist Dr Maria Orton;
Tamzin
Malleson (Teachers) as registrar Polly Grey;
Preeya
Kalidas (Bombay Dreams, Bend It Like Beckham) as Dr Maya Dutta;
and
Karen Bryson (Between the Sheets, Canterbury Tales) as midwife
Hazel Melrose.
Executive
Producer Mark Redhead said: "Bodies is a powerful and emotional
drama about hospital life, in which pacy, compelling storylines
are driven by fantastically vivid characters."
Head
of BBC Drama Commissioning, Gareth Neame, added: "Bodies isn't
a hospital drama in the usual sense.
"It's
dark, adult, complex, and at times extremely funny. It also dares
to go where other medical dramas haven't gone, into the culture
of malpractice, whistle-blowing, cover-ups, star-ratings and government
targets."
Bodies
is currently filming on location near Leeds.
The
series will premiere on BBC THREE later in 2004, followed by transmission
on BBC TWO in the autumn.
Bodies
is written and produced by Jed Mercurio with executive producers
Mark Redhead (Hat Trick Productions) and Gareth Neame (BBC).
Notes
to Editors
A TV
tie-in edition of the original novel will be published by Vintage
in April.
All
the BBC's digital services are now available on Freeview,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable. Freeview
offers the BBC's eight television channels, interactive services
from BBCi, as well as 11 national BBC radio networks.
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