This Is Going to Hurt is an unmissable drama starting on BBC One with episode one this week.
There are so many reasons why you need to watch this seven-part series.
It’s a scalding portrayal of a day in the life of a doctor.
And you’ll never think of the NHS in the same way again.
Here’s our five top reasons why you need to watch This Is Going to Hurt on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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This Is Going to Hurt episode one – it’s funny!
This Is Going to Hurt is a painfully funny, heartbreakingly honest series set in an NHS labour ward.
If you’re not laughing your head – or your umbilical cord – off in the first five minutes, then this series clearly isn’t for you.
This Is Going to Hurt is every bit as tender and funny as the book it’s based on.
We guarantee you’ll be laughing one minute, and gasping in horror the next.
Much like After Life starring Ricky Gervais, it’s black – as black as TV dramas get.
This Is Going to Hurt episode one – it’s real life
It’s dark but it’s real, too, and that’s why it works.
This Is Going to Hurt is an adaptation of Adam Kay’s memoir of the same name.
Almost everything that appears in the series happened to Adam in real life.
He wrote about his experiences of what it was like to work on the NHS front line.
It’s close to the bone, but us Brits are famous for laughing at the darkest things.
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This Is Going to Hurt on BBC One – the cast is amazing
Ben Whishaw stars as Adam Kay, the main character in the new medical drama.
Adam is a junior doctor working in obstetrics and gynaecology.
The black comedy follows his life juggling a tremendously difficult job, with an every decreasing social life.
It provides a stark reminder of the vital role played by the NHS.
The series is worth watching for Ben alone.
Ben is one of the UK’s best actors, and he brings a searing honesty to the role.
Frankly if he doesn’t get an BAFTA for the role, we’ll start a petition.
And the supporting cast is simply sublime, too.
Newcomer Ambika Mod is heartbreakingly earnest as Shruti, a young junior doctor just starting in obstetrics and gynaecology.
She desperately wants to get hands-on training and help out, but no one has time to train her.
Meanwhile, The Crown‘s Alex Jennings is brutally three-dimensional as Mr Lockhart, a consultant and Adam’s domineering boss.
Dame Harriet Walter also stars in the series, as does This Country’s Ashley McGuire, and Motherland’s Phillipa Dunne – aka long-suffering Anne.
All hail the NHS!
We know junior NHS doctors have a tough time, but This Is Going to Hurt makes it clear just how tough.
Every second of the BBC One drama is a reminder of how much we owe the NHS staff.
The exhaustion Ben’s character Adam feels is palpable after working a double shift.
He’s exhausted, but still has to deal with life or death situations.
And every nurse, doctor, consultant has their own ‘real life’ problems too.
If you don’t want to hug every member of the NHS after watching this, then you should check your pulse.
This Is Going to Hurt episode one – the script is sublime
2022 has been a year of big dramas already.
Like buses, there have been dozens lined up this year.
There’s been Rules of the Game, Trigger Point, The Responder, Anne, Four Lives, The Teacher, Chloe, No Return…
Some better than others…
But very few have the calibre of This Is Going to Hurt.
And that’s because the script let them down.
This Is Going to Hurt has an excellent script, and every other line is bitingly funny.
It will leave you wanting more episodes.
But probably not more babies…
This Is Going to Hurt continues on Tuesday February 15 2021 at 9pm on BBC One.
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