Pirates of the Caribbean and This Life star Jack Davenport is to head up a new ITV medical drama set in London in 1961.
Produced ITV Studios, Breathless follows the lives of a group of doctors and nurses working in a London hospital, a world in which everything and everyone has their place. But underneath this veneer simmers a cauldron of lies, deceptions and guilty secrets, driven by love, ambition and sex.
The series has been co-created by Paul Unwin who previously co-created the BBC’s long-running series Casualty, and Peter Grimsdale. The pair will share writing duties with Simon Tyrrell (Lightfields, Survivors).
Davenport will play Otto Powell, a brilliant and charismatic surgeon, who passionately believes he can make a difference to women’s lives, even if that means risking imprisonment under the abortion laws of 1961.
“I’m delighted to be adding a new medical drama to our roster of returning series. Paul and Peter have created a compelling group of characters at a fascinating point in the history of the NHS” said Steve November, Acting Director of Drama Commissioning at ITV.
Kate Bartlett, executive producer for ITV Studios said: “Breathless is an exhilarating and charismatic character drama, set against a glamorous London backdrop.
“The medical stories and events are there to illuminate and complicate the lives of our key characters and 1961 is a fascinating time in which to explore the changing role of women in society.”
Breathless will go into production in April and will be filmed on location in London.