ITV has commissioned a new medical thriller written by former doctor Grace Ofori-Attah called Malpractice.
Directed by Philip Barantini (Boiling Point) and produced by World Productions (Line of Duty, Save Me), the cat and mouse thriller tells the story of a damaged doctor caught up in a dangerous conspiracy.
The series stars RTS-Award nominee Niamh Algar (The Virtues) as Dr Lucinda Edwards, a battle-hardened doctor whose career is derailed after a nightmare shift ends in the death of an opioid overdose victim, Edith Owusu.
Edith’s grieving father Sir Anthony Owusu (Brian Bovell, Crime) demands an enquiry into Lucinda’s actions on the fateful night, and despite the support of her medical supervisor Dr Leo Harris (James Purefoy, A Discovery of Witches), Lucinda must go through a gruelling examination.
Leading the medical investigation are Dr Norma Callahan (Helen Behan, Holding) and Lucinda’s former colleague, Dr George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé, Megalomania). While George fights his former colleague’s corner, believing it to be an unavoidable tragedy, Norma is suspicious of Lucinda’s behaviour and decisions in the lead up to Edith’s death.
With the pressure intensifying as the investigation continues, cracks begin to show in both Lucinda’s confident professional exterior and, more crucially, her relationship with husband Tom (Lorne MacFadyen, Pistol).
The five-part series filmed in and around Leeds will also star Hannah Walters (Time) as Matron Beth Relph, Priyanka Patel (Britney) as Dr Rayma Morgan, Scott Chambers (Chicken) as Dr Oscar Beattie, Tristan Sturrock (Poldark) as Dr Mike Willet and Georgina Rich (Heartstoppers) as Dr Eva Thornbury.
Grace Ofori-Attah says: “I’d worked as an NHS doctor for over a decade when I first came to World with an idea that would become Malpractice. Malpractice explores the inevitable pressure-cooker created when doctors under investigation are forced to second-guess their clinical decisions, justify their every action but carry on with the day job as normal.”
Niamh Algar added: "I’m thrilled to be a part of this project. I was blown away by Grace Ofori-Attah's script and the team attached in creating Malpractice. I’m a huge fan of Phil Barantini’s work, his movie Boiling Point is an astonishing piece of work and I’m so excited to see how he approaches Malpractice. I’m absolutely over the moon that we are working together on this special series."
