Breathtaking review – a shockingly vivid picture of life as a doctor during Covid

This book adaptation from Jed Mercurio perfectly captures the chaos, the impossible decisions and the utterly shameful government failings – even if it fails to transcend outrage

How do you write a convincing drama based on real-life events when so many of those events were utterly unbelievable? Especially given that they have become even more so since, as the knowledge of what was really going on has become more widespread – and, at times, even entered into the record of official inquiries?

Breathtaking is a three-part drama based on palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke’s book of the same name, adapted by her, Bodies and Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio plus actor Prasanna Puwanarajah (both former doctors). It tells the story of the first six months or so of the coronavirus pandemic in the UK as it unfolds in one hospital, concentrating on a small section of the frontline staff during the rapid, overwhelming, unprecedented and (as we now know, pretty much totally) unplanned-for events. They are seen largely through the eyes of consultant Abbey Henderson (Joanne Froggatt) as well as her increasingly exhausted team.