Both the BBC and ITV have announced a series of programmes to celebrate 70 years of the NHS.
The BBC’s season, which runs from 25th June to 8th July, includes programming across BBC One, Two and Four, as well as Radio 3 and Radio 4.
BBC One will show Life on the Ward (w/t) (2×60) with four well-known faces spend time inside King’s College Hospital and will work alongside the NHS teams. They include Medical journalist Michael Mosely, reporter Stacey Dooley, former politician Ann Widdecombe and Paralympian gold medallist Jonnie Peacock. Made by BBC Studios’ Science Unit. The Executive Producer is Helen Thomas. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Craig Hunter.
Matron, Medicine and Me (5×45) sees five well known faces explore how the service has changed in the 70 years since its inception. Featuring Fern Britton, Denise Lewis, and Si King. Executive Producer is Paul Connolly and Series Producer is Austen Irwin.
Songs of Praise is making a special episode (1x30min) for BBC One commemorating the NHS. Made by Nine Lives/Avanti. Executive Producers are Cat Lewis and Emyr Afan. Commissioning Editor is Fatima Salaria.
BBC Two will show the NHS Live Event programme (w/t) 1×90 mins. Hosted by Nick Robinson and Anita Rani, this 90 minute programme, live from a hospital, will mark the 70th anniversary and ask the big questions about the NHS today and it’s the future. The audience will be comprised of patients and NHS staff plus leading health experts and medical pioneers. Commissioned by Joanna Carr for Current Affairs, Executive Producer is Sam Bagnall and Producer is Adam Grimley.
Hospitals that Changed the World (w/t) explores the achievements of five pioneering centres of excellence across the UK. Individual episodes will be executive produced by Ingrid Kelly, Jacqui Hodgson, Dippy Chaudhary, Diana Hare and Dave Hart.
The British Buyers Club (w/t) is as one hour drama documentary for BBC Two which tells the story of Greg Owen; a former sex worker who helped stop thousands becoming HIV positive by providing access to a drug (PrEP) that prevents the virus developing in the body. Made by Pulse Films. Mark Henderson is the Producer/Director. Ceri Aston-Holmes is the Executive Producer. The Commissioning Editor is Fatima Salaria.
BBC Four has The People’s History of the NHS is a 3x60min series which presents a crowd sourced history of the National Health Service. Presented by Alex Brooker, it is produced by 7Wonder and Commissioned by Abigail Priddle.
BBC Wales has commissioned drama To Provide All People “the intimate story of the NHS in British society today.” The film, written by acclaimed poet Owen Sheers, has a cast including Michael Sheen, Eve Myles, Sian Phillips, Jonathan Pryce, Aimee Ffion Edwards, George Mackay, Martin Freeman, Meera Syal, Celia Imrie, Tamsin Grieg, Rashan Stone Michelle Fairley, Suzanne Packer, and Michelle Collins.
Over on ITV, there’s a new “major television event”, The NHS Heroes Awards brought to you by ITV and the Mirror, hosted by Paul O’ Grady, that will “recognise the achievements of NHS staff who work tirelessly to improve the lives of others.” The NHS Heroes Awards will be announced on Monday 14thMay during a ceremony at London’s Hilton Park Lane and the event will be screened as a prime time special on ITV. The 1×120 show is a partnership event between and ITV the Mirror. It is produced by Shiver and is commissioned for ITV by Nicola Lloyd, Commissioning Editor, and Sue Murphy.
New series A&E Live will tell the story of emergency medicine as it happens across one of Britain’s major cities. Davina McCall will be embedded in the emergency department including the busy trauma unit at Leeds General Infirmary. The live documentary will follow the frontline staff as they tackle emergencies from the initial 999 call, in the ambulance and through to treatment in A&E. A&E Live is produced by Optomen and is commissioned for ITV by Kate Teckman, Commissioning Editor, and Sue Murphy.
Love Your Garden: NHS Special sees Alan Titchmarsh and his team turn their attention to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital that does not have a designated garden. The team will set out to transform the hospital’s outdoors area into a state of the art, multi-functional garden. Love Your Garden NHS Special [1×60] is produced by Spun Gold Television and commissioned for ITV by Priya Singh, Commissioning Editor, and Sue Murphy.
Staff Reporter
Share this story
