Expectation is in production on a new six-part series for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, from the team behind hit series Murder 24/7 this time following the medical teams and patients at the emergency department at one of Britains’ major hospitals.
Emergency 24/7 (6×60’) is embedded inside the busy Emergency Department at Southmead Hospital, a Major Trauma Centre in Bristol, to reveal the everyday pressures as well as the complex teamwork required to keep the department running. It follows staff as they look after patients from diagnosis and through their treatment, encountering everything from car crash amputations, stabbings and third-degree burns.
As well as the multi-discipline trauma team, senior consultants, surgeons and nursing staff, the series explores the role and contribution of the large team around them, each with their own specific part to play to ensure the best possible outcomes.
The new commission sees Expectation expanding its ‘24/7’ brand to BBC One following the success of previous series Murder 24/7 which was BBC Two’s joint highest rating series during 2025, hitting an audience of 3.2 million viewers.
Expectation is currently in production on a third series of Murder 24/7, which is transferring to BBC One, due to deliver later this year, which will feature a range of new investigations carried out by detectives at West Mercia police, including a brutal murder and manhunt in Hereford and a domestic homicide in Redditch.
Rachael Barnes, Executive Producer, said: “Emergency 24/7 offers unprecedented insight into what it truly means to work at the coalface of the NHS today. With extraordinary access and the trust of frontline ED staff, the series places viewers right inside the pressure of the emergency department, witnessing life-saving decisions and calculations in real time.”
Colin Barr, Creative Director, Factual, at Expectation added: “The success of Murder 24/7 with viewers made us realise that we could use the same dynamic and immersive style to deliver forensic storytelling in a different world: the world of an Emergency Department. We’re thrilled to be extending the 24/7 brand together with the BBC, and hope that Emergency 24/7 grips and informs audiences in the same way that Murder 24/7 did.”
Emergency 24/7 (6×60’) is an Expectation production for BBC One and iPlayer. The executive producers are Colin Barr and Rachael Barnes, the series producer is Becky Houlihan, the series director is Leo Machado, and the Head of Production is Jane Nicholson. It was commissioned by Clare Sillery, Head of Commissioning, Documentaries and the Commissioning Editor is Anna Dickeson. BBC Studios is the worldwide distribution partner.
Jon Creamer
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