ITV Gets Breathless With New Drama

ITV has ordered a new six-part drama titled Breathless which will be set in London during the 1960s.

The drama will be among gynaecologists in the early 1960s and will doubtless and inevitably compared to BBC One‘s hit drama series Call the Midwife. The Sunday evening drama, penned by Heidi Thomas and based on the memories of Jennifer Worth, is a huge rating and critical hit for the BBC. Call the Midwife is set in 1950s London and follows the lives of several young midwives.

Set a decade later and in a different part of the medical profession ITV will be hoping that Breathless will capture audiences imagination in the same way as the BBC series it will be compared with. The new drama will be written by Paul Unwin who co-created Casualty in 1986. The series will be produced by Peter Grimsdale who has reportedly announced the drama will contain thriller elements but also social history much like Call the Midwife.

Casting on the drama has yet to take place according to Media Guardian but Unwin has confirmed he will pen four of the episodes. Filming is likely to start shortly with ITV looking to air Breathless next year.

[Written by Doug Lambert; source Media Guardian]