ITV greenlights contaminated blood scandal drama after Mr Bates success
The broadcaster has commissioned a new series set to tackle “the biggest health scandal in our history".
Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images
- Lidia Molina-Whyte
Published: Thursday, 22 February 2024 at 4:50 pm
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Following on from the success of the likes of Mr Bates vs The Post Office and Breathtaking, ITV is expanding its collection of factual dramas.
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According to Deadline, the broadcaster is working on bringing the contaminated blood scandal of the '70s and '80s to the screen.
Peter Moffat, who penned upcoming Prince Andrew drama Scoop, is set to write the as-yet-untitled series, which will tackle how a large number of people with blood disorders – largely haemophilia – were infected with hepatitis C and HIV after receiving contaminated clotting factor products.
A statistics report was recently carried out on the incident, with results of the Infected Blood Inquiry published in 2022 estimating that around 1,250 people with bleeding disorders were infected with HIV in the UK, with at least a further 2,400 infected with Hepatitis C.
Toby Jones as Alan Bates in Mr Bates vs the Post Office. ITV
ITV has described it as the "biggest health scandal in our history", with Deadline reporting Moffat's scripts will "examine what doctors, politicians and giant pharmaceutical companies knew then about the risk, and the wrongs that have stretched over half a century".
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Per Deadline, the series has been green-lit with a writer, but is currently seeking a production company to take it on.
Moffat told the publication: "It’s been a great privilege to meet those infected and affected and to learn about what they have been through. I’m ashamed to say that when I started researching this story I knew next to nothing about it.
"I’m even more ashamed that this ignorance is shared by nearly everyone I mention it to. The victims of this scandal have been let down again and again by the state – I hope in some small way this drama can help their voices be heard."
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Lidia Molina-WhyteFreelance
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