Drama about what Andy Burnham called “perhaps the greatest untold injustice in the history of our country” has started filming in the North East.
Bad Blood tells the story of how more than 30,000 people were administered contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s resulting in chronic illnesses and more than 3000 deaths.
It’s written by Peter Moffat (Your Honor, Criminal Justice, Silk) who’s worked closely with the victims and their families.
The cast includes Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Jack Taylor), Ben Chaplin (September 5, The Thin Red Line), Susan Lynch (A Thousand Blows, Happy Valley), Luke Treadaway (Embassy, A Street Cat Named Bob), Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul, The Debut), Precious Wura Alabi (Saviour, Boiling Point), Hannah McClean (Close To Home, Blue Lights), Joe Absolom (Code of Silence, Blade Runner 2049), Ron Cook (Des, I Fought The Law), Peter Sullivan (A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, Criminal Record) and Cal MacAninch (Downton Abbey, Ahsoka).
It’s produced by Line ITV Studios’ World Productions (Line of Duty).
“It has been deeply humbling to hear the personal stories of the infected and affected, and a real privilege to be trusted with their accounts,” said Moffat.
“This drama is an active testament to a decades-long fight for justice by so many victims of this appalling scandal. We hope it can make a difference by ensuring their voices are properly heard.”
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The drama centres around 4 boys at Treloar’s, a unique boarding school for disabled children with an attached specialised NHS centre for haemophiliacs whose lives would otherwise have been defined by regular and gruelling trips to the hospital.
While at Treloar’s, the boys are given Factor VIII, a revolutionary treatment that promises them the possibility of an increased lifespan and greater freedoms. Unbeknown to them or their parents, the doctors use them as guinea pigs in trials to test blood products, some of which are sourced from high-risk, paid donors in the United States, including prisoners.
When the medical establishment learns of the transmission of new diseases, Hepatitis C and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), they fail to act and people across the country are exposed. As the drama unfolds, the children at Treloar’s begin to show signs of the diseases.
Bad Blood will dramatise the institutional failures within Government and the medical establishment that led to this avoidable disaster and the cover-up that has tried to hide these failures. It will also show the decades-long fight by the survivors and their families for truth and justice.
“We hope this drama will allow our audience to fully understand the infected blood scandal that started decades ago,” said ITV’s Director of Drama, Polly Hill.
“We want to thank the team because it is testament to the importance of this story that we have Peter Moffat’s scripts and Julia Ford directing and it is produced by World Productions. We all hope the drama can do justice to all those affected by this scandal and the victims’ long fight for justice.”
The production is supported by the North East Production Fund delivered on behalf of the North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP) by North East Screen, with funding from the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) and Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).
