Breathtaking ITV series: Covid drama cast with Joanne Froggatt, and release date of Rachel Clarke adaptation

ITV’s new Covid drama Breathtaking stars Downton Abbey actress Joanne Froggatt as Abbey Henderson, an NHS doctor working in a busy hospital in 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic.

The series was filmed in Belfast but set in a big city hospital and is based on the real experiences of a doctor who worked in the NHS during the pandemic which killed more than 200,000 people in the UK, and is still estimated to kill hundreds of people nationally each week.

Breathtaking was adapted for the screen by Trigger Point, Line of Duty, and Bodyguard writer Jed Mercurio. The series follows a team of doctors through the first several months of the pandemic in the UK, using real news footage, and basing each patient in the show on a real NHS case, to create a faithful testament to the work NHS staff did during the biggest crisis the organisation has ever faced.

Is there a trailer for Breathtaking?

Yes, watch it here:

Who is in the cast of Breathtaking?

• Joanne Froggatt as Dr. Abbey Henderson
• George Georgiou as Hue
• Lucy Montgomery as Clare Boxall
• Georgia Goodman as Divina Aquino
• Jodie McNee as Jules Jarmen
• Mark Dexter as Mike
• Bhav Joshi as Dr. Ant Vyas
• Henry Meredith as Tommy
• Christopher Hatherall we Nick Henderson
• Mary Woodvine as Cressida Frost
• Philip Arditti as Dr. Metin Ozkul
• Stephanie Street as Jo
• David Ganly as Richard Speller
• Edward Crook as Jake
• Daniel Tuite as Mr. Sam Hunton
• Thom Petty as Dr. Neil Westland
• Cliodhna McCorley as Heather

Is Breathtaking based on a book?

Breathtaking is based on the 2021 book written by palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke who cared for some of the sickest patients on the Covid ward at her hospital during the pandemic.

It is a true story based on her experience of the pandemic in its first year, and also features testimonies from other NHS staff and Rachel’s own patients.

When is the release date of Breathtaking?

Breathtaking will be released over three episodes nightly next week from Monday February 19 on ITV1 at 9pm, and will be available to watch on ITVX after episodes are first broadcast. This is the full episode guide for Breathtaking:

Episode One: Containment - Monday February 19 at 9pm on ITV1: The reality of hospital life for a team of NHS staff is revealed.

Episode Two: Delay - Tuesday February 20 at 9pm on ITV1: As patients get sicker, Abbey and the team take on the Covid-19 pandemic, stretching each of them to their limits.

Episode Three: Mitigation - Wednesday February 21 at 9pm on ITV1: The team deal with a new Covid-19 winter wave. As pressure becomes unmanageable, Abbey takes action to voice the pandemic's full effect on the NHS.