Channel 5 has just announced its next batch of Play for Today television films, and it has a new medical drama on the way that sounds perfect for fans of The Pitt. Starring Archie Panjabi (who you may recognise from past roles across Doctor Who and Hijack, as well as the iconic 2002 movie Bend it Like Beckham) and Paul Kaye (Small Prophets), the drama – which has been described as “gripping” – will unfold over one “relentless” night shift in a hospital.
Billed as an “intimate” drama, The Quiet Hour will centre on the character of Riya (played by Panjabi), described as a nurse “battling exhaustion, guilt, and the ghosts of past mistakes…”
Paul Kaye will play the role of a character named Fred, who has been revealed to be “a combative amputee whose presence becomes one of the night’s most volatile challenges”.
The synopsis goes on to add that Riya will grapple with a number of challenges throughout the shift, including “a stream of emergencies” that go “from dying patients to a medical error that nearly costs a life”, and so “her professional composure begins to fracture”.
“Haunted by a past she can’t quite escape and the growing distance from her teenage daughter, Riya’s night spirals into a raw reckoning with compassion, burnout, and the quiet heroism that holds the health service together,” the description concludes.
The drama has been written by Sarah Louise Madden, and directed by Margo Roe.
BBC
Elsewhere on Channel 5’s new Play for Today lineup is Wild, a dramedy that has also been announced starring Daniel Mays (Line of Duty) and Amit Shah (Happy Valley).
The feature-length episode is set in Scotland, and will follow three friends on their annual camping trip, delving into “the line between adventure and recklessness, and how toxic masculinity has become a huge part of the epidemic decline in men’s mental health”, according to its synopsis.
In a statement that accompanied the news, Paul Testar, Commissioning Editor for 5, described the response to last year’s Play for Today’s films as “hugely encouraging”, adding that “this new line-up builds brilliantly on that success…”
The Quiet Hour and Wild are coming soon to Channel 5.
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TV Editor, Digital Spy Laura has been watching television for over 30 years and professionally writing about entertainment for almost 10 of those. Previously at LOOK and now heading up the TV desk at the UK’s biggest TV and movies site Digital Spy, Laura has helped steer conversations around some of the most popular shows on the box. Laura has appeared on Channel 5 News and radio to talk viewing habits and TV recommendations. As well as putting her nerd-level Buffy knowledge to good use during an IRL meet with Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laura also once had afternoon tea with One Direction, has sat around the fire pit of the Love Island villa, spoken to Sir David Attenborough about the world’s oceans and even interviewed Rylan from inside the Big Brother house (housemate status, forever pending).