Bad Blood on ITV: 'Powerful' and 'moving' Peter Moffat series dramatises the infected blood scandal which led to 3,000 deaths
More than 30,000 people were given contaminated blood between the 70s and the early 90s
Bad Blood is a brand new ITV series which will dramatise the biggest health scandal that the UK has ever seen.
Like Mr Bates vs the Post Office, The Hack, and Dirty Business, the upcoming TV drama aims to tackle one of the biggest tragedies to affect this country.
Written by Peter Moffat, the four-part drama has now commenced filming, with ITV now confirming the cast. Stars of Unforgotten, Happy Valley, Game of Thrones, and Blue Lights will all take leading roles in the hard-hitting drama.
Here’s everything you need to know about the “powerful” and “moving” four-part drama.
Is Bad Blood on ITV a true story?
ITV has commissioned Bad Blood, a compelling drama about the infected blood scandal. It tells the true story of how more than 30,000 people were administered contaminated blood and blood products. Between the 1970s and the early 1990s, the contaminated blood infected victims with HIV or hepatitis C.
The “bad blood” resulted in life-shattering chronic illnesses and more than 3,000 deaths. The negligence and subsequent cover-up represents what UK PM Andy Burnham calls one of “the greatest untold injustice in the history of our country”.
The infected blood scandal remains the worst treatment disaster in the history of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
What is the plot?
The drama centres around four boys at Treloar’s boarding school, a real school for disabled children in Alton Hampshire. The school has a specialised NHS centre for haemophiliacs, helping them avoid the regular, gruelling trips to hospital that would otherwise define their lives.
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”. However, unbeknown to them or their parents, the doctors whom the boys trust with their lives use them as guinea pigs in trials to test blood products. And some of these products are sourced from high-risk, paid donors in the United States – including prisoners.
The synopsis says: “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.”
Who wrote Bad Blood for ITV?
Peter Moffat wrote the upcoming drama Bad Blood. Fans of Your Honor, Criminal Justice, and Silk will know the BAFTA award-winning screenwriter very well.
He has worked closely with the victims and their families whose lives were “torn apart” by the scandal.
Who’s in the cast?
Game of Thrones legend Iain Glen will lead the cast of the ITV drama Bad Blood. An impressive ensemble cast will be joining Iain, including the following actors from TV and film:
- Mad Dogs’ Ben Chaplin.
- Happy Valley’s Susan Lynch.
- Fortitude’s Luke Treadaway.
- Better Call Saul’s Patrick Fabian.
- Boiling Point’s Precious Wura Alabi.
- Blue Lights’ Hannah McClean.
- Doc Martin’s Joe Absolom.
- Des’ Ron Cook.
- A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’s Peter Sullivan.
- Downton Abbey’s Cal MacAninch.
How many episodes is ITV’s Bad Blood?
Bad Blood will be a four-part drama.
The series which will air on ITV and STV and be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player.
‘We all hope the drama can do justice to all those affected by this scandal’
Talking about the new drama, ITV’s Director of Drama Polly Hill said: “We hope this drama will allow our audience to fully understand the infected blood scandal that started decades ago. We all hope the drama can do justice to all those affected by this scandal and the victims’ long fight for justice.”
Peter Moffat added: “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. 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.”
When’s the start date?
ITV has just announced the drama, and filming is now taking place in the North East of England.
So viewers can expect it to land sometime in 2027. Watch this space for more details when we get it.
