His short-cut to the maternity ward means pushing her into an open service lift that doesn’t stop, so that they have to tumble out when they reach their floor. Dr Adam discovers a woman in the hospital car park, suffering a breech birth. The set-piece opening hits like an avalanche. We’re all used to screaming mothers in childbirth, thanks to Call The Midwife, but Nurse Trixie doesn’t usually finish a delivery ankle-deep in blood. Some of the surgery scenes are tough to watch. 'A ship that’s massive and on fire and nobody’s had the time to teach you how to sail.

When the stress gets too intense, he turns to the camera, as if viewers are the only ones who could possibly understand.Ĭovered in blood after a gory Caesarean, he paints a desperate picture of life in the NHS: ‘You’re generally sailing the ship alone. He’s at the centre of every scene, whether he’s soaking up humiliation from a supercilious consultant (Alex Jennings) or lashing out at student doctor Shruti (Ambika Mod). Whishaw is always brilliant when playing passive-aggressive, nervous men at breaking point, and this role - adapted from Kay’s real-life medical memoir by the author himself - is perfect for him. When he tells one patient he can’t stop and talk because he needs to see somebody else, she retorts: ‘Hopefully a hairdresser.’ He’s so tired that he’s falling asleep on his feet and in his car.īut sarcasm is contagious. He’s overworked, exhausted, under-qualified, terrified and his private life is verging on disintegration. Gradually we realise he is wielding this lethal weapon in self-defence. The closing shot of the first episode sees Kay slumping into sleep at a strip club as he arrives for the end of a friend’s stag night following a long shift

Adam kay this is going to hurt