Call The Gynaecologist

The vogue for period medical drama is continuing with the commission of a six-part ITV series set among gynaecologists working in London in the early 1960s, just before the introduction of the pill and the legalisation of abortion. The ITV drama, Breathless, has been co-created by Paul Unwin, one of the creators of BBC1 drama Casualty in the mid 1980s.

Made with the former Channel 4 and Channel 5 executive Peter Grimsdale, the as-yet-uncast drama will focus on five gynaecologists working in the NHS. It is also understood to have a thriller element as well as a strong social history thread, according to sources, and Unwin has confirmed on his website that he will write four of the scripts, direct episode one and storyline the series. A source told MediaGuardian: "There were some women working in this area and they will be in the series, but gynaecology was a mainly male world at this time. This was before the pill and the legalisation of abortion and the 1960s hit the country and it was a totally different world. It was also before Profumo and there was a lot of covering up going on within the establishment which at the time was relatively immune from scrutiny."


It is understood that ITV wants to start filming soon and the drama may air early next year. Breathless is likely to draw comparisons with the hit BBC1 drama Call the Midwife, which is also about health workers and set a decade earlier in London's East End. Critically lauded 1960s advertising drama Mad Men is also understood to have been an inspiration, although an ITV source said the show would be much more mainstream in its appeal.

Breathless is being made by ITV Studios in association with Unwin's So Far Productions. Unwin will executive produce with Kate Bartlett.