It should be unthinkable for there to be this quality of drama in such close succession. Yet here we are, the third month of the year, and the BBC have released yet another outstanding piece of television: This Is Going To Hurt.
Adam Kay’s adaptation of his highly popular autobiographical experiences as a junior doctor stars the ever-watchable Ben Wishaw. He plays Kay as he tries to balance working on the understaffed and under-funded maternity ward alongside working on his strained relationships.
The success of the book, and the later one-man stage show, came largely from Kay’s ability to mix humour with the at-times disgusting reality of working in a hospital. This is certainly present in this adaptation, with Kay’s years working as a script editor on shows like That Mitchell and Webb Look shining through in the comedic side of the show. This is boosted by Wishaw’s amazing comedic timing, a quick turn to camera or deadpan stare both producing a hilarious reaction and a genuine look into the character’s feelings on the situations.
This show is also not for the squeamish, with incredible prosthetics and gore being used to both comedic and dramatic effect. On a base level, human bodily functions can produce such a visceral response, which gives a real sense of danger and authenticity to the realities of working in a hospital.
On that note, if there was one word to sum up this show, it would be authentic. In the BBC’s last smash-hit drama The Responder, Tony Schumacher’s experience working as a police responder gave the drama a lived sense of experience. This is even more so in This Is Going To Hurt because it translates Kay’s lived experiences directly onto the screen. For whatever reason, 2022 seems to be the year for emergency service stories told by the people who do the job. In two overly-saturated genres (the police and medical drama), this creates a fresh take on the material, as you can tell the scribes really know what they’re talking about.
Read our review of The Responder here.
Whereas other shows would compromise the situation for the sake of the story, Kay knows how to make his show work and feel like it exists in the real world. Events that happened don’t feel dictated by the plot, and instead occur naturally from what you believe the characters would do in that situation. But underneath that, Kay has something to say about this particular working environment. The book was famously written in response to cuts made by the at-time health secretary Jeremy Hunt, and that political anger radiates throughout. Specifically, how selfless the act of being a doctor is, the sacrifices that must be made and how unappreciated that is. When you’ve worked a 97 hour week, at all hours of the day, a good chunk you’re not being paid for, then get up and do it again, it feels outright uninformed the way certain members of government regard the NHS.
That doesn’t mean Kay paints these people as angels or without flaws. This drama is eye-opening in terms of how the stress and responsibility can get to you, and the mistakes that can be made. That’s a huge burden to have to bear, and This Is Going To Hurt is ultimately about the importance of talking and opening up about stress and feelings. Whether that’s the trauma experienced on the ward or personal aspects of life like expressing his sexuality openly and freely, this drama shows how releasing feelings and just checking in with others can help you be more at peace. That doesn’t mean it’s the magic bullet to fix all the problems, but just by allowing others to understand your problems, we can all adjust to help one another.
Considering the collective trauma we’ve all experienced over the past two years, especially emergency workers, this show feels more relevant than ever. I don’t know whether this show was green-lit before the pandemic, but certainly in the filming and release the creators must have known they were tapping into very real and very urgent ideas.
Fundamentally then, this is a show that breathes new life into a familiar setup, with some great comedy and real impactful moments. In a time where the BBC is under more threat than ever, their drama output over the last two months alone has argued a strong case for the service as a producer of meaningful, important television.
This Is Going To Hurt broadcasts every Monday, with the whole show being available to stream on iPlayer.
Words by Ed Foster
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