Malpractice (TV series)

*Malpractice*
Malpractice
Genre	Medical drama
Created by	Grace Ofori-Attah
Written by	Grace Ofori-Attah
Directed by	Philip Barantini
Starring	Niamh Algar; Lorne MacFadyen; Brian Bovell; James Purefoy;
Composers	Aaron May; David Ridley;
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Executive producers	Philip Barantini; Simon Heath;
Producer	Sophie Reynolds
Cinematography	Matthew Lewis
Running time	50 mins. approx
Production company	World Productions
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	23 April 2023 –; present

Malpractice is a British medical drama television series, created and written by Grace Ofori-Attah.^[1]^[2] It stars Niamh Algar as a doctor embroiled in a medical scandal. It began airing on 23 April 2023 on ITV and ITVX. It has been commissioned for a second series.^[3]

Plot edit

When the respected Dr Lucinda Edwards loses an opioid overdose patient, an investigation is launched, probing into her conduct on that night. She was treating the overdose patient when an alarm sounds and all staff rush to reception where a man is waving a gun around. Dr Edwards tries to calm him and offers to help the person on the floor with a gunshot wound. The gunshot patient is moved to A&E but to locate a bed, someone else must be moved. Dr Edwards nominates the overdose patient and sends a young doctor with her to continue her care.

Meantime Dr Edwards returns to the gunshot patient who is being prepped for surgery. Then Dr Harris arrives and takes over. The gunshot patient survives but the overdose patient does not. The young doctor had misheard or misinterpreted the instructions Dr Edwards gave, but when the overdose patient's influential barrister father makes a complaint and the General Medical Council decide to take the case to court, it is Dr Edwards whose job appears under most threat. Though she wins the lawsuit, her personal problems come to light and her position and life are both jeopordised as a major pharmaceutical conspiracy starts to unravel.

Cast edit

Niamh Algar as Dr Lucinda Edwards
Helen Behan as Dr Norma Callahan
Jordan Kouamé as Dr George Adjei
James Purefoy as Dr Leo Harris
Lorne MacFadyen as Tom Edwards
Brian Bovell as Sir Anthony Owusu
Hannah Walters as Matron Beth Relph
Priyanka Patel as Dr Ramya Morgan
Scott Chambers as Dr Oscar Beattie
Tristan Sturrock as Dr Mike Willett
Ash Tandon as Dr Jubair Singh
Georgina Rich as Dr Eva Tait
Liberty Miller as Abi Edwards
Twana Omer as Yussef
Shaun Fagan as The Gunman

Production edit

Prior to writing, Ofori-Attah had worked as a doctor in the NHS. The first series was filmed in West Yorkshire.^[4]

Episodes edit

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions)
1	"Episode 1"	Philip Barantini	Grace Ofori-Attah	23 April 2023 (2023-04-23)	5.31
2	"Episode 2"	Philip Barantini	Grace Ofori-Attah	30 April 2023 (2023-04-30)	4.54
3	"Episode 3"	Philip Barantini	Grace Ofori-Attah	7 May 2023 (2023-05-07)	3.60
4	"Episode 4"	Philip Barantini	Grace Ofori-Attah	14 May 2023 (2023-05-14)	3.70
5	"Episode 5"	Philip Barantini	Grace Ofori-Attah	21 May 2023 (2023-05-21)	3.78

Reception edit

Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded the first episode four stars out of five, praising the writing and topicality of the series.^[5] Anita Singh in The Telegraph also gave it four stars out of five, highlighting the quality of the acting.^[6] Sean O'Grady from The Independent gave the first episode three out of five stars, commending the fusion of hospital drama with a style of police procedurals, but found Lucinda Edwards unengaging as a protagonist.^[7]