By ITV is to launch a rival to the BBC's hugely successful
'Call The Midwife.
'Breathless' is a period drama set in a London hospital
in the 1960s, focussing on the trials and tribulations of a busy gynaecology
unit.
The six-part series will star Jack Davenport, and has
been penned by Paul Unwin, who has written for 'Casualty' and 'Holby Blue'.
Jack Davenport... star of new ITV series (Credit: Wenn)
According to ITV, it will follow 'the lives of a group of
doctors and nurses working in a London hospital, a world in which everything
and everyone has their place. But underneath this veneer simmers a cauldron of
lies, deceptions and guilty secrets, driven by love, ambition and sex'.
“The series opens in 1961, a time when Britain was on the
brink of the ‘60s revolution – abortion is illegal and the contraceptive pill
is only just available to married women,” reads the series synopsis.
“Set in and around a busy gynaecology unit, medicine
becomes the perfect stage to play out the shifting and complex moral codes of
early 1960s society.”
'Coupling's Davenport plays surgeon Otto Powell, who, in
his quest to help women in trouble, risks his career and a prison sentence
under the anti-abortion laws.
It starts filming in London in April. [Metro]
Also in today's press
Tulisa is to be axed from 'The X Factor', according to
reports. A source on the show told The Sun 'she had a good run'. Show bosses
are also keen to be rid of veteran judge Louis Walsh, though Simon Cowell is
said to be 'fighting tooth and nail' to keep him on the panel. [The Sun]
Meanwhile, Sharon Osbourne is being replaced on
'America's Got Talent' by former Spice Girl Mel B. Mel has proved her judging
skills while appearing on 'The X Factor Australia'. She will be joining
comedian Howie Mandel and shock jock Howard Stern on the panel, who returns for
a second series of the show. [Daily Mirror]
'Doctor Who' showrunner Steven Moffat has said previous
boss Russell T. Davies has turned down his requests to write an episode of the
show. “I do keep asking him [to write a new episode],” he said. “The offer is
continually made and I'm getting nowhere!” [Digital Spy]
