Ben Whishaw: This Is Going To Hurt will have serious political and social agenda

The forthcoming TV adaptation of This Is Going To Hurt will have a “really serious” political and social agenda, Ben Whishaw has said.

The Golden Globe-winning actor, 41, said there was a “real sense of purpose” among the cast and crew and that everyone felt it was “important” to mark the work of the NHS in light of the pandemic.

Whishaw plays the lead role in the comedy-drama based on Adam Kay’s best-selling book about life as an NHS doctor.

The Bond star will portray the doctor-turned-author as he struggles with life on the wards and the impact of long hours on his personal relationships.

He said: “Adam Kay is really interested in showing the toll it takes on people’s mental health, emotional life and personal life when you’re a doctor.

“I had no idea, really, of the pressures that these people are under. So while it is hopefully very funny at times. It has a really serious agenda, politically and socially and everything else.”

Whishaw said the show will depict the challenge of separating life and work while working for the NHS.

He said: “A lot of it is to do with how you navigate having to essentially detach from your emotions, because as a medic obviously you can’t be profoundly emotionally affected by every situation you deal with. At the same time, you can’t be entirely devoid of feeling.

“So navigating this is profoundly difficult and there’s no, or very little or negligible, support in that way for doctors.

“It’s all those sorts of questions: How do you share what’s happened in your day with your partner? Is it right to load it on someone else? It’s so heavy but what do you do with it? And how can you (let) the barrier down?

“And what if once you let the barrier down, you can’t keep going and all of those sorts of things.”

Whishaw said the story was particularly relevant given the important role of the NHS during the pandemic.

“I think it’s a time when we’ve all been more aware than normal, probably, of just how much we owe to the people who work for the NHS,” he said.

“The extraordinary work they do and what they sacrifice to do it.

“I think we’re all still reeling from the last couple of years. But certainly, I feel like in making the show, there’s a real sense of purpose amongst the cast and crew and everyone. This feels like something important to do in a sense.”

This Is Going To Hurt starts on Tuesday February 8 at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.