CONTAMINATED BLOOD SCANDAL SUBJECT OF NEW ITV DRAMA

The contaminated blood scandal will be the subject of a new four-part ITV drama from writer Peter Moffatt. It follows the broadcaster's success of dramas such as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and Breathtaking.

The series will focus on how haemophiliacs and those with other blood disorders were contaminated with tainted blood infecting them with HIV and Hepatitis C during the 1970s and 1980s.

To date, more than 3,000 people who contracted illnesses have died as a result. A public inquiry was established in 2017, hearing evidence from hundreds of people affected - before its final recommendations to compensate them last year.

Writer Peter Moffatt said: "It’s been a great privilege to meet those infected and affected and to learn about what they have been through. I’m ashamed to say that when I started researching this story I knew next to nothing about it...

"I’m even more ashamed that this ignorance is shared by nearly everyone I mention it to. The victims of this scandal have been let down again and again by the state – I hope in some small way this drama can help their voices be heard."

ITV’s head of drama, Polly Hill, said: "Peter’s scripts are brilliant and do justice to this important story, while bringing it to screen with real clarity and compassion."

It follows the success of Mr Bates vs. the Post Office earlier this year, which became ITV’s biggest new drama in over a decade, even beating the launch of Downton Abbey in 2010.

The ITV Studios and Little Gem series has now averaged 13.5m viewers across its four episodes, including 28 day viewing across all devices plus pre-TX viewing. The most watched episode was the final episode with over 13.8m viewers.

The series, including the documentary, has had over 16.6m streams on ITVX. It is the biggest drama across all channels since Line of Duty series 6 on BBC One in 2021.

It is the biggest new drama across all channels since Bodyguard on BBC One in 2018. And it is ITV's biggest drama since Broadchurch in 2017. The four episodes are the most watched programmes on any channel so far this year. 

Toby Jones plays Alan Bates while Monica Dolan, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Alex Jennings, Ian Hart, Lia Williams, Will Mellor, Clare Calbraith, Shaun Dooley, Amit Shah, Lesley Nicol, Adam James and Katherine Kelly are also in the cast.

Between 2000 and 2013, the Post Office held thousands of its own sub postmasters and postmistresses liable for financial discrepancies thrown up by Horizon, its hugely expensive but unreliable computerised accounting syste

Despite warnings that the system was flawed, the Post Office relentlessly pursued the sub postmasters and postmistresses, telling many of them that they were the only ones having problems with Horizon.

Of those affected by the faulty IT system, 736 were prosecuted and hundreds more lost livelihoods, homes and life savings because they paid back money that the Post Office claimed was missing.

Mr Bates Vs The Post Office is available to stream on ITVX now. More details on the Contaminated Blood Scandal drama will be announced in due course.