Care

With Jimmy McGovern you expect hard hitting drama but also some tenderness. Co-written with Gillian Juckes, this one off drama is based on Juckes real life experiences.

Sheridan Smith plays Jenny, a single mother of two young kids whose mother Mary (Alison Steadman) suffers from a stroke while driving a car.

Mary is left partly brain damaged, unable to function. At an assessment she eats a tea bag. The hospital wants to discharge her, a care home she goes to struggles to provide for her because of cutbacks.

Jenny struggles to deal with her mother at home. Her sister is of little help. When Jenny finds a decent care home, she finds herself fighting to get a continuing healthcare package to pay for her care.

It is gruelling viewing, the hospital, the care home are all reeling from the effects of government cutbacks.

What makes Care stand out is when Mary is appearing to be speaking gibberish, her thoughts get translated. At an assessment her thoughts tells the viewer that she wants to go home, they are not looking after her in the hospital.

I was put off by the soft filtered look of the drama. I have no idea why it was done this way.