Breathtaking

I'm binge watching this on ITVX -- the free streaming service associated with UK terrestrial broadcaster ITV. I just got to the end of the first episode and wanted to write an early review because the first episode was just so wonderful.

Joanne Froggatt provides a wonderfully restrained central performance. Despite not having the appropriate PPE -- because the central authorities have deemed it not essential -- she soldiers on.

The use of Boris Johnson -- the Prime Minister at the time -- is also restrained. It would have been easy to have included all his ignorant and ill-judged comments, but a few well-chosen clips are sufficient to damn him.

The only very minor niggle I have with this is that the font used for the onscreen text is very hard to read -- it's quite small and all uppercase.

From my experience both personal and professional this drama is spot on accurate. I worked in the front line NHS, was ill and lost family to the virus before we got vaccines. I still carry the emotional and physical scars of covid. When I walked into a covid side ward to say goodbye to dad I knew the risks and was cautious. When I walked into work at A & E, it was full of people who refused to wear masks because they were mislead and lied to. I am still dismayed that there are still people out there that double down on the "plandemic hoax" viewpoint. At least I find 'Breathtaking' cathartic, when I see such an accurate portrayal of the events, the disinformation, the characters, and the failing of politicians that abounded at the time I hope we can learn for the future.

A very important reminder of the trauma and devastation our health workers went through.

This series reflects the experiences that l witnessed friends and colleagues going through.

Excellent acting, harrowing and true to life. This should be for the health workers what the Post Office miniseries was for those failed by Horizon and the PO. The interplay between real clips from Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock and Public Health representatives are very effective matched with what was really happening at the frontline at the time.

Shame that the negative comments seem to be from those who are using the site to deny it happened. They are wrong. It did.

I binge watched the 3.

Well done to all concerned.

Doctor Abbey Henderson and her team prepare for the incoming COVID 19 pandemic, only they're short on PPE, oxygen, beds and more. One thing was certain, The country wasn't prepared.

Having been penned by Jed Mercurio, I was expecting something very harrowing and hard hitting, I didn't think that was the case in the first episode, I didn't think it went far enough, I thought the second part however, did get that message through.

At times very sad and very moving, I did question this drama coming out so soon after The Pandemic.

I was hospitalised in the first wave, and I can assure some of the users that I'm no actor, and I got to see first hand exactly how horrendous it was. What I would say, is that whatever your thoughts on the virus, the vaccines, the origins etc, one thing that's clear, NHS staff went through hell.

Well acted, Joanne Froggatt as always is a very safe pair of hands, she did a good job.

I thought Davina's story stood out particularly well, that was very moving.

Seeing the news clips or Johnson and Hancock, made my blood boil.

What I would say, I hope to balance this out, that a drama is commissioned showing the other side of the coin, the effects on those that lived in isolation, those that lost out on education, those that suffered financially, a balanced view needs to be shown.

7/10.

This drama is excellent. The writing is superb and it is evident that the script was penned by Medics at the front line during Covid. It is all too easy to forget the horrors that front line NHS saw and the sacrifices that they made to care for Covid patients. I am inspired to read the book that this drama series is based on. There are only 3 episodes in the series but each one is a powerful reminder of the pandemic and how it impacted on families and the health professionals who cared for them. The side of HMG and NHS England is told through news reel clips and that makes the drama all the more powerful.