ITV drama about infected blood scandal begins filming

A four-part drama about the infected blood scandal has commenced filming.

ITV’s Bad Blood tells the story of how more than 30,000 people were administered contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and the early 1990s.

More than 3,000 people have died as a result, while survivors are living with lifelong health implications.

Former prime minister Theresa May commissioned an independent public inquiry into the scandal in 2017, which concluded that a “catalogue of failures” caused it to happen.

People hold up the Infected Blood Inquiry report outside Central Hall in Westminster, London (Jeff Moore/PA)

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The show is written by Bafta award-winning screenwriter Peter Moffatt, who worked closely with the victims and their families.

The drama centres around four boys at Treloar’s, a boarding school for disabled children with an attached specialised NHS centre for haemophiliacs whose lives would otherwise have been defined by regular and gruelling trips to the hospital.

While at Treloar’s, the boys are given Factor VIII, a revolutionary treatment that promises them the possibility of an increased lifespan and greater freedoms.

Unbeknown to them or their parents, the doctors whom the boys trust with their lives use them as guinea pigs in trials to test blood products, some of which are sourced from high-risk, paid donors in the United States, including prisoners.

Bad Blood will dramatise the institutional failures within government and the medical establishment that led to the disaster and the cover-up that has tried to hide these failures.

It will also show the decades-long fight by the survivors and their families for truth and justice.

Victims and campaigners outside Central Hall in Westminster, London, after the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry report (Jeff Moore/PA)

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The series will star Game Of Thrones actor Iain Glen, September 5 star Ben Chaplin, Happy Valley’s Susan Lynch and Embassy’s Luke Treadaway.

ITV’s director of drama, Polly Hill, said: “We hope this drama will allow our audience to fully understand the infected blood scandal that started decades ago.

“We want to thank the team because it is testament to the importance of this story that we have Peter Moffat’s scripts and Julia Ford directing and it is produced by World Productions.

“We all hope the drama can do justice to all those affected by this scandal and the victims’ long fight for justice.”

Moffat added: “It has been deeply humbling to hear the personal stories of the infected and affected, and a real privilege to be trusted with their accounts.

“This drama is an active testament to a decades-long fight for justice by so many victims of this appalling scandal. We hope it can make a difference by ensuring their voices are properly heard.”

Bad Blood will air on ITV and STV and be available on ITVX and STV Player.