Stroud-based actor Susan Lynch is set to star in a major new ITV drama telling the story of the infected blood scandal.
Filming is currently underway in the North East for Bad Blood, which will dramatise the real-life scandal in which more than 30,000 people were given contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s.
The scandal resulted in chronic illnesses and the deaths of more than 3,000 people.
The negligence and subsequent cover-up has been described by Andy Burnham as “perhaps the greatest untold injustice in the history of our country”.
Bad Blood centres on four boys at a boarding school for disabled children with an attached specialist NHS centre for haemophiliacs.
While at the school, the boys are given Factor VIII, a treatment which offers the possibility of an increased lifespan and greater freedom.
Unbeknown to them or their parents, doctors use the boys in a series of trials to test blood products, some of which are sourced from high-risk paid donors in the United States, including prisoners.
When the medical establishment learns of the transmission of new diseases, including Hepatitis C and AIDS, it fails to act, exposing people across the country.
As the drama unfolds, children at Treloar’s begin to show signs of the diseases.
The series will dramatise the institutional failures within Government and the medical establishment that led to the disaster, as well as the subsequent cover-up.
It will also tell the story of the decades-long fight by survivors and their families for truth and justice.
Lynch, who has appeared in Happy Valley, Killing Eve and A Thousand Blows, joins an ensemble cast featuring Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Jack Taylor), Ben Chaplin (September 5, The Thin Red Line), Luke Treadaway (Embassy, A Street Cat Named Bob), Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul, The Debut), Precious Wura Alabi (Saviour, Boiling Point), Hannah McClean (Close To Home, Blue Lights), Joe Absolom (Code of Silence, Blade Runner 2049), Ron Cook (Des, I Fought The Law), Peter Sullivan (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Criminal Record), Craig Kelly (Queer as Folk, Titanic) and Cal MacAninch (Downton Abbey, Ahsoka).
Bad Blood is written by BAFTA award-winning screenwriter Peter Moffat, whose credits include Your Honor, Criminal Justice and Silk.
Moffat has worked closely with victims and their families whose lives were torn apart by the scandal.
He said: “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.”
The drama is being produced by World Productions, whose credits include Anne, Until I Kill You, The Bombing of Pan Am 103, Malpractice and Line of Duty.
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.”
The drama is directed by Julia Ford, who won Best Director at the RTS Awards for Until I Kill You in 2025.
It is produced by Abi Bach, with Simon Heath, Joe Williams, Annabel Jones, Julia Ford and Peter Moffat serving as executive producers.
The production is supported by the North East Production Fund, delivered on behalf of the North East Screen Industries Partnership by North East Screen, with funding from the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Bad Blood is produced in association with, and distributed internationally by, ITV Studios.
The drama is expected to be screened next year.
