A best-selling book about the struggles of a junior doctor will be made into a new series for BBC Two.
This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay, a former doctor and now comedian and author, will adapt his personal account of life on the wards for the eight-part comedy-drama series.
The book topped the Sunday Times bestseller list and won the Sunday Times humour book of the year prize, and has also been translated into 20 languages since it was published in September 2017.
This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, Kay’s first book, is a non-fiction account of his years in medical training, based on his own diary entries.
Described as “painfully funny” by Stephen Fry, the book details the brutal honesty of being a doctor for the NHS, sharing both the highs and the lows.
It also covers political issues around the health care system.
Kay said: “Junior doctors tend to have a rather quiet voice compared to the politicians, which is understandable – you don’t have much spare time if you’re working 100 hour weeks.
“It’s been a huge privilege to have my diaries reach so many readers and it’s been absolutely humbling to see their reaction.
“I’m beyond delighted to now be able to share my story with a far wider audience and make the viewers of BBC Two laugh, cry and vomit.”
THANKS THE BBC YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVOURITE https://t.co/Kzt1YAShjS
— Adam Kay (@amateuradam) July 6, 2018
Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, said: “The anarchic, laugh out loud tone of Adam’s memoir masks a frank, insightful and often visceral portrait of a committed young professional struggling to do the job of his dreams.
“It is a deeply personal but definitive account of the 21st Century NHS and we are thrilled that Adam and the team at Hootenanny and Sister have chosen BBC Two as the place to bring it to screen.”
The series will consist of eight 45-minute episodes, and will be adapted by Kay himself.
Kay’s other TV writing credits include Mrs Brown’s Boys, Mitchell and Webb and Crims.