Innocents (film)

Innocents is a British television medical drama film, written by Neil McKay and directed by Peter Kosminsky, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 1 October 2000[1] as part of Channel 4's Doctors on Trial season.[2] The film, based upon the Bristol heart scandal of the 1980s and 90s,[3] stars Tim Pigott-Smith as James Wisheart and Madhav Sharma as Janarda Dhasmana, who whilst working together to perform 33 arterial-switch operations, drew up a mortality rate of 66% among patients under a month old, and 43% among those over a month old. Aden Gillett co-stars as Steve Bolsin, the whistleblower whose testimony first brought the scandal to public attention.[4]

The film broadcast in the United States as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre strand on 6 May 2002.[5] The New York Times review of the film commented that "Neil McKay's script captures the intelligent persuasiveness of the surgeons and the twisted rationales employed by fairly good people doing bad things. Obviously there is no shortage of human drama in this story, and the scenes of parents reacting to news about their babies are almost painfully real. Eventually the confused drama within the infirmary becomes gripping, too." The film was nominated for an international Emmy Award in 2001.[6]