The Fragile Heart
The Fragile Heart is a BAFTA award-winning British medical drama television series created by Paula Milne and first aired on Channel 4 from 6 to 20 November 1996. The series nominated the Royal Television Society award for Best Drama Serial.[1]
| The Fragile Heart | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Medical drama |
| Created by | Paula Milne |
| Written by | Paula Milne |
| Directed by | Patrick Lau |
| Starring | Nigel Hawthorne Dearbhla Molloy Helen McCrory Dominic Mafham Robert Langdon Lloyd Sylvia Chang |
| Composer | Gavin Greenaway |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Brian Eastman |
| Cinematography | Nicholas D. Knowland |
| Editor | Neil Thomson |
| Running time | 55 minutes (including adverts) |
| Production company | Carnival Film and Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Original release | 6 November – 20 November 1996 |
Story
Edgar Pascoe (Nigel Hawthorne) is a highly successful and charismatic cardiac surgeon. Pre-eminent in his field, he is the embodiment of the upper echelons of medicine: urbane, assured, supremely confident in his own abilities. But he is not infallible - either in the operating theatre or in his private life with his divided family.
Edgar's wife Lileth (Dearbhla Molloy), a dedicated and compassionate country GP, is increasingly drawn to the holistic arts of healing still practiced in the East, but scorned by purveyors of Western technology. As their professional ideals and methods clash, so inevitably does their relationship. Nicola (Helen McCrory) is Edgar's favoured child, ruthless and unscrupulous in her ambition to emulate her illustrious father.
But it is in China, heading a medical delegation, that Edgar is confronted by an ethical dilemma over the abuse of human rights and is forced into a painful moral awakening which will prove to affect every area of his life.
Cast
|
Actor |
Role |
|---|---|
| Nigel Hawthorne | Dr. Edgar Pascoe |
| Dearbhla Molloy | Dr. Lileth Pascoe |
| Helen McCrory | Nicola Pascoe |
| Dominic Mafham | Daniel Pascoe |
| Robert Langford Lloyd | Dr. Maurice Denton |
| Sylvia Chang | Dr. Zhao Quing |
| Stewart Ong | Dr. Chen |
| Pao Han Lin | Wan Pu |
| John Hartley | Mrs. Youngman |
| Brenda Cavendish | Mrs. Youngman |
| Gareth Armstrong | Profusionist |
| Marian McLoughlin | Margaret Sedgely |
| Sebastian Abineri | Peter Sedgley |
| Ian Aspinall | Dilip |
| Adrian Pang | Lin Ling Tian |
| Simon Slater | Calder |
| Eamon Boland | Deviln |
| Terence Kemp | Mr. Bower-Kemp |
| Gordon Griffin | Flanders |
| Hi Ching | Hang |
| Leader Hawkins | Dr. Manville |
| Gabrielle Lloyd | Nancy Manville |
| Diana Payan | Mrs. Lawson |
| Vincent Marzello | Hugh Lyle |
Award
- BAFTA Awards 1997
- Won Best Actor: Nigel Hawthorne
- Nominated Best Drama Serial: Brian Eastman, Patrick Lau, Paula Milne
- Best Editing (Fiction/Entertainment): Neil Thomson
- Banff Television Festival 1997
- Won Best Mini-Series : Paula Milne, Carnival Film & Television
- Royal Television Society, UK 1997
- Nominated Best Drama Serial
- Nominated Best Actor - Female : Dearbhla Molloy
- London Film Critics' Circle
- Nominated Actress of the Year : Helen McCrory
Home Media
The Fragile Heart was released on DVD on 8 October 2018.
References
- RTS Awards Archive (February 2017), p. 19 (accessed 2017-02-27).