DSP, part of EndemolShine UK, has been commissioned by ITV to produce a special documentary looking at one of the worst NHS disasters of all time.

Bad Blood (w/t), due to be broadcast on ITV in 2020, will tell the story of haemophiliacs and the thousands of people who were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C in the 70s and 80s in the UK after they were given infected blood products contaminated with the viruses. Initial estimates suggest 3000 people have died. Those still alive are living with the consequences of the treatment they received.

The documentary will focus on all aspects of this significant time in our health system’s history, from the individual stories and discoveries of those affected to the wider political and economic decisions that led to this tragic outcome.

Programme makers will seek to hear from individuals involved such as the patients and relatives, campaigners, their solicitors, to the Health Minsters, doctors, scientists, Department of Health officials and pharmaceutical company representatives. With exclusive access to Collins Solicitors, the law firm representing over 1,400 individuals who have either been infected or affected by the scandal, the documentary will follow the lawyers as they prepare evidence for the public inquiry which began hearing evidence in public in April 2019. The documentary will also hear from those infected / affected after they deliver testimony to the Infected Blood Public Inquiry itself. The programme will show how this tragedy has caused and continues to cause untold suffering on those affected and seek to explain how the biggest loss of life ever caused by our health system happened.

Diene Petterle, Creative Director for DSP, said:

“Bad Blood is a definitive look at one of the biggest scandals to face the NHS and is an extremely important story to tell. Thousands of lives have been, and continue to be, affected beyond comprehension. Our show will investigate just what happened to cause this shocking tragedy.”

Tom Giles, ITV Controller of Current Affairs, added:

“Through testimony from all sides in this documentary, ITV will shed new light on the story of one of the most shocking episodes in the history of the NHS, when the system failed some of society’s most vulnerable patients.”

Bad Blood (w/t) is a 1×60’ being made by DSP. It was commissioned by Tom Giles, ITV Controller of Current Affairs. The executive producers for DSP are Diene Petterle and Nina Davies. The Director is Grierson award-winner Marcus Plowright.