A new "nail-biting" medical thriller starring actress Niamh Algar is set to air on ITV this weekend.
Filmed in and around Leeds, five-part series Malpractice is produced by World Productions, the company behind The Pembrokeshire Murders and Line of Duty. The plot centres around Dr Lucinda Edwards, played by Niamh Algar whose nightmare shift ends in the death of one of her patients.
The patient's grieving father demands an inquiry into Lucinda’s actions which leads to a medical investigation. While some feel this was an unavoidable tragedy, others are suspicious of Lucinda’s behaviour and decisions in the lead up to the patient’s death.
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Through the cat and mouse thriller of the medical investigation, the show tells the story of a damaged doctor caught up in a dangerous conspiracy. Written by former doctor Grace Ofori-Attah and directed by Boiling Point’s Philip Barantini, the first episode will air at 9pm on Sunday, April 23.
Among the cast are Hannah Walters (Boiling Point, Time) in the role of Matron Beth Relph, Priyanka Patel (Britney, Another Me) as Dr Ramya Morgan and Scott Chambers (Chicken, Innocent S2). In the lead role is Irish and BAFTA-nominated actress Niamh Algarve.
Below we take a look at her impressive career, life and relationship with her co-star.
Early life and career
Niamh grew up with four siblings in Mullingar, Ireland. When she told her parents she wanted to become an actress, they weren't thrilled due to the unpredictable nature of the industry.
However, undeterred, Niamh still pursued her dream job and graduated from the Programme of Screen Acting at the Bow Street Academy in Dublin. Since then, the 30-year-old has appeared in numerous TV shows and films including Channel 4 drama The Virtues and HBO's Raised by Wolves.
She was nominated for both a TV Bafta last year for Deceit and a 2021 film Bafta for Calm With Horses.
How Niamh prepared for Malpractice role
To prepare for the role of Dr Lucinda Edwards Niamh spent time shadowing medics in hospitals and bought a medical dictionary to learn all the jargon. She said in an interview with the PA news agency that acting surgery scenes on prosthetics was new for her and there was pressure to get it right because there were limited prosthetics to use.
She said: “The beads of sweat and the handshakes, that’s all real, because you’re just terrified. If we f*** this up now we can’t go again."
Personal life
Niamh enjoys an active lifestyle which includes going on regular runs, horse riding and boxing. The latter, she picked up as a teenager after being attacked by a group of girls from another school.
She told MailOnline it had actually been her mother's idea to learn how to box. She said: "The boxing was about making me strong emotionally and physically, so I had the confidence to go back to school.
"My mum wanted to make sure I was able to meet these challenges head on."
Niamh is currently dating co-star Lorne MacFadyen who plays her husband Tom in Malpractice. The Scottish actor is known for starring in Grantchester alongside Happy Valley actor James Norton, Vigil and Outlaw King.
Childhood hero
In previous interview Niamh revealed film director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Hannibal) had been her childhood hero and she was thrilled when she finally got to work with him for Raised by Wolves. As part of her audition tape, Niamh had recorded a clip of herself boxing, hoping it would impress the panel.
She told The Guardian: “It’s that Ridley Scott world, where a lot of his female characters are not just emotionally strong, but they’re also quite physically strong. You look at Sigourney Weaver, and she completely commands her space. So I just put myself on tape, doing some pad work in the gym. I think they were probably like: this is unusual.”
Malpractice starts on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, April 23.
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