Breathtaking star Joanne Froggart - 'We had a two day medical bootcamp for new Covid drama'

Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt stars in ITV1's new coronavirus drama Breathtaking, which follows hospital consultant Abby as she works on the frontline during the pandemic.The three-part drama looks at how NHS workers in one hospital cope with the national crisis, facing shortages of personal protective equipment whilst caring for their colleagues who contract the deadly virus.

Ahead of the intense filming process, Joanne, 43, underwent two days in a medical boot camp to prepare for the emotionally-taxing role. “We had a crash course in medical school of about 16 hours,” she said. “You have to know what you’re saying. "It has to make sense to you because you can’t make it make sense to somebody else if you don’t fully understand it and believe it yourself." Luckily, the show's medical advisors were on hand to give pointers to Joanne throughout filming. “We had the medical expertise of [advisors] Tom and Andrew bestowed on us but also their personal experiences because they both worked during Covid," she said. “We got very close and we could ask them, ‘What does it feel like when you have to do this?’ and ‘I know you’re not supposed to, but would you hold this person’s hand?’ "It was the little moments of humanity that Tom and Andrew weaved into the story.” Joanne spent many of her scenes in a facemask - which she revealed was a "disconcerting" experience. “It felt so real,” she said. “You go, ‘How am I going to do my acting with only my eyes?’ but then you’re like, ‘Well, this is what people had to do.They had to communicate with their patients with only their eyes.’” She added, “This is a time that every single person has lived through, so I felt a great responsibility because of that. “Cast and crew members had.