Jed Mercurio Remembers... Cardiac Arrest

2023

12min

Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio looks back on the first drama he wrote and the start of his extraordinary journey from junior doctor to award-winning TV showrunner. The acclaimed 1994 series 'Cardiac Arrest' featured a cast of then unknown actors, including future Friends star Helen Baxendale, and captured the realities of life working on a hospital ward in 90s Britain. Jed recalls what motivated him to become more than just a series advisor to the point where he ended up taking over script-writer duties; the controversy around the series that saw even the then Health Secretary getting involved, and the real-life stresses he's experienced as a doctor that made their way into the scripts.