Casting announced for new ITV medical drama

ITV has announced the cast for its new, six-part medical drama The Good Karma Hospital, as filming commences.

Produced by Tiger Aspect, and created and written by Dan Sefton (The Five, Mr Selfridge) – with scripts also from Vinay Patel and Nancy Harris – the series stars both UK and Mumbai actors, including Amanda Redman (New Tricks), Amrita Acharia (Game of Thrones), Neil Morrissey (Line Of Duty), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), James Floyd (Of Kings and Prophets), Darhsan Jariwalla and Sagar Radia (Stan Lee’s Lucky Man).

Set in a coastal town in tropical South India, The Good Karma Hospital tells the story of British-Asian junior doctor, Ruby Walker (Acharia), who arrives at the run-down Good Karma Hospital to join a dedicated team of over-worked medics. Run by a gloriously eccentric Englishwoman, Lydia Fonseca (Redman), this under-funded but creatively resourceful cottage hospital is the beating heart of the local community. It’s much more than just a medical outpost – it’s a home.

Amanda Redman, said: “I leapt at the chance to play Dr Lydia Fonseca. She is a great character and the scripts are terrific. I have always loved India and Sri Lanka. The people and varied cultures are fascinating, so spending time filming here couldn’t be better. I also love the food, but will have to try and restrain myself. Easier said than done!”

Amrita Acharia, said: “It’s great to be cast in a Brit-Asian lead role in what’s an atypical coming-of-age story in many ways. The role of Ruby will be exciting to explore as she uproots the only home she knows, to be thrown into the deep end of a place with a different perspective on universal dilemmas of life, love, success and failure, and ultimately confronts herself with the past she was escaping from.”

Phyllis Logan, who plays adventurous and fun loving Maggie Smart, said: “I’m so pleased to be playing a character with such humour and joie de vivre, and I love how Dan’s scripts slowly reveal her secret that will change her family forever. I can’t wait to bring her story to life.”

Executive Producer Will Gould (alongside Frith Tiplady and Iona Vrolyk), said: “We’re really excited to be working with Dan on his first original series commission. His scripts are as evocative as they are entertaining, full of wonderfully flawed but fascinating characters that find their place in the world a long way from home. The scripts have attracted a brilliantly distinctive cast, and we can’t wait to start filming to bring their extraordinary stories to life.”

The Good Karma Hospital begins shooting on location in Sri Lanka this month (August 2016), with the first episodes directed by Bill Eagles (Gotham).