Care: What the reviewers think

Our Must Watch reviewers, Scott Bryan, TV Editor at Buzzfeed, and Emma Bullimore from the TV Times, review Care, which is on BBC One at 21:00 on Sunday 9 December.

What did you think? Leave your comments below...

Emma says: "This is every child's worst nightmare"

"Jimmy McGovern [screenwriter] is saying there's not enough support for an aging population, in which dementia is becoming an increasing problem and no-one really quite knows how to deal with it. The way he presents it shows the NHS wanting rid of this patient, get another bed and fill in whatever forms they need to, to get this patient off their hands.

"Then, the patient's children don't really know what to do. They don't know where to go, where to turn - they've got no resources to set her up in a nursing home. The NHS nursing home is shown to be horrendous. They can't afford the private one.

"I have to say, I was dreading watching this - it was a real slog. It is powerful, it is important - I want to put it in front of Theresa May and the people that have to make decisions. But even with such an amazing cast, it's just really hard to watch.

"This is every child's worst nightmare - that you not only have to look after your parent, but that they don't even know who you are. Your whole life changes overnight. Luckily I haven't been personally affected by this, but even so, I found it so difficult to watch.

"It is unremittingly bleak for the first hour and 15 minutes. 

"Jimmy McGovern has important points to make - it is superbly done, and it is amazingly acted - but who's actually going to choose to watch it?"

Scott says: "This is another important discussion that needs the limelight"

"I'd say it's the most uncomfortable hour and a half of drama I've seen all year. There's a scene about 30 minutes in where Mary [Alison Steadman] and Jenny [Sheridan Smith] go over the care and you can just see Mary wailing during this meeting because she's trying to communicate the horrific experience she's having.

"You see the other people in the room who decide about the care she's going to have next - they seem to not really care that much about her, and they're just trying to move her on as quickly as possible and she starts to agonise and stress and starts crying and her kids start crying.

"It was one of those moments of drama where I just couldn't look at the screen.

"I think it's something that's profoundly personal - it makes you think about the situation and how you would react if you were in that circumstance. I found that quite difficult.

"Jimmy McGovern said that this is an issue that is so important, particularly with an aging population, that we need to talk about it more.

"The irony was a Brexit debate nearly knocked it off the schedule - a BBC press officer says it will still be on. 

"This is another important discussion that needs to have some limelight."

Care is on BBC One on Sunday 09 December 2018 at 21:00.

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