Interview with Emily Feller
Interview with Emily Feller, producer of Trust Me
Published: 26 July 2017
It is an incredibly grounded story based on something very real. Jodie Whittaker is fantastic and is bringing a real honesty to the part
What is Trust Me about?
Trust me is a four-part BBC one drama, which is about a nurse who is struck off for whistle-blowing. She reinvents herself in Scotland as an imposter doctor. It examines all of the many facets and layers of telling lies - not telling people who you really are and finally falling in love with the person that she was always meant to be with. But it can’t ever happen because she’s not who she says she is.
Tell us about the hospital set
We found the old Scottish Water Board Call Centre, which has a massive floor plan, and set about building a hospital A&E ward. It was no mean feat! Our designer Monica Black did an amazing job. We were clear that we didn’t want it to be a brand new hospital, it shouldn’t look white and glass and sparkly at all, it shouldn’t be modern, it needed layers and needed aging and to look like a failing A&E ward that could potentially be shut down. It was a big empty room when we first went in and they’d created this incredible, late 80s hospital set. It was a wonderful team to work with.
Why will audiences enjoy Trust Me?
It is an incredibly grounded story based on something very real; our writer is a doctor and he is still working in A&E wards - the truth that he brings to the setting is incredibly raw and I think audiences will relate to that. Jodie Whittaker is fantastic and is bringing a real honesty to the part and the audience will understand that, and even though she’s made a terrible, terrible decision which is very ambiguous, you will go on that journey with her and engage with her.
Character biographies
Cath Hardacre/Dr. Ally Sutton (Jodie Whittaker)
Everything about Cath says that she is honest, hardworking and uncompromising. In a well intentioned meeting with the hospital board Cath loses her job - and with that the means to provide for her daughter. In a moment of desperation, Cath steals her best friend’s identity and applies for a job in Edinburgh, adopting the persona Dr. Ally Sutton. As Ally, she becomes a trusted member of the emergency department and against her better judgement falls for her colleague, Dr Andy Brenner.
Dr. Andy Brenner (Emun Elliott)
Andy is a consultant in the emergency department, a doctor whose professional and charming manner puts even the most nervous patient at ease. Tired of playing second fiddle to his career, Andy’s ex-wife ended their marriage, taking their children with her. To his surprise, Andy soon finds himself falling for Ally, who is his intellectual counterpart. She represents the light at the end of the tunnel after his painful separation and he finally feels he’s getting his life back on track after the acrimonious split from his ex-wife. But Andy doesn't know Ally as well as he thinks he does...
Dr. Brigitte McAdams (Sharon Small)
If anyone is going to survive the sinking ship of the emergency department, it is Brigitte. She is the clinical lead in the department but she considers it a poisoned chalice of endless paperwork. Openly admitting that she is only in the profession to keep her daughters in private school, Brigitte has fallen out of love with treating patients and lacks confidence when she must take care of a serious medical case. Brigitte’s slightly bonkers approach towards medicine means that her team rally around her when they sense that she is losing her nerve.
Karl (Blake Harrison)
Karl was on the path to making something of his life, but it all came crashing down after he lost his job. With his contract severed and his debt increasing, Karl found himself in the throes of alcohol addiction. His relationship with Cath suffered as a result and they separated shortly afterwards. Since then, Karl has been in a constant cycle in and out of alcohol rehabilitation. When Cath moves to Edinburgh, it gives him the push to change his life for the better. Karl realises how much he misses his daughter Molly being present in his life and vows to do all that he can to be closer to her. But will Karl’s good behaviour be rewarded with the family reunion he longs for?
