The Fragile Heart

The Fragile Heart
GenreMedical drama
Created byPaula Milne
Written byPaula Milne
Directed byPatrick Lau
StarringNigel Hawthorne
Dearbhla Molloy
Helen McCrory
Dominic Mafham
Robert Langdon Lloyd
Sylvia Chang
ComposerGavin Greenaway
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
ProducerBrian Eastman
CinematographyNicholas D. Knowland
EditorNeil Thomson
Running time55 minutes (including adverts)
Production companyCarnival Film and Television
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release6 November (1996-11-06) –
20 November 1996 (1996-11-20)

The Fragile Heart is a BAFTA award-winning British medical drama television series created by Paula Milne and first aired on Channel 4 from 6 to 20 November 1996. The series was nominated for the Royal Television Society award for Best Drama Serial.[1]

Story

Edgar Pascoe (Nigel Hawthorne) is a highly successful and charismatic cardiac surgeon. Pre-eminent in his field, he is the embodiment of the upper echelons of medicine: urbane, assured, supremely confident in his own abilities. But he is not infallible - either in the operating theatre or in his private life with his divided family.

Edgar's wife Lileth (Dearbhla Molloy), a dedicated and compassionate country GP, is increasingly drawn to the holistic arts of healing still practiced in the East, but scorned by purveyors of Western technology. As their professional ideals and methods clash, so inevitably does their relationship. Nicola (Helen McCrory) is Edgar's favoured child, ruthless and unscrupulous in her ambition to emulate her illustrious father.

But it is in China, heading a medical delegation, that Edgar is confronted by an ethical dilemma over the abuse of human rights and is forced into a painful moral awakening which will prove to affect every area of his life.

Cast

Actor

Role
Nigel Hawthorne Dr. Edgar Pascoe
Dearbhla Molloy Dr. Lileth Pascoe
Helen McCrory Nicola Pascoe
Dominic Mafham Daniel Pascoe
Robert Langford Lloyd Dr. Maurice Denton
Sylvia Chang Dr. Zhao Quing
Stewart Ong Dr. Chen
Pao Han Lin Wan Pu
John Hartley Mrs. Youngman
Brenda Cavendish Mrs. Youngman
Gareth Armstrong Profusionist
Marian McLoughlin Margaret Sedgely
Sebastian Abineri Peter Sedgley
Ian Aspinall Dilip
Adrian Pang Lin Ling Tian
Simon Slater Calder
Eamon Boland Deviln
Terence Kemp Mr. Bower-Kemp
Gordon Griffin Flanders
Hi Ching Hang
Leader Hawkins Dr. Manville
Gabrielle Lloyd Nancy Manville
Diana Payan Mrs. Lawson
Vincent Marzello Hugh Lyle

Award

  • BAFTA Awards 1997
  • Banff Television Festival 1997
    • Won Best Mini-Series : Paula Milne, Carnival Film & Television
  • Royal Television Society, UK 1997
    • Nominated Best Drama Serial
    • Nominated Best Actor - Female : Dearbhla Molloy
  • London Film Critics' Circle

Home Media

The Fragile Heart was released on DVD on 8 October 2018.

References

  1. ^ RTS Awards Archive (February 2017), p. 19 (accessed 2017-02-27).