Coronavirus has spun the whole world on its axis.  It will never be the same again.  For a good long while, we were completely grounded to a halt and even now (unless you happened to be a Tory, of course).  With restrictions lifted, things are still so different, so many of us still do everything with such an awareness of Covid lurking around every corner.  We don’t just leave the house having to remember our keys, wallet and phone anymore – it’s always hand gel and facemasks too now.

For the first time ever, all our soaps had to stop filming.  A lot of them filmed far enough in advance that will a lot of gapping, they were able to keep on air.  Eastenders shortened their episodes.  We got a lot of classic Hollyoaks!  And we still don’t have a full week of Doctors.  I miss it terribly on a Friday.

In summer 2020, Doctors put together one of the most amazing pieces of television ever.  Filmed on phones and computers at the actors’ homes, they produced a Covid special that brought so many viewers, including myself to tears.  It charted them, as frontline workers, all checking in with each other as they battled Covid.  Ruhma then developed Covid symptoms and was eventually brought back from the brink.  It was just incredible.  The script.  The story.  The fact that they managed to put it together in those circumstances and with such little time.  And the sheer tribute to the true NHS who were and continue to go through hell to save all our lives.

But then Doctors resumed as if that episode had never happened and Covid didn’t exist.  Ruhma continued her storyline where she was actually suspended from work (so how could she have been working during the pandemic and therefore nearly died of Covid?) and not a single cast member mentioned Coronavirus for weeks or months.  There were no signs, no hand gels and the cast were just socially distanced like they’d had a bit of a row.  As for patients, they just seemed utterly incompetent.  How do you treat an emergency without actually going near someone?

Eventually, they started slipping the odd mention of Covid into the script.  So, did they recognise their mistake that as a medical drama, they were in a position to really tackle a really important subject?  The fallout of Covid is not just physical but the mental torture people have gone and are going through is immense, particularly being trapped inside and then being too scared to venture back out.  And you know what?  I bet a lot of those people will be watching shows like Doctors!  Their writing team are so incredibly talented.  They have tackled so many stories, particularly recently in such an educational way without preaching or patronising.  They are challenging and sensitive as well as entertaining and they could do so much for people in terms of exploring the after effects of this hideous pandemic.

Well, apparently they have realised this because recently, there was a fantastic episode which told the story of a woman who had become so anxious about going back out after being trapped in, shielding, that she almost didn’t make it to her vaccination at The Mill.  She lost her son to Covid (highlighting the awful situation where people with learning difficulties were not initially prioritised for the vaccination).  There was also an episode where a taxi driver had become so overwhelmed with protecting her cab and herself and her customers during the pandemic from germs, that it had spun completely out of control.

These were such a good episodes and I for one, would love more of them.  I don’t want to be beaten over the head with Covid episodes.  There’s enough of it in life and on the actual news but episodes that are more reflective of the world we are currently living in are most definitely welcome.