Trust Me- Episode 1

Jodie Whittaker will now forever be known as the Thirteenth Doctor but before her Doctor Who debut she appears as the main character in Trust Me- a woman who pretends to be a doctor.

Cath Hardacre is suspended from her nursing job after causing a nuisance of herself, gathering data about mistakes in patient care and considering giving them to the press. But when the opportunity comes to take on the identity of a doctor she decides to take it and finds herself working as a doctor at an A and E department in Edinburgh.

The moment Cath decides to take on the role of a doctor is an interesting one. It's not really clear what her motivation is. She has a child to support but there's plenty of other jobs she could do. Maybe it's because she genuinely wants to help and make a difference to people. Surely though she knows that her masquerading as a doctor would put lives at risk eventually.

Much of the episode sees Cath working in the emergency department, constantly fearing that she is going to be found out. She makes minor mistakes, like not giving anesthetic when she sets bones. But she is medically trained and with a bit of research manages to get by and become popular with her colleagues. Writer Dan Sefton says that it would be relatively easy to get away with if you had enough medical knowledge and that fake doctors would likely be better than some real doctors.

At the moment, it's not entirely clear where this series is going. All we can say for sure is that Cath is going to be found out- it's just a question of when and by who. She's seen here beginning a relationship with colleague Andy and I could imagine that he might not give her up if he is the one to find out. There's certainly plenty of threats on the horizon such as the journalist trying to get hold of her and the need to present a passport.

The pace is relatively slow but this episode is all about setting up the deception and how Cath manages to get away with it. Surely it's going to be the fallout where the drama really comes. Jodie Whittaker is great here despite not having a great emotional role as yet. What her performance really does capture is her fear, the way she constantly worries she has just been found out. It's all in the body language and Whittaker shows how great an actress she is by saying everything without words.

An intriguing start and I look forward to where the series will go next...