Maternal: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: Episode 1

It's August 2022 and Maryam, Catherine and Helen – three friends and colleagues at City General Hospital – are returning to work after maternity leave.

Maryam, a Paediatrician, is nervous. She's been away for two years and she isn't prepared for being thrust into frontline duties on Day One. But such is the under-staffed NHS, and once Maryam gets into the swing of things she begins to feel the buzz of the vocation she loves. Over the course of the week, however, things change, as Maryam faces the demands of being on-call alongside supervising new F1 Simon Segman, all while trying to treat a young boy in her care.

After nine months maternity leave, surgeon Catherine is desperate to get stuck back in. She also wants to bag a Consultant job, which is the only way she can manage her life as a single mum to daughter Elis. But making Consultant won't be easy, not least because she'll be in direct competition with her ex, Jack. And things are set to get even more complicated as Lars – a fellow surgeon who Catherine had a fling with – arrives in town from Sweden, and Catherine decides to break the news to him that he is Elis' dad.

Mum-of-three Helen's life is chaotic, and now she's back at work on the same ward as husband Guy… as his junior. Add to this the fact that Guy had an affair with a young female colleague and it's not surprising that Helen's personal problems often play out at work. Helen is a skilled doctor who intuitively diagnoses an elderly patient and takes Tessa, an F1, under her wing. But will she be able to get past Guy's betrayal enough to keep doing her job and holding everything, and everyone, together?