The BBC’s adaptation of This Is Going To Hurt is based on the bestselling book of the same name written by Adam Kay.

We first heard back in mid-2018 that the Beeb was planning to bring us a new comedy drama series based on Adam Kay’s bestselling junior doctor diaries This Is Going To Hurt, but it’s been very quiet since then. This week, however, we’ve learned that A Very English Scandal‘s Ben Whishaw has now been chosen to lead the show, playing the TV version of Kay. It’s also been announced that AMC have partnered with the BBC for the project, so that it will also have a home in the US when it arrives.

“[This Is Going To Hurt is] an honest, hilarious, heartbreaking look at the great [NHS] institution and the army of unsung heroes who work there under the most stressful conditions,” said Whishaw in a statement. “The COVID-19 crisis has now shed even more light on their great work and underlines the necessity to support the NHS and its workers. I look forward to telling this story.”

Here’s the official summary of Kay’s book, to give you a taste of what the series might entail:

“Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. He kept a diary throughout his training, and This Is Going to Hurt intersperses tales from the front line of the NHS with reflections on the current crisis. The result is a first-hand account of life as a junior doctor in all its joy, pain, sacrifice and maddening bureaucracy, and a love letter to those who might at any moment be holding our lives in their hands.”

And here’s what Kay, who is adapting his own diaries for television, had to say about the project:

“Junior doctors tend to have a rather quiet voice compared to the politicians, which is understandable – you don’t have much spare time if you’re working 100 hour weeks. It’s been a huge privilege to have my diaries reach so many readers and it’s been absolutely humbling to see their reaction. I’m beyond delighted to now be able to share my story with a far wider audience and make the viewers of BBC Two laugh, cry and vomit.”

Dan McDermott, president of original programming and co-president of AMC Studios, has said “As we continue to search for unique voices and uncover authentic and rarely seen worlds, we’re proud to once again partner with the remarkable creative team at Sister on this timely series focusing a lens on the societal and cultural issues surrounding the healthcare system.”

More soon.