Filming starts this month of ITV’s new six part medical drama, The Good Karma Hospital, produced by Tiger Aspect Drama, with Amanda Redman, Amrita Acharia, Neil Morrissey, Phyllis Logan, James Floyd, Darhsan Jariwalla and Sagar Radia taking leading roles.
Set in a coastal town in tropical South India, the series tells the story of British-Asian junior doctor, Ruby Walker, played by Amrita Acharia (Game of Thrones), who arrives at the run-down Good Karma Hospital to join a dedicated team of over-worked medics. Run by a gloriously eccentric Englishwoman, Lydia Fonseca, played by acclaimed British actress Amanda Redman, this under-funded but creatively resourceful cottage hospital is the beating heart of the local community. It’s much more than just a medical outpost - it’s a home.
With casting from both the UK and Mumbai, The Good Karma Hospital is life-affirming, contemporary drama full of extraordinary characters from all walks of life.
Of her casting as Dr Lydia Fonseca, Amanda Redman (New Tricks, Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This) said:
“I leapt at the chance to play Dr Lydia Fonseca. She is a great character and the scripts are terrific. I have always loved India and Sri Lanka. The people and varied cultures are fascinating, so spending time filming here couldn't be better. I also love the food, but will have to try and restrain myself. Easier said than done!”
Amrita Acharia said of Ruby: “It’s great to be cast in a Brit-Asian lead role in what’s an atypical coming-of-age story in many ways. The role of Ruby will be exciting to explore as she uproots the only home she knows, to be thrown into the deep end of a place with a different perspective on universal dilemmas of life, love, success and failure, and ultimately confronts herself with the past she was escaping from.”
Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey), who plays adventurous and fun loving Maggie Smart, said:
“I’m so pleased to be playing a character with such humour and joie de vivre, and I love how Dan’s scripts slowly reveal her secret that will change her family forever. I can’t wait to bring her story to life."
The Good Karma Hospital is currently filming in Sri Lanka