Returning to the Frontline: Q&A with the team behind ITV’s Maternal

Join WFTV for a conversation with some of the team from the new ITV drama: Show creator and executive producer Jacqui Honess-Martin, producer Betsan Morris Evans, directors Amanda Blue and Rebecca Gatward, alongside lead actors Lisa McGrillis, Lara Pulver and Parminder Nagra.

Maternal tells the stories of Maryam, a Paediatric Registrar, Catherine, a General and Trauma Surgeon, and Helen, a Registrar in Acute Medicine, as they each attempt to balance their increasingly demanding jobs in post-pandemic frontline medicine with their lives as new mothers.

Maternal is a love letter to women on the NHS frontline who are holding it together.

Jacqui Honess-Martin, creator and executive producer

Jacqui is the creator, writer and executive producer of Maternal, due to premiere on ITV in January 2023. Prior to working in TV, Jacqui had a 15 year career in theatre as a director, writer, dramaturg and producer. She currently lives in Leeds.

Amanda Blue, director Amanda Blue is a multi-award-winning filmmaker whose work as a director spans documentary, commercials, comedy, and drama. She has been nominated for and won numerous awards across the world. She started her career working for Oscar nominated film director, Mike Figgis. Amanda’s track record as a critically acclaimed documentary director of  international repute has seen her nominated for a BAFTA as Best Director, AACTA awards for Best Film and Direction, Australian Directors Guild Awards, a Prix Europa, win a BAANF for best series and the NSW Premier Literary Award for Scriptwriting. Her feature length drama documentary Deep Water was nominated for 14 awards. Her move into directing commercials brought similar acclaim and an array of awards, including a Cannes Lion, Kinsale Sharks, Lia awards and New York Festival awards. In recent years she’s moved into directing fiction. Directing the much-lauded scripted comedy How Europe Stole My Mum for the UK’s Channel 4 based on the award-winning Edinburgh show. The follow up to this How We Forgot To Save The Planet recently won the RTS for Best Comedy. She directed the third series of The Windsors for Channel 4/Netflix, the much- adored comedy series satirising the royal family. Last year she directed the comedy series Newark, Newark and has just completed directing two episodes of Maternal. She is currently writing her debut feature for Screen Australia and has a TV series in development with SKY.

Betsan Morris Evans, producer

Betsan Morris Evans has over 35 years experience in the film and TV industry as a Director and Producer. She Directed numerous successful TV series such as Band of Gold and Waking the Dead alongside single films . Spoonface Steinberg by Lee Hall and Dad Savage for the cinema. She is also works regularly as a Commercials Director . Shooting campaigns for L’oreal, Aldi ,Mcdonalds etc. Recent TV that she has Produced include Zadie Smith’s NW, The City and the City ,War of the Worlds ,Ridley Road and Maternal.

Rebecca Gatward, director

Rebecca Gatward is a Drama director known for working across different media and genre. She has been working as a television director since 2008 and as a Theatre Director since 1995.  She has worked with many of the UK’s leading actors on stage including work for the RSC and Shakespeare’s Globe and and has brought her individual style to many of our favourite TV shows as well as originating new ones. She recently directed the final four episodes of the acclaimed Apple show Bad Sisters, has helmed the second season of Alex Rider, contributed two episodes to the critically acclaimed Dublin Murders and kicked off the first original Drama for Alibi: Traces which was commissioned for a second season. Other work includes The Spanish Princess, Shetland, Cold Feet and Grantchester.

Event Schedule:

17:55: Please join the webinar waiting room

18:00: Panel talk

18:45: Audience Q&A

19:00: Finish

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