James Nesbitt lands role in ITV medical drama

James Nesbitt lands role in ITV medical drama (Image credit: Ken McKay/Rex Features)

James Nesbitt will play the title role in a new medical drama for ITV1. The former Cold Feet star will play a flawed but brilliant neurosurgeon in the drama, written and created by Peter Bowker and produced by Mammoth Screen. Each week, the drama explores how patients, relatives and medical staff are affected by life and death situations that occur in a modern urban hospital. At the heart of this is Monroe, his trainees, his anaesthetist and his female colleague, heart surgeon, Jenny Bremner. Laura Mackie, ITV's Director of Drama Commissioning, said: "Monroe will breathe new life into the medical genre, I hope the combination of Pete's sharp and pacy script and Jimmy's performance as the charismatic surgeon will make this one of the most compelling new dramas for 2011." Monroe starts filming in Leeds this September.