In Cold Blood

A 90-minute feature-length documentary for ITV’s Bafta-winning Exposure strand examines the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history. In the 1970s, a new treatment for haemophilia known as Factor VIII was prescribed on the NHS. It infected over 1,300 people with HIV and more than 4,000 people with Hepatitis C.

In the same week the long public inquiry looking into this scandal re-opens, In Cold Blood offers a window into a tragedy which killed more people than Grenfell, Hillsborough, 7/7 and the Birmingham bombings combined. Yet its scale and impact has until now been relatively understated in Britain.

With access to hundreds of previously unexamined documents from inside the government, In Cold Blood  explores the full story behind the scandal, and investigates claims that warnings were systematically ignored and subsequently covered up. In the wake of Covid-19, this landmark film tells some shocking truths about our Health Service’s past – at a time when, perhaps more than ever, we are looking for it to function properly.

★★★★★ THE INDEPENDENT
“A difficult and powerful watch”

★★★★ THE TIMES
“A vital film”

★★★★ THE TELEGRAPH
“A staggering investigation to make your blood boil”

Production Company: Darlow Smithson for ITV
Director: Marcus Plowright
Producers: Celia Watson, Marcus Plowright
Editor: Leigh Brzezki
Composer: Alexander Parsons