Channel 4's new one-off drama, Help, explores the impact of Covid-19 on care homes during the early stages of the pandemic, highlighting the exhausted care workers who kept them going. Starring Jodie Comer as Sarah, a young woman who starts working at a fictional Liverpool care home in early 2020, the show emphasises that the skills needed for care work are personal, emotional, and physical, not necessarily academic.
Stephen Graham, who plays resident Tony, a 47-year-old with young-onset Alzheimer's, says the role of a carer requires a special kind of human being. 'Maybe she wasn't the most gifted academically, maybe she wasn't going to change the world with her brain, but she's changing somebody's life,' he said at the show's BFI launch.
The film, written by Jack Thorne, follows Sarah as she adapts to her job and forms a bond with Tony. As the pandemic hits, the care home faces a crisis: multiple residents catch the virus, staff shortages occur, and Sarah is left alone for a night shift. A compelling 25-minute single-take sequence shows her working 20 hours straight, struggling to cope as a resident's condition deteriorates.
Comer described the sequence as the most difficult part of filming, with director Marc Munden pushing for a second take that yielded better results. Critics have praised the drama; Digital Spy's Abby Robinson called it 'one of the most affecting pieces of television ever to grace the small screen', while Victoria Segal of The Times noted its sensitivity and anger.
