Secrets, lies and passion smoulder beneath the glamorous and stylish world of the early 1960s, in the 6-part drama Breathless.

With Britain on the brink of a sexual revolution, the doctors and nurses of a London gynaecology unit are kept busy. Away from the hospital, however, they are fighting complex personal battles of their own. Admired and envied, charismatic surgeon Otto and his wife Elizabeth are the perfect couple, but a secret lurks beneath the immaculate surface of their marriage which could ruin them both. Best friend Charlie is starting to buckle under the pressure of keeping the confidences of their shared past while the dream marriage of sexy nurse Jean to ambitious doctor, Richard, is under threat before it has even begun. When Otto’s head is turned by a new arrival at the hospital, will it be temptation and desire – or the lies of the past – that threaten to destroy their delicate social circle?

EPISODE 1

Otto Powell, a brilliant and charismatic surgeon, is summoned to the theatre where young surgeon and pretender to the throne, Richard Truscott, is about to make a rather serious error. Humiliating though it is Richard has his wife to be, ex-nurse Jean, to take his mind off such things. At a wedding dress fitting with Otto’s wife, Elizabeth, and Charlie’s wife, Lily, makes a stunning confession that will lead to potential heartache later on.

Away from the hospital Otto and his ever-faithful anaesthetist Charlie Enderbury have been called out for a private procedure. Angela, new to the hospital and first time on a private procedure, is appalled when she discovers what the procedure is. Back on the hospital ward Angela is concerned about a young patient, Maureen Mulligan, who is determined to take any measures possible to escape her impending marriage to a man she doesn’t love. Angela intervenes to buy the patient some time before her parents take her home to an unhappy future.

Charlie has his interview for chair of anaesthesiology and meets his rival, Dr Mehta. Initially confident the job was his Charlie lets self-doubt creep in.

A chance sighting of Otto at the hospital by Chief Inspector Mulligan sets in motion the drudging up of an event from Otto’s past that will threaten his entire existence and that of his wife and son.

EPISODE 2

Wedded bliss is short lived for Richard and Jean as on arrival back from their honeymoon and he discovers what she has been trying to keep hidden from him. At work Richard lets the husband of a menopausal patient bully him into prescribing tranquillizers to make the husband’s life easier rather than listening to the patient herself and this could have disastrous consequences. Meanwhile, Jean finds life as a housewife a little uninspiring and despite Lily’s best efforts to teach Jean the ropes she finds Jean a slightly reluctant pupil. Jean is becoming aware of the opportunities now out there for women that go beyond staying at home and cooking dinner for her husband. Later on, a cab pulls up as Richard is leaving work and its occupant provides a huge shock.

Angela is stunned when she returns home to find Otto waiting for her at her door. His fascination with her is palpable and she can’t deny her attraction to him. But for Angela things are more complicated and she has secrets to keep and people to protect.

Elizabeth’s life is turned upside down when she receives a chilling visit from Chief Inspector Mulligan and what he wants to remind her of, an event from her past that may lead to her ruin.

EPISODE 3

Otto, Charlie and Jean have a brush with the law when they attract the attention of the police whilst out on a ‘special’ private procedure. Angela, working nights, is shocked when Jean arrives at the hospital with the patient. She can’t believe that Jean is risking all by working with Otto on the specials but on confronting Jean she sees that all is not well.

Across town and unaware that his wife is out earning a wage, Richard, still hurting from Jean’s betrayal, seeks out a significant and glamorous woman from his past, and is keen to rekindle their romance.

Elizabeth arranges to meet with Chief Inspector Mulligan in the hope she can get rid of him once and for all but his determination to destroy Otto is resolute and more disturbingly it seems he has developed an obsession with her.

Charlie’s anxiety continues unabated and it seems that if he can’t get on top of it there could be disastrous consequences in the operating theatre.

EPISODE 4

In the wake of serious tragedy Charlie is worried about being struck off and he assumes that no one, not even Otto, will defend him. Then when Mehta starts stirring trouble he looks ready to crumble.

Otto, meanwhile, is called away for the night to attend a complicated birth at a hospital in Dorset. Needing a nurse to accompany him he seizes the opportunity to ask Angela but his hopes for the trip are dashed.

Mulligan makes it very clear that what he wants is Elizabeth and if she agrees to his troubling request he will give her what she wants. As a mother Elizabeth will do anything to protect her family but all she has is Mulligan’s word that he will leave them alone once and for all.

Jean wants to repair her crumbling marriage and decides to try a little harder at being a housewife. To Richard’s horror she decides to host a dinner party inviting everybody, including Richard’s parents. With Lily on board to help, Jean’s determined it is going to be a success but events could still go awry.

Back in London a patient comes to see Otto at his private practice who is significant to Richard. Otto needs to do further tests but it seems that she may be seriously ill.

EPISODE 5

Elizabeth continues to try to manage the situation with Mulligan alone but it soon becomes clear that it has spiraled out of control and he cannot be reasoned with.

Angela finally succumbs to her feelings for Otto but before anything can happen Elizabeth and Thomas arrive at the hospital giving Angela a cruel and humiliating reminder that he is a married man.

Charlie has a job opportunity in St Albans and Lily sees a future that she has never quite felt was attainable in London, with Charlie permanently in Otto’s shadow. Charlie too is seduced by the possibility of this new future but he may not be capable of breaking away.

Out of bad situations comes the opportunity for good, at least this is what Otto is counting on when he orchestrates a risky plan to set Richard and Jean’s crumbling marriage back on track.

EPISODE 6
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A lavish fundraiser and beauty pageant at the hospital brings everyone together. While reluctant nurses parade in their swimwear and raucous doctors jeer and heckle, Elizabeth persists in keeping her troubles with Mulligan from Otto, Richard and Jean put on a brave face despite the hurt that brews so keenly beneath the surface and from the sidelines, Angela once again is reminded of the fact that Otto is married. Later Otto, worried Angela has been frightened off for good, decides to tell her the truth but an unhappy coincidence brings him face to face with Mulligan, diverting his attention to the urgent and dangerous matter of burying his past, once and for all.

In the wake of tragedy, Richard and Jean find themselves drifting through the days and need to do something soon if they are to save their troubled marriage. An opportunity appears for healing and letting go of the past.

Otto is confident that he can control Mulligan and eliminate the threat he poses but Mulligan’s obsession with Elizabeth knows no bounds and he should not be underestimated. Charlie, unable to trust Otto to take care of things, looks to take drastic and irreversible action while Elizabeth, though relieved to no longer be fighting this madman alone, finds herself burdened by a new discovery of her own.

A prearranged meeting between Angela and Otto, where surely the truth will finally be told, is threatened, not just by the situation with Mulligan but by another ghost; a ghost from Angela’s past.