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A BITTER PILL -
THE SODIUM VALPROATE SCANDAL

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A Bitter Pill: The Sodium Valproate Scandal (w/t), which reveals the largely untold story of the most widespread medical scandal pregnant women in Britain have ever faced.

Sodium valproate is a very effective drug for treating epilepsy but if taken during pregnancy, it can have devastating consequences - around one in nine babies will have a physical birth defect, and around three or four may have developmental problems. The scale is truly shocking as approximately 20,000 children in the UK have been affected - a greater number than thalidomide.*

This film reveals the ‘David vs Goliath’ battle of two working-class mums, Janet Williams and Emma Murphy, who were ignored and dismissed by doctors and the drug company. Born years apart but drawn together by their ordeal of trying to find answers to why their children had developmental abnormalities, finally discovering each other by coincidence, they take us on an extraordinary unfolding story that spans three decades.

CREDITS

 

Development Executive

LORRAINE CHARKER-PHILLIPS

 

Development Producers

FRED MERCER

LAURA SMITH

 

Music

LOUIS DODD

 

Directors of Photography

JON SAYERS

 

Production Accountant

MADDIE WILLIAMS

 

Animation

THE TIN BEAR PROJECT

 

Programme Legal Advice

CLARE HOBAN

 

Line Producer

CAROLINE MCGUIRE

 

Head of Production

SHOLA SITTABEY

 

Producer

TAMMY HALE

 

Editor

TOM HERINGTON

 

Executive Producer

BEN GALE

 

Director

LOTTIE GAMMON

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