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A BITTER PILL -
THE SODIUM VALPROATE SCANDAL
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
