BBC Two Adapts Medical Memoir, Renews Million Pound Menu

BBC Two has commissioned a sophomore season of Million Pound Menu and is adapting Adam Kay’s memoir This Is Going to Hurt for TV.

Restaurant general manager Fred Sirieix returns to host Million Pound Menu. In season two, budding restauranteurs will once again vie for life-changing investments in the food concepts they believe will be the next big culinary hit.

Patrick Holland, controller of BBC Two, said, “Million Pound Menu taps into a real world of wannabe entrepreneurs and life-changing investments. We saw enough from series one to know that this is a format that could really flourish on the channel.”

Sirieix commented, “It is such a pleasure to be looking for the next set of operators for the new series of Million Pound Menu. Most people think money makes successful businesses. This is not true. First, you need a great idea, top-notch business plan and, most importantly, a can-do attitude. Get those right and the money will follow. I can’t wait; this new series is going to be incredible!”

Meredith Chambers, joint managing director of Electric Ray, added, “We have loved making Million Pound Menu and look forward to starting the search to find the top new restaurateurs of the future.”

This Is Going to Hurt is junior doctor and best-selling author Kay’s personal account of life in the hospital wards. The piece will be adapted into an eight-part comedy-drama produced by Sister Pictures. Kay is adapting the book for television.

Kay stated, “Junior doctors tend to have a rather quiet voice compared to the politicians, which is understandable—you don’t have much spare time if you’re working 100-hour weeks. It’s been a huge privilege to have my diaries reach so many readers and it’s been absolutely humbling to see their reaction. I’m beyond delighted to now be able to share my story with a far wider audience and make the viewers of BBC Two laugh, cry and vomit.”

Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, noted, “The anarchic, laugh-out-loud tone of Adam’s memoir masks a frank, insightful and often visceral portrait of a committed young professional struggling to do the job of his dreams. It is a deeply personal but definitive account of the 21st century NHS and we are thrilled that Adam and the team at Hootenanny and Sister have chosen BBC Two as the place to bring it to screen.”

Patrick Holland, controller of BBC Two, remarked, “Adam is an extraordinary talent with a unique story to tell. His memoir This Is Going to Hurt leaps off the page with its candor, coruscating wit, intelligence and timeliness. This new series promises scintillating writing about a subject that is at the center of national life. I am so delighted Adam and Sister Pictures have brought this to BBC Two.”

Naomi de Pear, executive producer, said, “Hospitals are remarkable places where human beings are seen in all of their glory—where people are their bravest, kindest and sometimes silliest. And the world is envious of our hospitals for a reason, because they represent a system built on the humane belief that people deserve to be treated equally whatever their financial situation, especially in their hour of need. We want this show to be a call to arms.”