24 Hours in A&E recommissioned by Channel 4

8 March 2013

The award-winning and critically-acclaimed documentary series 24 Hours in A&E has been recommissioned from The Garden Productions by Channel 4’s Documentary Commissioning Editors Madonna Benjamin and Mark Raphael, with filming starting on 28 new episodes.

Meanwhile a new 20-part third series is due to broadcast on the channel this spring, alongside a making of documentary.

The series is filmed around the clock at one of Britain’s busiest A&E departments at King’s College Hospital in south London, featuring daily life-or-death dramas.

Each programme focuses on people who were treated within the same 24-hour period, capturing the joy and heartache faced by patients and their families, as well as the hard work and professionalism of the A&E staff.

The new episodes are being filmed with 92 high definition cameras, the most ever used in a series of this kind.

24 Hours in A&E won the 2012 RTS Award for Best Documentary Series and series 2 averaged an audience of over 3 million viewers. 2013 also marks King’s College Hospital’s centenary year.

Mark Raphael, Channel 4’s Documentary Commissioning Editor, said: "24 Hours In A&E is a terrific documentary series, attested to by the critical and viewer reaction, the ratings and the awards it has rightly won. On the one hand it delivers the most amazing access to life-and-death stories that make up the daily work of the hard working staff at King's College Hospital's Emergency Department. But, because all the cases come from just one 24-hour period, just as in real-life, profoundly moving stories are cheek-by-jowl with quirky and downright funny cases. And for the same reason, no two episodes are quite alike."

Nick Curwin, Chief Executive of The Garden Productions and Executive Producer of 24 Hours in A&E said: "Fans of 24 Hours in A&E have a treat in store with a powerful Series 3 starting this Spring – and we're delighted that Channel 4 has ordered a further 28 episodes and that King's College Hospital has welcomed us back to film them there."

Dr Malcolm Tunnicliff, Consultant and Clinical Lead for King’s College Hospital’s Emergency Department, said:

"24 Hours in A&E has allowed TV audiences amazing access to our Accident and Emergency Department, so people can see what we do every day at King's. We've had an overwhelmingly positive response from patients, staff and members of the public and, as important, it has helped us show people the challenges we face day in, day out. It’s a rare and unique way of educating the public about what we do.”