HELP viewers were left ‘in floods of tears’ at Jodie Comer’s harrowing scenes as Covid ripped through a care home.
The Killing Eve actress plays a care home worker called Sarah, who works at Bright Sky Homes, which looks after elderly and vulnerable people.
Set before and during the March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the UK, Help proved to be a tough watch for viewers from the get go.
Sarah started working at the care home before the pandemic and grows close to Tony – played by Stephen Graham – a man with early onset dementia.
But as the pandemic hit, residents were forced to isolate in their rooms and stop having visitors, before some started to die from the virus.
One scene saw a resident called Kenny struggling to breathe as Sarah desperately struggled to get hold of anyone to help.
She told her boss on the phone: “Steve, Kenny is not well, and I can’t get a doctor out.”
In desperation, she sought Tony’s help but it was too late, as Kenny passed away from the virus.
Viewers were in tears at the scenes, with one writing on Twitter: “Heartbreaking drama #help on C4. Set in a care home as Covid struck. It’s such a tough watch.”
Another added: “Devastating and utterly heartbreaking, but absolutely phenomenal. Whilst wiping back the tears – thank you to all those involved in telling this beautiful and important story. The truth… #Help @Channel4.”
A third shared: “It’s hard to watch, knowing what we know now. Jeez it’s so sad!”
Meanwhile a fellow viewer tweeted: “There’s a sense of unfolding horror in #Help. How frightening it must’ve been to be working in a care home at that time – inadequate PPE, staff shortages, unforgivable lack of testing. And it’s not over.”
The Care Workers’ Charity was also full of praise for the show, saying in a statement: “As the UK’s Charity for the social care workforce, we were proud that the sector and its outstanding workers were represented in this moving and powerful film.
“The acting of all involved was phenomenal- with the mood and setting of the piece perfectly conveying the apocalyptic nature of the experience endured by those who worked in the social care sector during the pandemic.
“We cannot praise Help enough for the way it accurately portrayed the feelings of despair and abandonment felt by those who work in the sector.”
Help is available on All4.
