The Good Karma Hospital is returning for its fourth series later this month

Virgin Radio

13 Jan 2022, 09:14

The popular medical drama, set against the stunning scenery of Sri Lanka, is coming back to our screens, adding to an already exciting schedule of telly on Sunday nights.

Airing at 8pm on ITV from 23rd January, the fourth series of The Good Karma Hospital slots into the TV schedule just before the premiere of new ITV drama Trigger Point, which stars Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure, as a bomb disposal officer.

That sounds like a brilliant couple of hours’ of television to us!

The new series of The Good Karma Hospital will see the return of our favourite stars, including Amanda Redman, Amrita Acharia, Neil Morrissey, Darshan Jariwala and Nimmi Harasgama.

We’re also going to meet some new characters in the upcoming episodes, including Dr Samir Hasan (played by Harki Bhambra from Our Girl, Call The Midwife), a British Asian surgeon who has left Britain for India for reasons that prove a bit too emotional to share.

Also new to the cast is Rebecca Ablack (Ginny & Georgia, Let It Snow) as Dr Nikita ‘Niki’ Sharma, a young, newly qualified doctor, whose father is a highly successful surgeon in Kochi. Raquel Cassidy, Ace Bhatti, Connor Catchpole, Chetna Pandya, and Jonas Khan will feature as well.

Amanda Redman, who plays Dr Lydia Fonseca, said that putting the latest series together has been the “happiest time” she has spent making The Good Karma Hospital, even though it was filmed in the middle of the pandemic. 

She told press: "I had a bit of trepidation before I went out there because I just couldn't imagine what it would be like, but actually, in my opinion it was the happiest time I've spent there."

She continued: "We were in our bubbles, it was just us in this hotel and we did become this family, we became incredibly close. We knew each other very well anyway, but I think we got to know each other so well."

Explaining that the cast ate dinner together, and went for swims, she also revealed that co-star Neil Morrissey got behind the wheels of steel. “We all did different things. We had a disco, Neil was the disc jockey, Nimmi threw a party, we watched films...it was really special.”

Talking about his time on the DJ decks, Morrissey said: “I delved way back into the 70s and gave the players what they want - T Rex or Dua Lipa, I could provide all!”

Meanwhile series creator Dan Sefton revealed that, before starting work on the new series, he went back to frontline work at the NHS during the pandemic. Prior to screenwriting, he worked as a doctor. He said: “It was nice to be able to do something useful… having something to do was much easier than for most people who were sat at home getting worried.”

He added: “I was at the hospital getting worried.”

Proving himself to be an absolute legend, Sefton said that intended to continue as a doctor part-time.

The Good Karma Hospital will start on ITV and ITV Hub on Sunday, 23rd January 2022 at 8pm.