After years of planning and over five months of shooting, the new TV drama that depicts the work of the Royal Flying Doctor Service finally aired on our screens last night.
RFDS stars much-loved Australian actors including Stephen Peacocke and Justine Clarke, and was actually filmed at the Flying Doctor base at Broken Hill. As one of Australia’s oldest RFDS bases, Broken Hill was chosen due to its impressive red dirt landscapes, and the capacity to have filming set up alongside RFDS day-to-day operations without impacting delivery of primary health services and emergency medical retrievals.
Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, the Flying Doctor worked closely with Endemol Shine to ensure the TV show was true to our organisation. A committee was set up within the RFDS to advise writers on aviation procedures/terminology, as well as medical and clinical processes and technical details. Additionally, the Flying Doctor took production crew to bases and clinics, and facilitated the interviewing of doctors, nurses, pilots and patients. It was important to us that the story was true to what we do - despite its fictional narrative.
As star Stephen Peacocke recently told the Geelong Advertiser: “I think the RFDS is such an incredible organisation – it’s like when in America you see the Flying Kangaroo and you feel that pinch of national pride. It’s kind of the same when you see those RFDS planes on the tarmac. What those people do is extraordinary. It makes you feel proud to do a show about them and there’s actually a bit of pressure to get it right. Thankfully I think we hit it for six.”
If you missed the first episode, you can catch up now on 7plus.
