Little Disasters (2025) s01e01 Episode Script

1
I always thought that Jess
was the perfect mother.
I forgot that perfection
is an illusion.
Something created, filtered
and tweaked.
And then something happens.
Some tiny mishap.
Some little disaster,
that at first seems trivial.
And the illusion
starts to crumble.
And suddenly you look at
this perfect mother,
and you ask yourself
what else is she hiding?
Sorry, I'm sorry.
I'll call you as soon
as we've been seen.
Go!
She's bleeding
Can someone help me, please!
We see lots of cases like this.
A couple of days
of intravenous antibiotics,
maybe another course at home.
He's going to be fine.
You are needed in A&E -
little girl, ten months old,
subdued, immobile, vomiting,
but no fever.
She's in cubicle five with Mum.
- Cubicle five?
- Yeah.
You know what's worse
than a screaming baby?
A&E on a Friday night.
No-one wants to be there.
Especially the doctors.
Jess.
- Hi.
- Hello.
Um, well, I'd say it was good
to see you, but obviously
Yeah, Liz, um, do you think
we could see another doctor?
You know,
we know each other, so
Yeah. Um I'm afraid
there isn't one free right now.
- Do you want me to carry on?
- Of course.
No, of course.
I didn't mean to offend you.
Hello, Betsey.
Tell me what's wrong.
I don't know, I was asleep
and Ed woke me,
said she'd been sick.
It's probably nothing,
some sort of virus.
I shouldn't have brought her
in, but he insisted.
How long has she been like this?
Uh, I suppose she was a
bit grizzly at bedtime, but
And when was she sick?
Approximately.
I don't know.
Well, that's okay,
it's a nightmare keeping up
with them at this age.
I am gonna just
call a colleague in,
while I do a physical
examination of Betsey.
t's standard procedure, just to
have someone else present, okay?
Dr. Morris?
- Got a second for a little exam?
- Yeah.
Are you okay, honey?
Okay, this is, uh, Dr. Morris.
This is Mrs. Carrisford,
and this is Betsey.
Hey, what's this?
What's this?
Oh.
Okay. This bit might tickle.
Got a boggy swelling there.
What?
Did Betsey bump her head?
Jess. Could Betsey have had
some kind of accident?
No, no.
She's got some swelling
on the back of her head.
Maybe some bruising.
Um, actually, yeah, she did.
She did bang her,
her head earlier.
I just didn't think it was
serious.
How?
Ah, she
slipped and banged it.
What time was this?
Like 5, 5:30, maybe.
And, um, where was she
when this happed?
She was crawling
in the living room.
I, I think she must have, uh,
you know, pulled herself up.
I was in the kitchen
at the time,
getting a snack for Frankie.
I was gone for a second.
Okay, I can take it from here.
- Thanks, Ronan.
- Yeah.
Do we get you warm?
Should we keep you warm?
It's okay.
Accidents happen, right?
So let's, um
Tell me again.
You were in the kitchen and
Betsey was in the living room.
And then
I can't watch them every second,
you know?
I
I heard a thud, but I didn't
think she'd hurt herself.
Is it bad?
It's the middle of the night.
I expect to be woken up
by my junior doctors,
but I had hoped for a little
more restraint from you,
Dr. Burgess.
- Yeah, sorry to bother you.
- Just give me the detail.
Ten month old,
suspected skull fracture.
Significant bruising.
- Is the wound bleeding?
- No.
Child responsive but reduced
activity compared to normal.
How did it happen?
Mum said she slipped
while crawling,
trying to pull herself up.
Crawling on what, a cliff?
The parents came in immediately,
I hope?
No, um
Happened around 5:30.
Mum came to A&E about 10:15.
A delay of nearly five hours?
I know.
Um
I'm just waiting on the CT scan.
But if it is a fracture
Then she didn't slip crawling.
It's just that Mum's
a friend of mine.
Oh, well, then that makes things
a lot more difficult.
But as Senior Registrar,
I'm afraid you're the only one
that can make the decision,
Elizabeth.
We'll discuss it at handover.
Okay.
Jess isn't a great believer
in modern medicine.
She's, uh
the last person you'd expect
to see in A&E with her kids.
But that night, she was
She was nothing like the Jess
I met 11 years ago.
- Hello.
- Hi.
Hi. I'm so sorry.
My husband's running behind.
- Should we wait for him?
- Oh, no. It's fine.
I don't want to hold
everybody up.
So, let's start by introducing
ourselves and explaining
what we'd like to get
out of this.
Well, a baby ideally.
Uh, yeah, I'm Jess.
And I'm here
because I want to be
the best mom that I can be,
and I want to learn how to be
a better parent than my own.
And, yeah, I just want
my little boy to know
that he's the absolute centre
of my world.
That's lovely.
Okay, yeah.
Thanks.
I'm Liz.
Yeah, I suppose I,
I feel the same.
I, um, yeah, I just want to
leave here feeling confident
that I can be
that sort of mother.
Hello?
Hello.
Um, hi.
This, this is really
embarrassing,
but I'm stuck on the loo.
Is this Liz?
Jess?
Yeah.
Oh, I can't I just can't
get myself back up.
They're so small and low.
Oh. I'm sorry.
I don't know why I'm laughing.
Do you need a hand?
Um, yeah.
Like if I unlock the door,
would it be too weird
for you to pull me up?
No, of course not.
Of course not.
Hi.
I'm so sorry.
Oh, God.
Oh.
Thank God. Thank you.
- You all right?
- Yes.
That is, um, that's properly
mortifying.
And to top it all off, I needed
a wee through the entire thing.
I know!
People kept asking questions.
Yeah, and I didn't want to
miss anything important.
So true.
I don't really have any friends
nearby that have babies.
My family's, like,
3,000 miles away, so
Oh, wow.
If it's any consolation,
my mum lives around the corner
and she's no sodding use.
Well, that's it then.
What's it?
You and I are going to
be friends after this.
Okay. Well, I'm down for that.
Good.
Oh, I'm admitting the baby
from A&E into ICU,
so we need to prep for arrival, please.
Baby's less interactive
than normal.
She's vomited once.
Ronan's going to do some blood.
And I've already ordered
a CT scan.
Head injury?
Yeah. Significant bruising.
Could be a fracture.
Poor kid.
Jess, the mum,
said she did it whilst crawling.
Like she tried to
pull herself up and fell.
That doesn't add up.
Oh, God, I hate these cases.
Social services
is going to be all over it.
What is it?
She's a really close friend
of mine.
Oh.
Yeah. We've been on holiday
together and everything.
Been through two pregnancies.
Our kids are in the same class.
She's the perfect mum.
You are not her friend
right now.
You're that baby's doctor.
Okay, let's get her upstairs,
shall we?
Where's Mum?
- How's Betsey? Been seen?
- Well
She's had an initial assessment.
- What did they say?
- Not much.
It's chaos here.
I'm not surprised.
- Any idea what's wrong with her?
- No. Not yet.
The hospital didn't go
into details, I don't know.
I gotta go.
Jess.
Okay, so we're gonna take her
for a CT scan now,
and then we're going to pop her
up on the ward.
- You ready?
- Okay.
Okay, honey.
Mommy's here.
You're gonna be fine.
The whole night, I had this lump
in my throat right here.
I couldn't shift,
I couldn't swallow it.
I started to think the worst.
Is it definitely a fracture?
Yeah.
And a significant one.
See, instead of the nice curved
white line of the skull,
you can see the partially
depressed fracture just here.
And a subdural haematoma.
Yeah, I see it.
This was textbook.
In any other case, I would say
someone had hurt this baby.
Parents can do
some terrible things
in moments of frustration.
So
I asked myself, is it
completely inconceivable
that that's what's happened
here?
Jess?
Mm.
Oh. How is she?
I'm afraid the scan
has confirmed
that Betsey does have
a skull fracture and a bleed.
Oh, my God.
What?
Oh, my God.
We're gonna need to keep
Betsey in under observation
and try and keep her
completely still.
The next 48 hours are critical.
Critical?
Yeah.
Betsey's got a bruise,
and it's pressing on her brain,
so we need to try and get
that swelling down,
just to prevent any more damage.
Baby.
Jess, we need to talk about,
about how this might have
happened.
It's unlikely
that a head injury like this
was sustained
from a simple fall.
I mean, toddlers fall
all the time.
Are you sure there's
nothing else that happened?
Maybe she fell down the stairs
or rolled off her bed.
These things happen.
Jess?
Remember when Rosa slipped
in the bath and got concussion?
I felt like the worst mum
in the world, but
Is there anything, anything at
all, that you need to say to me?
I won't judge.
Please.
You can tell me anything.
If you can think of something
that might help.
This is your last chance.
Jess.
Could anyone have hurt Betsey?
No.
Hi, sweetie.
Hi.
Yeah, hi. This is Dr. Burgess
from the paediatric department
at Thames Bank Hospital.
We've had a little girl come in
with a fractured skull
and no real explanation
of how it happened.
If the duty social worker could
come as soon as possible,
that'd be really helpful, thanks.
She didn't have to make
the call.
She had to make the call.
Jess, wake up. There's something
wrong with her.
You need to take Betsey
to the hospital.
- What happened?
- Didn't you hear her cry?
Hey! Get up!
I don't know what's going on.
I'd take her,
but I'm over the limit.
What are you doing?
Are you brushing your hair?
This is serious!
Come on.
Oh, sweetie.
Dad, I'm starving.
What do you want for breakfast?
Eggs? Toast?
Where's Betsey and Mummy?
All right, let's do
scrambled eggs then.
Frankie doesn't eat scrambled
eggs. He only eats boiled eggs.
They have to be exactly right,
or they make him feel sick.
Where are they?
Where's Mummy?
Betsey was poorly, so Mummy
took her to the hospital,
so the doctors can make her
feel better, all right?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, it's
all right. Don't worry, champ.
Hey. She's gonna be fine.
She'll be fine.
But, Dad, they'll be back
for my party, right?
Yeah.
Can I have this piece?
Thank you.
You guys all done?
- Yeah.
- Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Hi, everybody.
Oh, fucking hell.
- Where have you been all night?
- Out.
Working.
I'm trying to fucking sign
someone.
No call, no text.
Oh, my God!
I can't win, can I? Because
if I texted you at 2 a.m.,
you'd be pissed off at me
for waking you up, so
Don't make this about me, Rob.
Is anyone gonna get that?
I've been calling her
for 15 minutes.
See what these guys are up to.
Hi, guys.
- Look who I found.
- Shouldn't I take my shoes off?
- You're fine. Don't worry.
- Do you ever answer your phone?
- You ready?
- Ready for what?
Ed called. He needs help setting
up. You are the creative.
You know I am dreadful
at kids' parties.
No, you're not. You're just too
busy doing a big girl's job.
Why would they need our help?
Jess has been planning this
party for literally months.
Well, you know what
the NHS is like.
Betsey probably hasn't even
been seen yet.
What do you mean?
Jess is in A&E with Betsey.
- Oh, no.
- It's nothing serious, is it?
I honestly don't know.
I'm quite surprised,
to be honest with you.
You know Jess, usually
it's all elderberry syrup.
They're not cancelling
the party?
Well, would you like to be the
one to tell an eight-year-old,
who may or may not
be on the spectrum,
that his party's cancelled?
What a clusterfuck.
What about your birthing plan?
Oh, yeah.
- I would like not to die.
- Fair.
And I'd like the baby
not to die.
Obviously, that would be most
important thing.
Um, and then I'd like just
painkillers.
All of the painkillers,
- all the drugs.
- Absolutely.
Well, due to my work schedule,
I will be
Well, I've planned an induction
several days before my due date.
I will be birthing George
in the McPherson Wing
at Brooke General.
It's really popular
with the royals.
And who would you like
to be present?
Um, well, I suppose Andrew
will be there.
- Andrew will.
- Yes.
Well done, Andrew.
Ideally, I really would
like to get back to work
sort of three to six months
afterwards.
I'm a partner
at a major law firm, so
- Wow.
- So that's me.
Thanks.
Um, I, I don't have
a birth plan.
- I'm sorry I didn't
- That's okay.
Or much of a clue!
Do you know what, actually,
this wasn't planned,
- so we are just winging it.
- Yeah.
Sorry, sorry.
Yes. Hello, darling.
Hi.
Hello. Hello, everyone.
Sorry I'm late.
District Line was off.
What did I miss?
Webber?
- Hi.
- Charlotte Webber?
- Yes.
- What a coincidence.
I know.
Sorry, actually,
it's Hinman now, obviously.
- Yeah.
- Right.
Charlotte and I
went to uni together.
Oh, wow. That's crazy.
- Sorry, and you are?
- Sorry, Ed, Jess' lesser half.
Ed. Hi, Ed.
Jess, why don't you tell us
about your birthing plan?
Uh, well, I think we'd like
a home birth.
So it's just going to be
me and Ed,
um, a midwife and my doula.
As for music,
a bit of '80s pop.
I know it's a bit cheesy, but I
do love a bit of George Michael.
Um, yeah.
And I want as little
intervention as possible.
I just want it to be
really peaceful.
I'm sorry, but I'm
a bit scared of hospitals.
No, they scare me,
and I work in one.
Ed's not really into babies.
He prefers kids
when they're old enough
to kick a ball around with.
I find the Earth mother types
to be the most unhinged.
Where did you meet him?
Not been together very
Ah.
Morning, Sheila.
Morning.
Liz is waiting to speak to you.
It's been one of those nights.
Well, Dr. Burgess,
what did you decide?
CT scan confirmed my suspicions.
It is a skull fracture.
I've alerted child protection.
They're on their way.
I applaud your swift judgement.
I did what any good doctor
would do.
Would you like to inform
the mother
that social services
are about to descend?
Or would you like me to?
I'll do it.
Lucy. Hi.
- Hi.
- Thanks for coming.
Neil's waiting in the office,
but I just wondered
if we could have a quick chat
before the meeting.
The thing is,
I know the mum personally.
It's not a good idea, Liz.
She's an old friend.
I know the family really well,
and she is a great mum.
So I just think, there must be
some other explanation.
Let's save it for the meeting,
shall we?
Yep.
The mechanism of the fall
doesn't match the injuries.
The child would have been in
considerable distress.
The mum's failure to bring
the baby in is alarming.
She's just,
she's never been keen
on the medical establishment,
that's all.
She's always felt like that.
What Elizabeth's trying to say
is that the baby
hasn't been seen by a medical
professional since birth.
- Not one?
- Nope.
No baby weigh-ins,
no health visitors,
no GP appointments,
no vaccinations.
She's just very mistrusting
of hospitals, of us.
So what do we know about
the family?
Uh, we know that they have
two older sons, Frankie and Kit.
Um, they've never had any
dealings with social services.
There's no history of alcohol
or drug abuse in the home.
And what's known
about the father?
I'm assuming you've run
background checks?
Okay, let's get the older
boys in for a medical.
I'll speak to the police, get
permission to interview the mum.
We need to play this
by the book, Liz.
Shit, I'm so fucking shit
at this!
No. Don't be silly.
No, you're not.
I am. I'm just like God.
Even just getting out
of the house this morning
was like some flipping mission
for me.
The rest of you
are all sailing through it.
Trust me, he was not this
angelic at 3 a.m. this morning.
I'm sorry.
As if you got up at 3 a.m
Not a chance.
God bless the au pair, huh?
Listen, Liz, the only reason
that Mollie's asleep right now
is, I don't know,
some sort of act of God.
Oh, hey, listen,
you are everything, all right?
You are a wonderful mother.
You're an incredible doctor.
You're a very loyal friend.
And you will get through this.
You will.
What would I have done
if I hadn't met you lot?
I'd just be stuck at home,
going out of my mind,
literally losing my mind.
Shush, shush.
Let me take her.
- You can keep her.
- Oh.
You know I don't mean that.
Oh, you poor thing.
Okay, shush.
Liz.
Don't feel bad.
Speaking of lending,
how about you lend us
your au pair, Char?
Hey! Back off, bitch!
She's mine.
Every time.
See? How does she do it?
I don't know.
She has the magic touch.
If she wasn't my friend,
I'd fucking hate her.
You okay?
Jess, because of the nature
of Betsey's injuries,
I'm afraid social services
have been called in.
What?
Any unexplained injury
of this nature,
it just automatically
triggers an investigation.
I know that sounds serious,
but it is standard.
It's not unexplained.
I told you what happened.
Yeah, and I told you
it wasn't possible.
So if you can just try and be
honest with me,
then all of this will get
cleared up.
But until then
Who called them?
Who called them, Liz?
Wow.
Thank God for small mercies.
When are they coming back,
Eddie?
I'm not sure.
For all I know she's still
waiting to be seen.
- Hasn't she called you?
- She's probably triaged,
behind 17 alcoholics,
an acid attack and a stabbing.
Yeah, but she should
keep him informed.
They're starting to arrive
already?
I'll go.
It's just a shame she's going to
miss the start of the party.
Yeah.
Fifty screaming kids won't be
easy on the hangover.
Go around the back.
Oh, look, Frankie's going
to love his cake.
Oh, Ed, the rabbits
have also arrived.
- The what?
- You know, for the petting zoo.
Oh, Jess really thinks of
everything.
- There you go.
- Thank you.
Why don't you start by telling
me how Betsey hurt herself?
I was making a smoothie, and,
um, she was crawling around.
She tried to pull herself
up on the fridge, and she fell.
You have a fridge
in your living room?
I'm sorry?
You told Dr. Burgess that
she was in the living room,
you were in the kitchen.
Oh. Uh, yeah, the kitchen.
Did you hear her fall?
Yes, I saw it happen.
I was with Frankie at the time.
My eight-year-old.
Mm.
- Hey, family.
- Hey.
Hello. Hi, little angel.
Do I get a hug?
- I'm busy.
- Oh.
- Okay.
- Hi, Mum.
- Hello, gorgeous. Good day?
- Yes.
- Hello, Wife.
- Hello, Husband.
Oh.
Did you have a rough night?
You can tell, can you?
Yeah, you look a bit tired.
Oh, but, but, but lovely.
- Of course.
- No.
Jess came in with Betsey.
Oh, yeah?
Everything okay?
I had to call social services.
What? You're kidding.
On Jess?
Stop it!
I feel shitty enough as it is.
It's bad. It's really bad.
Betsey's really hurt
and Jess doesn't seem to know
how it's happened.
What, do you think
she's to blame? Or Ed?
Well, Betsey
didn't hurt herself, did she?
- Shit.
- I don't know.
I just don't know.
But it's just
If anything, Jess is
She's overprotective, isn't she?
Yeah, yeah,
but she was really evasive.
Completely closed off. I've
never seen her like that before.
I've hardly seen her, have I,
since she had Betsey.
I've just been bogged down with,
like, night shifts,
my mum, the kids, like
I've been a really shit friend.
- No. Come on.
- I have.
What happened between you two?
I know you always used to be
so close.
People just drift apart,
don't they?
Hmm.
You are a terrible liar.
Is the food ready yet?
Yes. Grub is up.
Sorry, please don't pick her up.
I know, I'm her mother.
It's imperative that we
keep Betsey still.
We don't want to risk
further injury.
We're going to be keeping
to strict
visiting times from now on.
Okay, but
Lucy, this is probably better
coming from you.
Dr. Cockrell's right.
I'm afraid you'll need to be
supervised by myself
or a colleague
when you're with Betsey.
What? I'm her mother.
I don't need to be supervised
to be with my own child.
This is how it has to be
for the foreseeable.
So I'm afraid I'm going to
have to ask you to leave.
What?
No. She's sick.
What if she wakes up
and I'm not here?
- She'd be terrified.
- We'll take great care of her.
I'm still breastfeeding.
She needs me.
You won't be able to breastfeed
for some time.
What, you'd stop me from
breastfeeding my own child?
No, no, you can express milk,
and that will be fed to Betsey.
And we'll arrange
regular visits.
I'm going to find
a new hospital.
- You can't do that.
- Of course I can.
No!
Do you understand
what I'm saying?
Your daughter is under
an emergency protection plan.
If you attempt to remove her,
we will get a court order
or police emergency powers
will be used.
What are you doing,
little rabbit?
Yes.
Brilliant. Proud of you.
- Thanks for the invite!
- It's great to see you again.
Over on the table.
Thank you.
- Hello.
- I don't know those people.
I've never seen them before
in my life.
Oh, don't worry,
you're doing a great job.
- Really?
- Slow down.
Oh, hi.
Oh, mate,
someone's parked across
- your neighbour's driveway.
- Oh, don't worry.
- I'll handle it.
- Thanks.
- What happened?
- It bit me.
- It's not funny.
- It is.
Get out of my way!
- Yah.
- Come on. Hey!
No! All right, mate.
Boys, just chill out.
Yeah. Just chill out.
No fighting.
Oh, damn.
Yeah, there was a lot of talk
about the fact that they
went ahead with the party.
Not over yet.
Oh. Beer or fizz?
Beer.
- Thank you.
- There you go.
Any news?
No.
Do you think it could be
something like meningitis?
- Charlotte!
- I'm just asking a question.
Oh, God, I hope not.
Is it something
as serious as that?
As soon as this party is over,
I'm going to the hospital.
It's good Jess took her in
just to be on the safe side.
- Who won?
- Who do you think?
Yeah. Did he cheat?
No surprise there.
Sorry to hear about Betsey.
Yeah, thanks.
Betsey!
Hi, Liz.
- Hey.
- What are you doing here?
- You're supposed to be in bed.
- I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't stop thinking
about Jess.
- Is she here?
- No.
How's Ed been?
Oh, hi.
Oh. Hi, love.
Ed is acting as if
everything's kind of normal.
Really?
Hey. How are you holding up?
I'll be happy when this party
is over.
Yeah, I can imagine.
Poor Jess looked exhausted
when I last saw her.
When did you see Jess?
Last night.
I was on duty when she came in.
Oh, right. Maybe you can tell me
what the hell's going on, then.
I mean, why has it taken so long
for the NHS to treat Betsey?
Well, we just always like to
keep children
with this kind of injury
completely still.
Well, she was sick. She, she
went in with a bug or a virus.
Jess hasn't told you?
You need to talk to Jess
right away.
You need to speak to Jess and
Betsey's social worker, sorry.
Social worker?
What are you talking about?
Wait a minute. Are you
telling me that my daughter
is lying in a hospital
with unexplained injuries,
which she did not have
when she left this house?
- I'm sorry.
- Someone has called
social services on my family.
- Take a beat. Catch your breath.
- Social services!
Why would you do that?
Don't walk away from me.
What are you doing?
We're looking for
Edward Carrisford. Anyone?
Yeah, I'm Edward Carrisford.
Why?
I'm DC Steve Rustin.
Lucy Harding.
I'm with Children's Services.
Do you mind if we go inside
for a chat?
You should go.
The party was a disaster.
Liz lit the fuse.
Then it blew up.
There was just nothing
we could do to stop it.
Turns out being a perfect
mother is impossible.
You make mistakes,
and it doesn't matter
what others think,
no-one judges you harder
than yourself.
And sometimes,
the harder you try,
the more you have to hide.
Because only you know
what you've done.
It's uncomfortable for a friend
to make a referral.
We're not as close
as we used to be.
Here's to another ten years
of friendship.
Cheers.
Frankie!
Frankie and Sam,
they wandered off.
I've seen things
that make me wonder.
There's a fine line
between neglect and abuse.
What happened, Jess?
I'm convinced this isn't
an accidental injury.
You can't take our children!
They're not the perfect family.
And Ed's not the easygoing
guy we thought he was.
Harmless fun, wasn't it?
What happened on Friday, Ed?
Someone in that house
harmed that baby,
and one of them's lying
about it.