Quacks

Robert is a domineering, showman surgeon - a rockstar of his age ‐ who's almost as brilliant as he thinks he is. He can pack out an operating theatre and take off a leg in 92 seconds. But after a botched amputation, Robert's put under pressure by the Royal Physican, Dr Hendrick (Rupert Everett). So John - a drug‐addled dentist who's trying to create the world's first anaesthetic, convinces Robert to use potentially lethal ether in a prestigious and pioneering operation.

Caroline bags an invitation to meet her hero: Charles Dickens (Andrew Scott). William finds himself in an awkward position when he exaggerates how much of a fan he is (he hasn't read a single page). An excruciating evening ensues when William escorts Caroline to a dinner party at Dickens' house. Meanwhile, John finds himself with a new protégé when he takes an orphan under his wing, and Robert meets his match when a forthright, uppity young volunteer called Florence Nightingale (Milly Thomas) arrives at the hospital and starts interfering in his work. With Dr Hendrick (Rupert Everett) keen to curry favour with Nightingale and her influential family, Robert has to work out how to get rid of her.

William has a patient, Harold (Jamie Demetriou), with extreme monomania - he seems sane other than his fervent belief that he will be seized by spies at any moment and put on trial for being a French noble. With John, Robert and Caroline's help, William concocts a daring plan to cure Harold of his delusion by staging the trial and 'acquitting' him. Meanwhile, Caroline is determined to advance her medical knowledge, even if it means sneaking into a male‐only lecture and John's debts leave him in desperate need to make money - by fair means or quackery. Robert looks to advance his reputation by securing the backing of a wealthy female patron, Lady Campbell (Fenella Woolgar). But it turns out Lady Campbell is interested in more than just the contents of Robert's kit bag, and his 'special relationship' with Campbell is threatened when Caroline catches Robert in a compromising situation.

William has a bladder stone and needs Robert to perform a lithotrity on him - a grim genital operation. William has the unenviable choice of excruciating pain, or taking John's potentially lethal new drug, 'chloroform' during surgery. In her quest to expand her medical knowledge, Caroline arranges for herself and William to meet Llantha Kapoor (Kayvan Novak), a famous Mesmerist. With John tagging along, the three of them meet the charismatic Kapoor at a local curry house for a demonstration of his hypnotic powers. Meanwhile, Robert is suffering from the shakes and having vivid nightmares of his time in the navy. All William knows is that something unpleasant happened to Robert. In a hammock. Believing in therapy as a form of treatment, William becomes determined that Robert should divulge his story to try to cure his shakes.

For the first time since losing his wife, John falls in love ‐ with Nicola Bell (Miranda Hennessey) from the apothecary. But their whirlwind romance is thrown into jeopardy when Nicola reveals she's promised to another man; the wealthy Lord Thornycroft. Can John see off his rival? Robert has a seemingly unsolvable case - the Bishop of Lambeth (Roger Ashton‐Griffiths) needs his appendix removed or he will die. But he won't agree to pain relief or surgery. Meanwhile, William is put under pressure to prove that his methods can cure madness, so he ropes in the pub landlord (Geoff McGivern) to play mad and fake some results.

William and Caroline's affair gathers speed and Caroline asks him to run away with her. But Robert senses he is losing his wife's affections and unexpectedly turns to William for advice on how to win her back. When William's childhood friend Mina (Lisa Jackson) puts pressure on William to marry her, he has a difficult moral decision to make. Meanwhile, Robert's rival, the famous, suave French surgeon Patrice DuPont (Ben Willbond) is due to perform surgery on a very prestigious patient: Dr Hendrick himself (Rupert Everett). Patrice makes John a tempting offer to join him, and Robert ‐ to his disgust ‐ finds he must work with Patrice as his assistant. When disaster strikes, will the surgeons be able to save Dr Hendrick? Will any of them even want to?