'What I wanted, which thankfully happened, was the people who work in hospitals that say 'yeah, it's like that.' 'So, it's obviously a relatively loose adaptation but it meant that I wasn't constrained, and the fact that I was adapting my own work meant that I could take those liberties as long as it remains. 'It was a deliberate thing in the book because I'd go to prison if I identify a patient, or I'd get excommunicated from my family, or I'd be struck off from the GMC if I identify colleagues. 'But also, in a way, the bigger issue with the adaptation is that I'm the only fully-drawn character in the book and everyone else is like, 'a midwife says this, the patient says that and my consultant says this,' whereas obviously for a TV show they will have to be expanded a bit. 'It's not like a crime drama, or something, where this chapter will end this episode with this cliffhanger, which meant being a bit inventive zooming in on a particular period of time in the book.

'I guess it's not the most obvious book to adapt because a direct adaptation would end up being like some sort of strange one man sketch show,' Kay said. Kay spoke to Newsweek about adapting his own memoir for the small screen, admitting he had to be 'a bit inventive' to make it work for television. This is Going to Hurt is based on a non-fiction book written by Kay, which features the former medical professional's diaries from his time as a junior doctor. Anika Molnar/Sister Pictures/BBC Studios/AMC

Ben Whishaw as Adam Kay in 'This is Going to Hurt,' which is based on Kay's book of the same name which features his diaries from his time as a junior doctor.

Adam kay this is going to hurt