0:00

This is the BBC.

0:24

Good morning. You're here with Waked

0:26

Up Europe. Firstly, a

0:29

Belfast pharmaceutical company is hoping to

0:31

end 2033 with a medical breakthrough.

0:34

They have a new drug which they hope will cure,

0:37

wait for it,

0:38

post-traumatic stress disorder.

0:41

I'm joined by the co-CEO of Abacus,

0:44

Dr Jacqueline Hill. Thanks

0:47

for having me on. Thanks for taking the time

0:49

out of your busy schedule. So, a

0:52

pill to cure trauma.

0:54

Is there really a quick fix to forget?

0:57

It's not about forgetting. It's

1:00

about living with it. We're confident,

1:02

given a few years, this drug will

1:04

be a force for good. And what's

1:07

the drug called, Jackie? It's not official,

1:09

but we're thinking Restore. It's

1:17

OK, Katie. It's OK.

1:20

There now. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh,

1:22

shh. It's

1:25

OK. How about a little story, hmm? Once

1:30

upon a time, there was a princess and

1:32

a brave knight. The princess

1:35

and the knight were riding in a chariot when

1:37

they were hit by a large dragon.

1:39

The knight went into a deep,

1:42

deep sleep. A sleep

1:44

he couldn't wake up from. So

1:46

the princess took a magic potion and went back in

1:48

time to save him.

1:49

Mary? Mary? Babysitter's

1:52

here. But the princess doesn't remember the last

1:54

ten years. She doesn't even remember

1:56

giving birth to her baby. Mary,

1:59

let's go.

1:59

Coming.

2:00

Bye, Katie. Better

2:09

Pill by Michael Patrick and

2:11

Osheen Kearney. Episode 3.

2:14

Disconnect.

2:15

Carl,

2:19

you start. Why are we here today?

2:22

Thanks, Stuart. I

2:24

just...um... I

2:27

love Mary. I love you. I really

2:29

do. But I don't... I

2:33

want us to be happy and... Carl, we

2:35

are happy. I'm happy. Please,

2:38

Mary.

2:39

Let Carl speak. I'm

2:41

worried...like, this is gonna

2:43

sound bad and I don't...I'm

2:46

just... I'm

2:48

worried about Kate. You

2:50

know, she's five months old and it was

2:53

a bit of an impulsive decision. But

2:56

I obviously wouldn't change it. She's amazing. I

2:58

just... I worry that

3:00

we'll be able to look after her properly. Like,

3:03

I just want to be solid for her. Carl,

3:05

I want that too. And what is

3:07

concerning you, Carl? What

3:10

are the obstacles that you see for your book? Well...we

3:15

got in an accident about ten years ago. Mary...

3:20

jumped out of the car when I was driving. And

3:23

afterwards... she couldn't tell

3:25

me why she did it. I've

3:27

always been worried about her. And I'm

3:30

worried having Kate might be putting more

3:32

stress on her.

3:35

How does it make you feel to hear that,

3:37

Mary? I'm fine. But

3:40

you said that before and we've been going to therapy

3:42

for two years now. I promise. Things

3:45

will be better. It'll be different

3:47

this time. Why? Because

3:50

I'm different. It might

3:52

not make sense, but I... Something's

3:56

changed in me. Okay.

3:59

I'm like a new person. Listen, I promise. I

4:02

just want you to be happy. I am happy. I'm

4:05

just so happy to have you back. I

4:08

never went anywhere. I know,

4:10

but, erm... Emotionally.

4:14

I'm glad to be back with you, emotionally.

4:17

I feel like we haven't talked in so long. Me

4:20

too. Great

4:22

progress. I'm

4:26

so happy to be back with you. Jackie

4:29

lives here. She's been here for ages.

4:32

This is a palace.

4:33

Best day. Hoax.

4:38

Best day. We

4:40

were just talking about how the other half lives. Overworked

4:42

and overtired. This is my first night off

4:44

since Christmas. It's October. Exactly.

4:48

What's

4:48

it? Baby sitter. We need

4:50

a night off too. Sparkling

4:52

wine. Sweden's

4:54

finest. Thank you. Oh, don't worry. I have a lovely

4:56

elderflower concoction for yourself, Mary. Honestly,

4:59

I love that you're not drinking. Put

5:02

not salt to shame. Not drinking? No,

5:04

no, I'll have a wine.

5:05

What's going on with you? What? You're

5:08

prepping for a marathon. Yeah!

5:12

No, obviously, can't be drinking if I'm prepping

5:14

for a marathon. Sorry,

5:17

excuse me. I need some air.

5:19

You

5:23

all right, lovely? Jackie, is this real? Am

5:26

I going to wake up from this? What? The

5:28

pill. You gave it to me.

5:31

It feels like a dream. What?

5:34

Are you okay? Carl mentioned

5:37

therapy. Are you on pills now? Uh, I

5:40

just meant I can't believe you're CEO of Abacus

5:42

now. It's like a dream. Co-CEO.

5:46

Warren isn't giving up the reins that easily. But

5:49

you're right. It is like a dream.

5:52

A very

5:53

busy and very stressful dream.

5:55

Steering the company, getting rid of the dirt weight.

5:58

Owen Kinney, cough, cough.

5:59

You fired on. First thing I

6:02

did. Do you know him? I

6:05

think you mentioned him before. Have

6:07

I? Maybe on the TV. I saw you

6:09

on talking about some new drug. Ugh.

6:12

I have to do those appearances. A

6:14

drug for trauma, wasn't it? PTSD. I

6:17

was working on it myself before I started climbing the

6:19

corporate ladder. It's actually fascinating. So

6:22

we take rats, right, and we get

6:25

them to do a maze, and then we have this wee machine.

6:27

To wipe their memories.

6:29

How did you know that? You told me they would remember

6:31

the maze perfectly. I

6:34

didn't tell you that. Well, it was...

6:36

did you not say that?

6:38

On TV? I wouldn't mention

6:40

that. They'd have peed after me before you could

6:42

say red paint. How

6:45

did you know about that, Mary? You must have said

6:47

before.

6:50

Ugh. It's work.

6:52

Hello? What?

6:56

No. That's not what we agreed. Just

6:57

go back inside. Oh,

7:05

this is nice. The Hello

7:07

family. Time for a wee stroll in the

7:09

park. I'll

7:13

bend these coffee cups. I'll mind Katie. Kate?

7:17

Since when has she called Katie? Sorry. Kate.

7:21

That's right. Oh!

7:26

Ah! Don't cry. Why

7:29

are you crying? Are

7:32

you hungry? Hungry? Hungry?

7:35

Are you sad?

7:37

Your daddy will be back soon. I

7:42

don't know

7:42

what you want. Whoa!

7:46

Just crying. What should I do? She

7:48

dropped her blankie. Oh, right. Cossie.

7:51

Here you go, Kate. It's okay. Where's

7:53

your blankie? I panicked. I didn't know what

7:55

was wrong. It's all

7:56

right. There's no need to panic.

9:51

Oh,

10:06

you like this one? What about this? A

10:10

book? 100

10:12

things ago. And

10:14

look, lots of buttons.

10:21

Good. Wow. You try.

10:23

What about that one? Oh,

10:26

and that one.

10:29

Oh, you really fashioned

10:31

that? Alright,

10:33

maybe, erm, maybe, erm, let's

10:36

stop pressing that one. Kit?

10:39

Kit, Kit, please.

10:41

Oh Kit, please, you're making

10:44

the train come. You're

10:47

only doing this Mary, you can't just... Carl! One

10:49

time! Mary?

11:13

What's going on? Shh,

11:15

shh, shh. It's okay

11:17

Kit, shh, shh. Mary, why

11:19

are you on the ground? Are you alright? Yeah,

11:22

I'm fine. I leave for two hours

11:24

and come back to Kit crying her eyes out and you

11:27

collapsed. What happened? I

11:34

don't remember. Mary, tell

11:37

me what's going on with you. Nothing. I just...

11:40

I just fell asleep alright. Why

11:44

are you being like this? Why

11:46

aren't you talking to me? I

11:48

want to. Then do. I'm here.

11:51

I'm here for you.

11:55

No, no, I can't. Shh,

11:58

Kit. Oh, Mommy, love.

12:02

Where are you going? I'm

12:04

going to put her down. I can do it.

12:06

Let me help. No. You rest

12:08

or

12:09

go for a walk or... Just

12:11

get your head short. I'm sorry,

12:14

Carl. You don't

12:16

need to be sorry. You

12:18

just need to tell me what's going on in your head. I'm

12:22

worried. Mary!

12:32

Mary! Hi.

12:35

Jackie. We're looking

12:38

all over for you. Where are you at

12:40

by the train tracks? Leave me alone. Hold

12:42

on a second. What do you want?

12:44

You knew about the rats. And? I

12:48

went back to the lab. And it's exactly

12:51

as you described. It's as if the rats don't

12:53

just remember the maze. They're

12:55

reliving it. Okay. Ah, come

12:58

on, Mary. I know.

13:01

You've taken Restore. You

13:03

know. Well, Carl says you've been acting strange.

13:06

You're suddenly forgetting things. As if

13:08

you just woke up in this life yesterday. As if you're...

13:11

What?

13:13

You're not the Mary I know. I'm

13:17

not. I knew it. Restore

13:21

is mental time travel. And

13:24

you've taken it, right? Well, in my timeline,

13:26

we call it reset. But, yeah. Tell

13:29

me everything.

13:30

Ten

13:32

years ago, when I jumped out of the

13:34

car... Yeah? That was here. I

13:37

was trying to stop the car. To stop

13:40

the accident and to stop Carl going

13:42

into a coma. Carl was in a coma? Yeah,

13:44

but I changed it. So this

13:47

reality is a consequence of what you

13:49

did? This is incredible.

13:52

It doesn't feel incredible. Sorry.

13:56

What's it like where you... When

13:59

you come from?

13:59

Carl's in a coma. What

14:02

am I like? Am I different?

14:05

Everything's different. But

14:08

right now, me and Carl... God,

14:10

he's so worried about me. I've

14:12

done everything I can, but I

14:14

don't know what to do. Tell him the truth. I

14:17

write. I'm serious. Tell him. This

14:20

is unbelievable. Exactly.

14:23

He'll not believe me. You need to tell

14:25

him. I can't. He needs to know why

14:28

you're like this.

14:35

RexMFC dropped a fit

14:36

in the Premier League today with Tiago Messi

14:38

failing to perform. Manager Ryan

14:40

Reynolds speaking after the match said they're going

14:42

to... Where were you? I went for a walk,

14:45

like you said.

14:48

I'm sorry about earlier. I

14:50

was annoyed and I... Are

14:53

you OK? Yeah. Worst kid. I

14:56

managed to get her down. Can

14:59

we talk about something? OK. I

15:02

think I know what's going on. Were you speaking to Jackie? No.

15:04

Why? Nothing. What were

15:06

you saying? I

15:10

think maybe you have postnatal

15:13

depression. I don't. I know it's hard to hear, but it might explain why you're confused.

15:17

I don't have that. Kate

15:20

could have gotten hurt. It's

15:22

not just us anymore. I

15:24

don't want her growing up with a mother who doesn't

15:27

protect her... I will protect her. Or can't protect her.

15:30

I am not doing that to Kate. You don't know what

15:32

I've done to try and fix everything. Do you

15:35

not trust me with it? Oh,

15:39

my God. You

15:42

don't trust me? I

15:44

just think maybe we

15:47

need to get you some help. I'm sorry, OK? It won't happen

15:49

again. It can't. It can't happen again.

15:53

I don't know. It's like you don't even

15:55

know our child. I don't know her. But I

15:58

want to. I want to get to know her. I

16:00

just need time. We can't

16:02

go on like this. You want me to talk?

16:04

Let's talk. Right.

16:07

Okay. Ten

16:11

years ago, the day I threw myself out of the car. That

16:13

day, we were supposed... We did have

16:15

an accident. What?

16:18

And so Jackie made this pill and I took

16:20

it. I went back in time. You...you... I

16:23

stopped the accident and now I'm here.

16:26

Asked Jackie, she believes me. She said

16:28

it's mental time travel. What

16:30

are

16:30

you... Carl, I know it's mad. But

16:33

I have to tell you, it's why

16:35

I don't remember things. Sorry,

16:38

what's going on? I remember a different time. Well,

16:41

you've been in a coma and we never had Katie. Her

16:43

name's

16:43

Kate. Please believe

16:45

me. Believe what? You said it

16:47

yourself. I've been acting weird this week.

16:50

This is why. Because I come

16:52

from a different time.

16:54

So you calling

16:56

Kate...Katie? You

16:59

not remembering where Jackie lives? You not knowing

17:01

where anything is in your own house? That's all

17:03

because you're...what?

17:04

A time traveller?

17:07

Yeah! You

17:09

think you're a time traveller? I

17:11

know it's a lot, but yeah. And Jackie

17:14

knows too. Right.

17:17

This is a lot. Um... Why

17:22

don't we talk about this in the morning?

17:25

Do you believe me? I

17:28

believe you believe it. Okay.

17:33

For... We'll deal

17:35

with this tomorrow, okay? Yes.

17:38

We'll, uh... We'll

17:41

sort this out. I

17:43

love you. I

17:46

love you too.

17:59

Morning. How

18:03

did you sleep? Well, for

18:06

once. You've

18:08

been so stressed, haven't you? I

18:12

don't like hiding things from you. We

18:14

have to look after each other. Who's

18:17

that? I'll

18:19

get it. Just stay

18:22

in bed. She's

18:32

upstairs. I haven't told her yet, but

18:34

I've packed her things. Okay. We'll

18:36

be as gentle as possible.

18:38

Mr. Gerrit? Morning,

18:41

Mary. Carl,

18:45

what's going on?

18:46

I called Stu. He just wants to do an assessment.

18:49

You called our counselor to assess me.

18:52

I'm a practicing psychiatrist, Mary. Wait,

18:54

are you taking me away? I'm just here to help. How

18:57

could you do this, Carl? We have to make

18:59

sure you're all right. I am all right. We

19:01

have to face reality, love. You're

19:04

talking about time travel. I'm not going with him. We

19:07

don't have to go anywhere for now. Please leave. You're

19:09

not well. I thought

19:12

you believed me. I love

19:14

you. I just want to help you. You

19:16

can't look after Kate like this. You can't look

19:18

after yourself. I

19:21

don't want you ending up like

19:21

my mum.

19:23

No. Mary, don't. No! Mary,

19:26

please stop. Help her. Please.

19:37

Yes, I know. I'll see you in the office. I'm just getting into the

19:39

car now. Jackie! Jackie!

19:43

Mary! What's wrong? Jackie,

19:45

it's all... Oh, my God, I don't know what to do. So I

19:47

told Carl a trace. Whoa,

19:49

whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Just slow-die. I thought

19:51

he believed me, but he wants me sectioned. Oh, my God.

19:54

They're going to strap me to a chair. No-one's going to

19:56

strap you to a chair. What am I going to do? Jackie's

19:58

starting a new life? Click and bell.

19:59

You're not starting a new life in

20:02

Belgium. I'll go to Carl

20:04

and explain. He won't listen. I'll sit him down and I'll

20:06

say to... No! I

20:10

need to fix all of this. Jackie,

20:13

give me reset. Restore? Whatever

20:15

you're calling it. We'll go to the lab

20:17

and I'll take the pill and I'll do it all

20:20

again and fix it. You want to take

20:22

the drug? Please, Jackie. It hasn't even been

20:24

tested on humans. I don't care. It works.

20:28

I know it works. Please, give it to me and

20:30

I'll show you.

20:30

I can't just give it to you. Jackie, me

20:33

and you are the only two people that know

20:36

what it does. There's no

20:38

way Carl will listen. He'll think we're both

20:40

nuts. And Kate will grow up without

20:43

a mother. What do you mean? Oh

20:45

God. He doesn't think I'm fit

20:47

to look after her. They'll

20:50

put me away and Kate will grow up with her mother

20:52

in an institution. I can't do that,

20:54

Jackie. So hang on. What are you

20:56

suggesting? You give me the drug. I'll

20:59

do it better this time. I'll fit

21:00

in better. I'll fix everything

21:03

with Carl and I'll be there for Kate. I'm

21:06

not sure. I've just found her, Jackie.

21:09

I need to fix things for Kate. All

21:11

right. Really? Get

21:14

in the car. What are you waiting

21:16

for? Get in.

21:27

In here.

21:32

Here we go. What's

21:35

this, pale yellow and red? The

21:39

others look like a rene. Where's the set of coating?

21:42

What coating? So

21:44

that's pure reset? Pure restore,

21:46

yes. Okay, just give

21:48

it to me. Here.

21:59

What are you waiting for? What? I don't

22:01

know. This was your plan. I

22:03

know, I'm sorry. I'm just- Take it.

22:06

If I take this, what happens to

22:08

you? I'll be fine. But what if,

22:11

what if you vanish?

22:12

Now why would that happen? You said it would.

22:15

When I take the pill, I reset

22:18

everything. You'll cease to exist. I

22:21

said that. Yeah, you did. Well,

22:24

the other you did. I in

22:27

God's name would I know that. You're a scientist?

22:29

I'm a chemist. Not a theoretical

22:32

physicist. I don't know how

22:34

time travel works. But you invented this

22:37

drug. There could be branching timelines.

22:40

Or maybe our consciousness gets folded into

22:42

the other reality. I don't know.

22:44

And if I don't know, the other

22:47

me definitely didn't know either. Ugh,

22:49

God. What if I mess up

22:52

again? You won't. Just

22:54

come straight to me this time. I'll coach you.

22:56

Catch you up. Jackie.

22:59

Am I doing the right thing? What

23:03

do you know about our mum? Young

23:05

Carl's. Carl

23:08

didn't really talk about her. I

23:10

know she wasn't the best. Understatement.

23:14

She was a bully. The

23:16

night you threw yourself out of the car,

23:20

I was all so...

23:23

That night she came over. She

23:25

called me a... a cancer.

23:29

Yeah. Oh

23:32

my God, Jackie. I'm

23:34

so sorry. That's fine. Well,

23:38

I mean, it's not fine, but... The

23:41

point is... I've

23:43

never told anyone that my mum said that. Not even Carl. If

23:47

you tell that to the other

23:50

me, she'll listen to you. If

23:52

she knows you're there for Kate,

23:54

she'll help. OK. Kate

23:58

deserves to have a mother who's there for her. You

24:01

need to do this. Okay. For

24:03

Kate. You ready? Yep.

24:07

Let's go. Right. Let's do this. What

24:14

now?

24:17

Well, usually

24:20

you just tell me to focus. Feel my bum

24:22

in the chair. Your bum? Not

24:25

very scientific. That's what

24:27

I said. You

24:29

know, Jackie, in my timeline, we

24:33

don't even like each other. Maybe

24:36

when you wake up, we'll still be friends.

24:39

I hope so. I hope

24:42

so too. I

24:47

love this one. Turn it up. It worked

24:49

well done, Jackie. You all right, love?

24:52

Thunderclap. Whoa.

24:55

How did you know that was gonna happen? I

24:57

just did. It's really

24:59

coming down. I hope Jackie's okay.

25:02

Yeah, me too. I'm

25:05

sorry we're

25:05

gonna be late for dinner. Please. Mind the truck. It's

25:09

gonna break suddenly and you're gonna run the car off the road. Up

25:11

that bank in front of the train.

25:13

Train? What train? That

25:16

train. That's

25:18

weird. How did you- Carl, just keep your

25:20

eyes on the road, all right? What did I do?

25:24

Why are you snapping at me? I'm not snapping at you.

25:26

You are? You sound like my problem. Look, I'm sorry

25:28

about your mum. I know she's been horrible to

25:30

you and Jackie. Who told you about her? Carl, watch out! Oh,

25:34

God. Where

25:53

am I going? Touch a squirrel. You're

25:55

a filthy pup. Arlo,

25:59

you're back.

25:59

I am across multiple devices.

26:02

I am always here. What

26:05

was I doing? Inviting lots

26:07

of jet. Ugh, I feel terrible.

26:11

Wait.

26:13

If you're here, where's

26:15

Carl? Carl Hill. Yes,

26:17

Arnold, where is he? Carl is

26:20

sadly deceased. What?

26:23

He died ten years ago in

26:25

a car accident. You purchased

26:27

me, an artificially revitalized

26:29

loved one, and uploaded

26:31

his voice so that I may comfort

26:33

you. No, no, you're broken.

26:35

I need to find Jackie. Call Jackie. Jackie,

26:37

help. Did

26:39

I install the power package? Yes. Call

26:42

Jackie. Jackie is currently in

26:44

Lone Pine Psychiatric Hospital. Shall

26:47

I leave a message? A

26:50

psychiatric hospital.

26:55

In Episode 3 of Bitter Pill,

26:58

by Michael Patrick and Auching Kearney, Mary

27:01

was played by Shawnine Brennan, Jackie

27:03

by Charlotte McCurry, Carl

27:05

Shawn Blaney, Stuart Tony

27:07

Flynn, and Warren was Martin McCann.

27:11

All other roles were performed by members

27:13

of the cast and crew.

27:15

Bitter Pill was produced in Belfast

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by Michael Shannon. The

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executive editor was Andy Morton. Bitter

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Pill is a BBC Northern Ireland production

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for Radio 4.