Episode 1

In this first episode, we follow Daren Francis, one of the UK's leading bowel cancer surgeons, who works across three different hospitals in north London.

Retired nurse Doris has been admitted in great pain with a tumour, and Daren needs to operate fast. He suspects the tumour is cancerous and is blocking her bowel. If it's not removed, it could get bigger and eventually burst. It's now a race against time to remove it before that happens.

67-year-old Antonio is the head chef of a family-run Italian restaurant. The results are back from recent tests and Daren now has to break the news to him - he has a lump in his bowel which is cancer. Daren must operate on him to remove the cancer and prevent it spreading any further.

Daren's wife and children need the patience of saints to deal with the hours he works. Luckily, his wife is a GP and understands the score. But Daren's not just juggling long hours at work with making time for his wife and children - his father died of cancer 6 years ago and his mum has recently been diagnosed with dementia. Now, Daren faces the difficult decision of whether she might be better off in a care home.

At the Royal Free, operation day has arrived and Antonio will be having his tumour removed. Daren will be using state of the art keyhole surgery. Antonio's tumour is on the right side of his bowel and access is tricky, not helped by the fact that Antonio has scar tissue from an earlier operation. What should have been a relatively straight forward operation turns into something far more complicated, as Daren discovers the scar tissue is far more extensive than he anticipated.