Guilt of the volunteer unscathed in the Elephant Man drug trial

The so-called ‘elephant Man’ drug trial of 2006, where six human guineapigs experienced horrific reactions to a cancer drug they were testing, is a story most of us recall.

So it was rather odd after watching The Drug Trial: Emergency At The Hospital (BBC2) to feel so much sympathy for Raste Khan, a volunteer who never took the drug nor became ill.

What neither Khan, then 23, nor the clinicians knew was that he had been given a placebo. It was already going into his veins when he saw David Oakley — who ten minutes earlier had been given the real drug — start to react. David began to burn up and writhe in agony as the drug (known only as TGN1412) penetrated his system.

Two other men in Khan’s group followed suit. In the words of Dr Daniel Bradford, overseeing the trial, they ‘tumbled like dominoes’. One man became so distressed that he tried to flee the hospital still wired to the machine, shouting that he’d changed his mind and didn’t want the money.

All Raste Khan could do was look on and wait for his own agony to start. his torment lasted for two hours before it became clear he’d had a lucky escape. But his initial relief was replaced with feelings of overwhelming guilt as he watched the men he’d become friendly with fighting for their lives.

Produced in the form of firstperson testimony with dramatic reconstruction, last night’s documentary was as grippingly compelling as any TV hospital drama.

hero of the hour was undoubtedly Dr Ganesh Suntharalingam — an intensive care consultant at the hospital next door to the clinic where the trial was conducted.

All six of those with adverse reactions were experiencing multiple organ failure and he had to make the call whether to treat them for infection or extreme immune reaction. They went with the second option and after two to three days most improved dramatically.

Only Ryan Wilson failed to rally, spending a further four months in hospital and losing several of his fingers and toes to gangrene.

Most startling was the information displayed in the final credits: that TGN1412 may yet be used in the treatment of cancer. It has since been tested successfully in Russia on volunteers who received a fraction of the dose.

Sinister for very different reasons was Inside No 9 (BBC2). Anybody familiar with its creators and stars Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith will know that they take black comedy to new depths.

Back for a third series, each half-hour episode tells a standalone story behind the doors of a No 9 building.

Last night’s episode, The Bill, was set in a restaurant where a group of friends met for dinner after a game of badminton.

Among their number was rich, cocky Craig (Philip Glenister) who liked to flash his cash around and brag about his gold card and luxury car.

We’ve all experienced that awkward situation when the bill arrives and arguments break out over who should pay what. There’s always someone like Kevin (Jason Watkins) who wants to pay less because he didn’t have a starter or drink as much.

But this is macabre comedy where arguments are not politely resolved. Instead, it culminated in Archie (Reece Shearsmith) lying about having a brain tumour and the waitress accidentally getting her throat slit.

Last night’s episode somewhat lost its way in the last few minutes, but if you like your comedy blacker than treacle, it certainly ticked the boxes.