Wakefield nurse gets a taste of Hollywood in Brad Pitt blockbuster, F1 the Movie

Charge Nurse Paul Blakemore, who works in the Regional Adult’s Burns Centre at Pinderfields, acted as a medical advisor to the film’s production crew, specifically around burns wounds and dressings.

Paul is a highly skilled specialist burns nurse who also occasionally works as an advisor on TV and film sets as a hobby, helping the crew create realistic prosthetic burn wounds and ensuring the portrayal of nursing care is as accurate and authentic as possible.

In 2023, he took to the cobbles of Coronation Street to share his expert knowledge on the powerful storyline of Ryan Conner’s acid attack.

His work is featured in two scenes of F1 the Movie, one set in a hospital in Italy, where some of the cast are taken after a fire breaks out at a racetrack, and another scene in a hospital set in Las Vegas.

The film stars Brad Pitt as racing driver Sonny Hayes, who returns after a 30-year absence to save his former teammate's underdog team.

Paul said: “The work I did impacted the film by helping to show a truer representation of a burned individual.

"From the initial medical terminology used, the setup of monitoring equipment and IV drips, to the accurate appearance of burn dressings used on an individual.

“I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to accurately depict what burn wounds and dressings look like, and by doing this I hope to make scenes in films and TV programmes truer to life.”

Paul’s first two days on set were spent working in a disused Grade 2 listed hospital in London that had unique architecture, with a third day spent in a film studio in Aylesbury.

Prior to this work on set, he also spent some time gathering preparatory research and presentation information for the film producers.

Paul added: “I did get to meet some of the cast in my role and they were all very polite and appreciative of my work.”

He will also be working on another movie project this summer.