You’ve got the love: behind the scenes with stars of BBC Ambulance

Viewers of the award-winning TV show Ambulance loved watching crewmates Shyr-Nai and James as they cared for Londoners in the capital.

Episode three of the series was broadcast on BBC One last night and is available on iPlayer, and focused on the difficult decisions made in the London Ambulance Service 999 control room.

Emergency Medical Technician James, who’s 28, started his career with the Service as a call handler so knows only too well the challenges.

In the show he reflects: “It’s probably more difficult than ever to decide who is a higher priority than who.”

The episode sees James and Shyr-Nai caring for several patients including an elderly faller, a patient with suspected sepsis and a man who is feeling suicidal.

The condition of their last patient’s housing leaves the crewmates feeling shocked and saddened but paramedic Shyr-Nai admits her friendship with James makes the tough jobs easier.

She said: “We can tackle anything together. That’s the best thing about my job. Getting to work with my best mate.

“Our friendship means our patients get the best of us. We understand each other so well and we can anticipate what we need and that means we can offer the best care and treatment to those who need us.

“It also means having someone there for us when we need it. We can talk about everything.”

The pair were first crewed together when Shyr-Nai joined the Service after graduating in 2021. She’d always wanted to work in healthcare and became a cadet with St John Ambulance at 10-years-old.

As a cadet she got the chance to volunteer at big events like the London Marathon and found herself working alongside paramedics – and realised this would be the perfect job for her.

Now 26, she said: “I love the freedom – we aren’t confined to working in one place and we are making decisions every day which can save lives.”

James, who is on an apprenticeship to become a paramedic, added: “We never know what the day will bring.

“We know where our shift will start and where it will finish but in those hours… anything can happen.”

The pair had cameras following them across a series of shifts at the beginning of the year and think the resulting footage is an accurate depiction of what it is like working for the ambulance service.

And the cameras even continued to roll when the crewmates were seen between patients singing along to Candi Staton’s hit song “You’ve Got the Love”.

Shyr-Nai and James admitted to being nervous about appearing on TV but viewers have taken to social media to express their support and appreciation of the crewmates.

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