Machikan, who has practised in the US and Vietnam, learnt there is a “method to the madness”.

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“In Australia, the way they approach things is very systematic,” he says. “Yes, seconds count, but you don’t need to panic. I felt like it was counter to what I was trying to achieve. But in retrospect, I realised there’s a way to calmly handle the craziness to achieve a good outcome.”

Producer Rachael Kelly, also from Ireland, was impressed with how quickly the overseas doctors gained the confidence of local patients who agreed to be fitted with microphones. “It really is people’s most vulnerable time, and the doctors built relationships quickly. It was the trust. I think that’s why they allowed us in.”

Her previous Prospero Productions series, Children’s Hospital (broadcast on Nine and the Discovery channel), and Outback Farm (7mate and Discovery), were also made for dual Australian-UK audiences. Nine’s forthcoming WA Cops (Cops Down Under for UK viewers), features Irish and British recruits to the Western Australian Police Force.

“We did step out and see what the young doctors’ lives were like outside of the ED because that was part of it,” says Kelly. “Not only were they coming over to do a new job in a new hospital, they were also coming to a new country.”

Not done saving lives at work, Machikan joined the local Surf Life Saving club. “Surprisingly, most of the people in that life saving club were doctors,” he says.

Despite the popularity of TikTok videos of him peeling a grape with a laparoscopic machine, Machikan has no designs on celebrity. He hopes the series fosters an understanding of the training process. “Most of my education came from when I finished medical school, when I started to work. It felt nice to show that junior doctors are human.”

Junior Doctors Down Under premieres on Thursday, August 1, at 8.25pm on SBS.

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