I oppose, in fact, state hospital drama (8)
I believe the answer is:
naysayer
'i' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I cannot see how one could define the other.
'oppose in fact state hospital drama' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'oppose' could be 'naysay' (naysayers oppose something) and 'naysay' is found in the answer.
'hospital drama' could be 'er' and 'er' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for naysayer that I've seen before include "He refuses to agree" , "Yes, Aryan may be person who habitually denies or refuses" , "One who denies" , "Obstructionist" .)