Suranne Jones, Jodie Whittaker lead ITV’s Frauds

FIRST LOOK: Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker team up for Frauds, an ITV heist thriller due to launch on ITV1 and ITVX later this year.

Jones (Maryland, Vigil) and Whittaker (Time, Doctor Who) plays complex duo Bert and Sam, whose intertwined past resurfaces in Southern Spain after a decade of separation.

As Sam has sought a low-key life, Bert’s release from a Spanish prison for compassionate reasons reignites her ambition for one final, significant score. On the pretext of one final, multi-million-pound art heist, Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement, but at what cost? Can Sam stay one step ahead of her former friend, who is clearly capable of treachery? Or will the push and pull of their toxic friendship see them both ruined before they are able to pull off the job?

The six-part series also stars Talisa García as Miss Take, a smart, funny and acerbic Spanish trans woman in her fifties who hosts drag bingo at the club on the Costa del Sol. Miss Take doesn’t see the club or drag as her salvation, it’s something that served her once and has now become the thing that is holding her back in life. She wants more. And Bert and Sam, despite their thorny history, might just be able to offer her that.

Elizabeth Berrington plays Jackie Diamond, a sharp-witted and sharp-mouthed magician’s assistant to her husband The Great Diavolo. But it’s Jackie who is the real talent, the master illusionist who invents their tricks and puts together all their elaborate shows and who met Bert and Sam years ago when they were petty criminals. When they come back into her life, she’ll be left questioning whether she really is happy in the wings or whether there’s still time to take centre stage.

Christian Cooke is Deegs, a Bradford money lender who tracks Bilal to Spain, creating conflict with Bert and Sam, and Nansi Nsue plays Amaya, a determined Spanish cop and working mum investigating a bizarre series of thefts.

Lee Boardman, Abdul Salis, Karan Gill, Thais Martin, Kate Fleetwood and Javier Taboada also star.

Frauds has been created for ITV by Suranne Jones and Anne-Marie O’Connor and is written by Anne-Marie O’Connor (Maryland, Hullraisers, Trollied). The drama is directed by Giulia Gandini (My Time, Shetland) and Brian O’Malley (Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue, Alex Rider).

Produced by Monumental Television (Harlots, Ghosts), Frauds is a co-production with TeamAkers, the production company founded by Suranne Jones and Laurence Akers.

The drama will be executive produced by Alison Owen (Maryland, Ghosts, Harlots) and Katie Kelly (Maryland, Harlots) on behalf of Monumental Television. Debra Hayward, Alison Carpenter, Jill Forbes and Pat Tookey-Dickson also executive produce for Monumental Television. Writer and co-creator Anne-Marie O’Connor also executive produces as does Suranne Jones on behalf of TeamAkers.

ITV Studios will handle international distribution.

tagged in: Frauds, ITV, ITV Studios, Jodie Whittaker, Monumental Television, Suranne Jones, TeamAkers