We’re calling it: brighter days are coming. It’s almost the end of January, evenings are definitely a little lighter and there’s a whole slew of exciting new TV series in the pipeline for spring and summer. And what could be better than a thrilling heist drama, with a top-notch cast and female-centric storyline? Not much, we don’t think. 

So when we heard that ITV have commissioned Frauds, a six-part series created by and starring Suranne Jones (Maryland, Vigil, Gentleman Jack, Doctor Foster) and written by Anne-Marie O’Connor (Trollied, Hullraisers), it’s safe to say we were thrilled. A story of toxic female friendship, treachery and tragedy, it looks set to be a huge hit. 

Currently filming in Spain, here’s everything we know so far. 

Frauds is the story of long-time friends Bert (Jones) and Sam, played by Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker. According to the official synopsis, the pair are skilled confidence tricksters who’ve been separated by an arduous 10-year prison sentence. Reunited when Bert is released from jail after a terminal cancer diagnosis, they’re drawn into one final fraud – but will it draw them together or tear them apart? 

“Set in the picturesque mountainous region of southern Spain, it’s apparent from the outset that Sam and Bert have unresolved issues of the thieving kind,” the synopsis continues. “Locked into a pattern of fierce friendship coupled with deep mistrust, that goes back many years, Bert apparently has no one else to turn to in the final weeks of her life. And we sense this isn’t going to be an easy ride for Sam, who is clearly burying feelings of guilt, and a past she’d rather stay forgotten.

“Pricked by those feelings, she reluctantly agrees to give her ailing former friend a bed in the idyllic smallholding she calls a home,” it goes on. “Despite trying to keep Bert at a distance, she is immediately pulled back into their complex and addictive relationship.

“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 and escape one another for good?”

The series has been commissioned by ITV’s director of Drama, Polly Hill, and is being co-produced by Monumental Television (The Marlow Murder Club, Maryland, Harlots, Ghosts, Murder In Provence) in association with ITV Studios and TeamAkers, the production company founded by Suranne Jones and writer/producer Laurence Akers.

Jones, who acts as co-producer as well as starring as Bert, says “Working on Frauds with Anne-Marie and Monumental for the last two years has been a wild ride. We took the idea of toxic female friendship and turned it on its head to give the heist genre an emotional heartbeat. I have always wanted to work with Jodie, and now I am. I hope you love Bert and Sam, and all they get up to as much as we do.”

O’Connor reiterates Jones’s comments, saying: “Suranne and I wanted to take a look at the importance and fierceness of female friendship and to do it using the propulsive heist genre. I am thrilled to be working with Monumental again, and having Jodie joining us alongside Suranne is a dream.”

Filming of the series is currently underway in Spain, and we know that it will air on ITV and STV, and be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player, but there’s no release date as yet. 

Images:  Getty; @bypip