As The Syndicate Season 4 continues on Tuesday night [6 April], the Woodvale Kennels' lottery syndicate are on the hunt for their missing millions.
In last week's opening episode of the BBC1 drama, the kennel workers — having already thought they'd won £500 — were ecstatic to discover they'd actually won a whopping £27 million. They just needed to find newsagent Frank (Neil Morrissey), who sold them the ticket — to sort out the misunderstanding.
But without their ticket — and Frank now AWOL — how can they prove that they scooped the jackpot?
Young Keeley (Katherine Rose Morley) and the gang tell Denise from Mercury Millions that they are the real lottery winners, and urge her to check with Cheryl from the newsagent, where they bought the ticket.
Cheryl, meanwhile, is in the flat above the shop in floods of tears. She’s discovered Frank (Neil Morrissey) is in Monaco and can’t believe he’s walked out on her when they’re due to get married in just three weeks!
"Cheryl's desperate to marry Frank but all he's done is drag his feet; he hasn't a lifted a finger or bought crucial things for the wedding," reveals former Emmerdale star Gaynor Faye, who plays her. "The fact someone has won the lottery in their shop is probably the biggest moment of Cheryl’s life — apart from Frank’s proposal, which I expect wasn’t particularly romantic!"
Wanting to understand why he may have left, Cheryl checks the shop’s CCTV footage from the day the syndicate came in to check their lottery ticket. But what will it reveal?
With £27 million on the line, the syndicate feel they have no choice but to track down Frank in Monaco themselves and find out what’s happened to their winnings.
But last-minute flights are just too expensive — so they go to the one person they think can help: Cheryl. Can they all work together to find Frank — and the cash? "This episode marks a big turning point for Cheryl," says Gaynor. "She has to make big choices, which involve the kennel workers, her fiancé — and Duke their dog! She makes decisions which have a ripple effect and a journey of their own throughout the series."
The Syndicate continues Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC1.
