Fake: release date, cast, plot, episodes, trailer and all we know

A close up of Birdie Bell [Asher Keddie] and Joe Burt [David Wenham].

(Image credit: (C) Lionsgate/ITV)

Fake is a gripping psychological thriller inspired by the bestselling book of the same name by Stephanie Wood and has been created for television by acclaimed screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf (The Twelve).

When writer Birdie Bell meets wealthy grazier Joe on a dating app she dives fast and deep into the romance she’s always known was waiting for her.

But the further into her new romance she’s drawn, the more she finds herself suppressing the instinct that things don’t quite add up.

Here's everything you need to know about Fake...

Fake release date

All episodes of Fake will be available to stream exclusively on ITVX from Sunday, April 27.

The series will also air weekly on Saturday nights on ITV1 from Saturday, May 3.

In the US, you can stream the series on Paramount Plus.

Margeaux [Heather Mitchell], Birdie Bell [Asher Keddie] sitting at a table in a fancy house drinking tea — Birdie is trying to live up to her mother's expectations. (Image credit: (C) Lionsgate/ITV)

Fake plot

The official ITV synopsis says: "Fake tells the story of Birdie Bell, played by Asher Keddie (Nine Perfect Strangers), a magazine features writer who thinks she’s found her perfect match when she meets successful rancher Joe (David Wenham, Pieces of Her), on a dating app.

"But as the relationship intensifies, Birdie is torn between Joe’s magnetic pull and the instinct that her boyfriend isn’t all he has led her to believe. FAKE is a story of deception, a tense and exhilarating exploration of the illusions life lays out for us, through both the lies we are told and the lies we tell ourselves."

Fake cast

Asher Keddie as Birdie Bell
Empathetic and cautiously trusting, food writer Birdie Bell has a hungry need for romantic love but an unsettling, deep conviction she doesn’t deserve it. Growing up in the shadow of her parent’s great love story, the recent death of her much-idolised father has left a lion-shaped hole in her heart, and she is looking to fill it with new distractions. When she meets Joe on a dating app, her instincts tell her to run; but knowing there’s probably some truth in her mother’s urging to stop being so fussy and focus on his positives, she pushes her doubts to the side, and opens herself up to the swirling confusion of this potential new love.

David Wenham as Joe Burt
Recently divorced, Joe is a retired architect turned Grazier/ property investor. He lives in a riverfront house on the Yarra with his two children but is a simple life-loving grazier at heart, running a herd of Dorpers and regenerating his lands with native grasses. Following in the footsteps of his famous grandfather, a road-haulage tycoon, Joe has a wide range of business interests, including making a disgusting amount of money in property, solar and wind-farming deals - he even advised treasurer Wayne Swan and the Chinese president on the future of solar. And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything.

Heather Mitchell as Margeaux Bell
Always impeccably presented, usually in shades of white, Margeaux is dry-witted at best, acerbic and cutting at worst. A woman for whom traditional gender stereotypes worked, she constructed a comfortable identity around her wildly successful marriage to the doting Gordon. This Great Love Story was relayed on repeat to her young, impressionable daughter, unwittingly embedding deep within Birdie unrealistic and dangerous romantic expectations. Although the way Margeaux remembers it, she always told Birdie to focus on a career, not men.

Nicholas Brown as Anton
Anton is Birdie’s dearest friend. He’s been a steadfast presence in her life since their brief romantic fling during university days, which ended when he came to terms with his sexuality. Anton owns the Falconer, a wine bar located on the outskirts of the city, and Birdie’s go-to spot. He is happily engaged to Tovey, and together, they have an 8-year-old daughter, Rory, to whom Birdie is a devoted Godmother. This family is a pillar of stability in Birdie’s life, representative of the life built on love she so hungrily wants. Anton badly wants to embrace Birdie’s budding romance, but over time, his doubts begin to surface.

Spencer McLaren as Tovey
When Tovey came into Anton’s life, rather than losing her dearest friend, Birdie gained a new one. Tovey is an eternal optimist and a hopeless romantic from a loving country family. Finally planning their long-awaited wedding at his family farm, he harbours no doubt about the love he is so abundantly surrounded by - something Birdie can’t even fathom.

Joe Burt [David Wenham] leaning against a car parked in someone's drive. — There's a reason Joe seems too good to be true... (Image credit: (C) Lionsgate/ITV)

Fake episode guide

Episode 1 - Lanolin
Birdie Bell hopes for a love story when she matches with wealthy architect turned grazier Joe on a dating app, but despite his promising profile, she’s not impressed by their first date. In the following days, having written Joe off, Birdie attempts to busy herself with work and life, but begins to doubt her initial instincts and agrees to a second date. As their connection deepens, Birdie finds herself unexpectedly falling for Joe. Meanwhile, we glimpse a different Birdie in the future – a shadow of herself, as Joe begins to draw her into his fantasy life.

Episode 2 - Stitches
Birdie prepares for a romantic trip with Joe to an isolated beach house, shutting down a co-worker’s offer to do a background check on her new flame. But as they’re leaving, Joe is called to the hospital to tend to a family emergency, leaving Birdie to make the trip alone. Later, he surprises her with a night at a luxury hotel in the city, which is soured by the realisation that Joe had other motives for taking her there.

Episode 3 - The Blue Loon
Guided by her psychologist, Birdie works on managing her anxiety around relationships. Wanting to trust Joe, she rearranges her parents’ significant anniversary dinner to take up his offer of hosting them all on his boat. As the day unfolds without Joe arriving, tensions escalate and Birdie’s long history of failed relationships becomes the fodder of her goading family’s entertainment. As Birdie reaches breaking point, word finally arrives from Joe that he’s been in an accident. Unsure what this means for their plans, the family decide to leave, until Joe suggests meeting at a restaurant to salvage the day. At dinner, Joe regales the group with the tale of his heroics on the river, as Birdie tries to swallow her unease and bask in the moment of shared glory.

Episode 4 - Eldorado
Joe cancels on yet another plan last minute, leaving Birdie with a niggling fear that she’s his dirty little secret. When Birdie presses him to let her into his life, he unexpectedly introduces her to his kids over an awkward dinner. At work, Birdie interviews Tina Torana’s daughter Montana, hoping to understand why Tina had lied about her life, and learns she’d always been a fantasist. Now, Birdie’s sure she’s got Joe pegged, especially when he makes grandiose promises about “Eldorado”, a magnificent property he plans to buy for the two of them. But when Eldorado turns out to be a real place, Birdie allows herself to imagine the perfect life they could have together.

Episode 5 - Love Kitten
Birdie’s at peak contentment when the weekend of Anton’s wedding arrives, thrilled to be sharing a milestone moment with Joe. But during a long, tense trip to the airport, the plans unravel with Joe stuck at his accountant’s office trying to access a deposit for the Eldorado property on a tight deadline. With their future in the balance, Birdie scrambles to come up with the money, pressing her friends and family to empty their pockets. But when Birdie finally secures the cash, Joe goes silent, Birdie feels her world shift from underneath her as their flight is about to take off.

Joe Burt [David Wenham], Birdie Bell [Asher Keddie] walking down a street in the city at night. — Birdie falls for Joe, but he is hiding a huge secret. (Image credit: (C) Lionsgate/ITV)

Episode 6 - Run
A shift in gears as the story unfolds from a different perspective. We follow Joe as he seamlessly moves through the chaos of his daily life, raiding his soon-to-be auctioned family home for valuables before joining Kirsty (his other girlfriend) at a couples counselling session… Joe visits his mum at her nursing home, before splitting when he spots his brothers arriving. Later, we see Joe’s real living conditions as he cooks alone on a camping stove. Joe entertains his kids with a boat he claims to own, refusing to sign divorce papers when his ex-wife Mary suddenly arrives. Another meeting with Allan, working to secure their deal. Joe takes Kirsty shopping for extravagant antiques, making grand gestures, promising her she could have whatever she wanted. They spend an intimate afternoon in a motel, then visit Joe’s old Grammar School where Joe has two tense altercations with people from his past. Birdie calls Joe from the airport, wondering where he is. Joe’s preoccupied with something bigger, he’s scrambling to cancel the auction of his family home, bidding on it with money he doesn’t have.

Episode 7 - Liar
Birdie arrives at Tovey and Anton’s wedding alone, insisting that Joe is rebooking and will be arriving soon. Frantically trying to get through to him amid the wedding preparations, Birdie’s lies escalate as Joe drops out of contact. Even when Don shows Birdie an article on the sale of Eldorado, and Tovey’s sister arrives unexpectedly, edging Birdie closer to the singles table. She continues to fake on Joe’s behalf, going through the motions of photos and speeches. At the end of the agonizing night on a stomach full of booze, Birdie finally falls apart and lashes out at Margeaux, who sees through her lies. When Birdie wakes in the morning with a thumping head she hears a familiar voice outside – could that be Joe?

Episode 8 - My Joe
Done with Joe for good, Birdie picks herself up off the floor and starts investigating him with Peggy’s help. She speaks with Joe’s ex-business partners, his brothers and the infamous Tessa Rain – all with their own stories of Joe. Allan appears at her office and Birdie’s world is rocked as she realises Joe’s con was never actually about her, she was a pawn in an even bigger scam. Birdie manages to track Joe down to a derelict boat, hoping to confront him, but he isn’t there, just traces of his sad, empty existence. Time to walk away. Birdie publishes her article, hoping to finally get some closure, but in the outpouring of responses realises she’ll be talking about narcissist Joe for the rest of her life.