Frauds: cast, plot and everything we know

Suranne Jones in her hit series Vigil (Image credit: BBC)

Suranne Jones will lead the cast of Frauds, an upcoming heist drama about a pair of confidence tricksters on one final job.

Jones (Vigil, Doctor Foster), who created the six-part ITV drama with Anne Marie O'Connor, will star opposite Jodie Whittaker, of Doctor Who and Broadchurch fame.

The story begins with Sam (Whittaker) living quietly in the hills of Southern Spain, whilst her grifting partner, Bert (Jones), has spent the last decade in a Spanish prison cell eager to return to the game. But after her release, can Bert tempt her old friend out of retirement?

"Working on Frauds with Anne-Marie for the last two years has been a wild ride," said Jones. "We took the idea of toxic female friendship and turned it on its head to give the heist genre an emotional heartbeat. I've 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.”

Giulia Gandini (The Split, Shetland) will direct the series and Pat Tookey-Dickson (Toxic Town, Maryland, 1899, Ghosts) will produce.

Here's everything we know about Frauds...

Frauds release date

ITV confirmed that filming for this six-part drama began in Spain in January of 2025. This means we can probably expect Frauds to hit our screens at some point in 2026.

ITV Studios will be responsible for the international distribution of the series.

Frauds plot

The "one final job" schtick is as old as the hills and we can't wait to see these two British stars put their own spin on it.

Yet the show is also about female relationships, as co-creator Anne-Marie O’Connor explains. “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," she commented. "I'm thrilled I am thrilled to be working with Suranne again and having Jodie join us is a dream.”

Here's a synopsis from ITV: "We pick up the story as Sam (Whittaker) anxiously waits for Bert (Jones) to be released from a maximum-security prison on grounds of compassionate discharge. Frail and facing her final days, following a cancer diagnosis, Bert’s mindset is as it’s always been, to take risks and live life on the edge.

"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.

"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. 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?"

Frauds cast

The two show's two leads need little introduction, but let's take a look at their stellar CVs anyway..

Suranne Jones rose to prominence in ITV soap Coronation Street, yet has had a string of primetime hits over the last decade, including Doctor Foster, Vigil, Scott & Bailey and Gentleman Jack.

Meanwhile Jodie Whittaker was part of the cast for runaway ITV hit Broadchurch and then became the first-ever female Doctor when she took the leading role in classic BBC One show, Doctor Who.

There's no other casting news available at the moment, but as soon as we hear more we'll be sure to let you know...