The Curse sees the stars of People Just Do Nothing and Tom Davis of King Gary join forces in a new comedy-drama on Channel 4 this February that's a story of 'trust, greed, ambition, class, and in-equality'. Set in the 1980s, the six-part series will follow a gang of criminals who carry out a robbery and get more than they bargained for when they get their hands on the loot, in a tale with similarities to the infamous real-life Brink's-Mat Robbery of 1983.
The seres stars Tom Davis and the 'Kurupt FM' lads Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp, and Hugo Chegwin, who have all teamed up to write the comedy drama with King Gary co-creator James De Frond. So here's everything we know so far about The Curse on C4...
When will 'The Curse' be on Channel 4?
The Curse will air on Channel 4 on Sunday February 6th at 10pm. The entire six-part series will then be released on All 4 afterwards. There's no news yet if the series will get an air date in the US or worldwide at this stage, but we'll keep you updated.
Is there a trailer for 'The Curse'?
Yes you can see all the action from The Curse in anew Channel 4 trailer. Take a look right here...
What's the plot of 'The Curse'?
The Curse is a comedy caper set in London in the early 1980s, following a gang of hopeless small-time crooks who through their own stupidity and poor judgement find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest gold heists in history.
The 1980's saw the elevation of materialistic values, in a decade where the rich got richer (mainly at the expense of others). The same era saw a rise in armed robberies with local lads taking from the very people they felt were robbing them.
The comedy is a fictionalised tale loosely inspired by an infamous robbery from the early 1980's, where six men raided a depot near one of London's airports thinking they'd walk away with £50,000 in cash, only to stumble across seven thousand bars of gold, with a street value of tens of millions!
The Curse stars Allan Mustafa (playing Albert Fantoni), Steve Stamp (playing Sidney Wilson), Hugo Chegwin (playing Phil "The Captain" Pocket) and Tom Davis (playing Big Mick Neville), a group of hapless small-time criminals who become embroiled in the plot. They are normal working-class men who just dabble in low-level crime to make ends meet during the recession-hit decade.
But the naïve gang royally bite off more than they can chew with the heist and subsequently are stuck with the impossible task of coming up with a plot to rid themselves of the loot before they get nicked or even worse, end up dead...
The Curse is a tale of friendship. Can a group of childhood friends stick together when they find themselves transformed overnight from nobody's to somebody's and what are the sacrifices that they must make to survive...and ultimately is all the money in the world ever really worth it?
What do the cast say about 'The Curse'?
The Curse star Allan Mustafa told us: "It’s about four normal idiots from the East End who are hard pushed for money. It’s the 1980s, it’s Thatcher’s Britain, people around them are buying stuff they don’t need but they’re struggling. So when they get a tip-off about a robbery, they get involved. But it’s not what they thought and now they’ve got to deal with the consequences. Deep down it's a story about friendship. Men are essentially always boys. You might grow up and step up to the plate, but you always end up reverting to your childhood self. There’s a lot of that in these characters. They kind of need each other."
Tom Davis told This Country creator Daisy May Cooper in a recent Instagram interview: "We're trying to write a film which is all based around growing up in the nineties," "When you grow up in inner London, it was before gang culture, it's like naff gang culture, rival council estates with kids trying to sell weed."
He also added: “Ever since first meeting Allan, Steve and Hugo myself and James have been buzzing to work with them. Channel 4 has such an incredible history in bringing working class stories to life, we’re excited to add this tale to the mix."
Meanwhile, co-writer Steve Stamp commented: “I’ve always wanted a mullet so really this is just an excuse to do that. But also an absolute privilege to work with such a talented group of people and to be making something with this level of scale and ambition. Really excited to start shooting.”
Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, said: “It's been such a treat to see these mega comedy talents collide with The Curse. As gripping as it is daft, we're thrilled to have such an ambitiously funny show from these brilliant creatives coming to Channel 4.”
Who else stars in 'The Curse'?
Emer Kenny (Father Brown & The Duchess), Peter Ferninando (The Letter for The King & Hyena), Ambreen Razia (Starstruck & This Way Up), Northern Irish star Michael Smiley (Kill List & The Lobster) and Geoff Bell, who's famous for playing East End Hardmen, most notably in Green Street and Top Boy, will also appear.
Emer Kenny on starring as Natasha in 'The Curse'
Best known for her roles in EastEnders and Father Brown, Emer Kenny plays Natasha, the wife of criminal Albert in The Curse.
Emer says: "Natasha’s married to Albert and they run a café. She aspires to a better life. She uses her feminine wiles to talk Albert into this criminal adventure and also convinces her brother Sidney that he’s the mastermind behind it. They think it’s all their idea, but it’s hers!
"I thought there would be massive hair and lots of glamour but because the characters don’t have any money, they’re still wearing stuff from the 1970s. We looked at old episodes of Only Fools & Horses and a lot of the women were wearing baggy shapes, fussy blouses and a lot of beige and brown. I thought, ‘This isn’t the sparkly dream I was hoping for!
"She begins the story with these aspirations and ideas of what she wants, but as they get in deeper and deeper, she realises she doesn’t really need any of these trappings and maybe she was happy after all. Happily, she gets a bit more glamorous, too!"
Where is 'The Curse' being filmed?
The cast and crew were filming scenes set in 1980s London, in Liverpool City Centre in September 2021. The area around Ormond Street, Old Hall Street and Bixteth Street were transformed in September for the Channel 4 show.
Last year's pilot was shot at several locations, including the Palm Tree Pub in Mile End, London.
Is there a trailer for 'The Curse'?
There sure is, check The Curse trailer right here below...
