Too Good To Be True is a Channel 5 thriller that sees Kara Tointon playing Rachel, a cash-strapped single mother who works all hours as a cleaner to give her son Liam a better life. She’s thrilled when she lands a well-paid job for a wealthy client called Elliot.
But when Elliot’s behaviour becomes increasingly controlling, Rachel digs into his past and discovers some dark and disturbing truths. Downton Abbey star Allen Leech plays the secretive businessman Elliot while Cold Feet’s John Thomson is Rachel’s boss, Geoff.
So here’s everything you need to know about Too Good To Be True on Channel 5 which poses the question: how far would you go to repair your past?
Too Good To Be True release date
The final two episodes of Too Good To Be True air on Channel 5 on Wednesday, February 21, and Thursday, February 22 at 9 pm. Episodes can also be watched on demand via My5.
Currently, we don't have a US release date but we'll let you know if that changes.
Is there a Too Good To Be True trailer?
Yes, Channel 5 has released a Too Good To Be True trailer. Take a look below...
Too Good To Be True plot
Too Good To Be True follows Kara Tointon's character Rachel, a young, single mother who is constantly on the poverty line. She works as a cleaner and one day her boss is approached by a businesswoman acting on behalf of a rich client called Elliot. He’s a regular guest at the hotel where Rachel works and asks if Rachel can clean exclusively for him.
Rachel jumps at the chance, with the opportunity to work better hours and earn more cash proving too hard to resist. Gradually though, Elliot’s behaviour towards Rachel and Liam raises red flags and Rachel starts to dig into his past, learning how Elliot’s childhood is the key to his obsession with her and her son.
Too Good To Be True cast — Kara Tointon on playing Rachel
In Too Good To Be True, Kara Tointon plays skint single mum Rachel. Kara says: "I liked the grit in her, the never-say-die attitude. She hasn’t had it easy, but she is a trier and she’s doing her best with the lot she’s been given. She’s got a beautiful son in Liam and life is tough. What I found interesting reading the scripts is that Rachel is struggling to make ends meet so then to have this moment seemingly of luck come along how does she navigate that? Having built up this wall of strength around her and Liam can she allow herself to go along for this ride?
"I think the relationship between Rachel and her son is a strong one. Charlie who plays Liam is a fantastic actor. He has a real emotional intelligence for his age. Charlie made it really easy in terms of authenticity. I’m a mother myself to two boys. My two little ones are still under the age of five so Liam is older than that. But this did get me thinking about the teenage years and what I’ve got to look forward to. What struck me with Rachel and Liam is that they must have such a bond. They are in this together. Liam is her rock and vice versa. They are a team. Rachel’s frustration is that with this little bundle of joy she’s brought up how does she give him the best she possibly can? That’s her main focus and goal when this opportunity comes along. There is this really sweet moment where they are in Elliot’s mansion and Liam starts playing on the grand piano much to Rachel’s horror. But no one is about so she thinks, ‘Sod it we’ll have a little play together.’ They have a little tinkle and Liam is really good because he is just this genius at everything. I have to say that Charlie was doing all the hard work. He had learned a piece. I just had to go ding, dang, dong with my finger. That was about as much as I brought to it. Charlie also made a video that they showed on our final day of filming. He had done impressions of all of us. Cast. Crew, everyone. We were in tears because he nailed it. He has got such an eye for mannerisms and getting people.
"Her first meeting with mysterious Elliot is when she is putting out some rubbish at the end of her shift and this figure pops out from behind some bins. It’s just this passing guy who is looking after a stray kitten. She thinks that’s sweet but she’s late for her next stop, which is getting Liam to school. Then this job opportunity comes up. She’s a bit flummoxed and a bit weirded out by it. Why her? She arrives at this incredible mansion in a fairy-tale setting and wonders what the heck is going on. She is now cleaning this huge, beautiful house and the guy she met a few days before is now this gorgeous Prince Charming as it were. He’s seemingly very nice. He’s given her this shot. But she doesn’t know what to make of it. And then things start to unravel."
* Kara Tointon found fame as Dawn Swann in EastEnders and then went on to star in Mr Selfridge, The Halycon, Father Brown and Henry IX. She has also starred in Lewis, Dream Team, The Football Factory and Harry and Cosh.
Allen Leech as Elliot
Allen Leech takes on the role of mysterious businessman Elliot in Too Good To Be True. Allen says: "It is a challenge, and it is also an exciting prospect to try and make sure that Elliot is unreadable to Rachel and Liam but not completely so to the audience. One of the great things with Sara Powell’s character Simone is that there is the opportunity to see these little glimmers of who he really is. That’s what people don’t see about him. He gives off this image of being incredibly charitable and kind and charismatic but also for him it is about control and power.
"When he first meets Rachel and Liam, there is that sense that he is trying to recapture his childhood. He sees a lot of himself in this young, isolated boy who is maybe more intelligent than his peers. And he sees a mother who is struggling but what he also sees is the potential to almost recreate his past and make it better. I do think there is an element where he is trying to help Liam and he is trying to find happiness but it’s always within the parameters of what he wants and his control.
"For the part, there was gym work for me to get as ripped as Elliot is supposed to be. There is a shower scene. I did say, ‘Is that necessary?’ They said, ‘That’s definitely staying.’ I have never been home to Ireland before and had less pints. I became quite regimented in relation to working out. I had five weeks until I had to strip off, so I made sure to avoid the bars and just pound the streets running."
* Allen Leech is famous worldwide for playing one-time family chauffeur Tom Branson in Downton Abbey as well as Paul Prenter in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody. He’s starred in Cowboys & Angels, As Luck Would Have It, The Good Doctor, The Imitation Game, Black Mirror, Rome and Legend.
Who else is starring in Too Good To Be True?
Too Good To Be True also stars Charlie Hodson-Prior (Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical) is Rachel’s son Liam. Sara Powell (The Killing Kind, Murder in Provence, Doctor Who) plays Elliot’s associate Simone, and Taj Atwal (Trying, Line of Duty, Hullraisers) is Jasmine, Rachel’s best friend and colleague. John Thomson (Cold Feet, Coronation Street) is Rachel’s boss, Geoff.
Too Good To Be True episode guide
Here's our Too Good To Be True episode guide with a few spoilers so please look away if you don't want to know....
Episode 1: Wednesday, February 14
The action kicks off in Too Good To Be True with terrified single mum Rachel frantically racing to escape something… or someone! The action then jumps back in time to Rachel desperately trying to make ends meet as a cleaner, while bringing up her 11-year-old son Liam and dodging her junkie ex Kieron. Things appear to turn a corner, however, when she’s hired to clean a swanky mansion belonging to wealthy client Elliot (Downton Abbey’s Allen Leech). But as Rachel and Liam get drawn into Elliot’s seemingly perfect life, it’s becomes clear he’s hiding something sinister.
Episode 2: Thursday, February 15
Rachel is finally won over by charismatic businessman Elliot when he invites her as his plus one to a swanky charity fundraiser and then buys her young son, Liam, a VW Beetle that he promises they’ll restore together. Then, when Rachel’s flat is vandalised, seemingly by her violent ex Kieron, Elliot generously invites them to temporarily stay at his plush mansion. But, as Rachel and Elliot become romantically entwined, Elliot reveals a tragedy from his past.
Episode 3: Wednesday, February 21
Elliot ramps up the charm by taking Rachel and Liam away to his remote log cabin for the weekend where he finally opens up about his mum’s death in a house fire when he was 11. But their mini break turns sour when it’s revealed they’re all being watched by someone. Meanwhile, things become even more sinister on their return when Elliot’s ex wife Olivia confronts Rachel and warns her that Elliot’s a dangerous psychopath and that she should leave while she still can!
Episode 4: Thursday, February 22
Elliot’s right-hand-woman Simone (Sara Powell) starts to have doubts about Elliot’s past, while Rachel does her own digging and uncovers something deeply troubling about her new man. With Rachel’s worst fears confirmed, things get dangerously out of control as Elliot’s mask finally slips. Sneakily collecting Liam from school, Elliot uses him as bait to lure Rachel back to his log cabin. But when a violent struggle ensues during one final showdown, who will survive?
Behind the scenes, filming locations and more on Too Good To Be True
Too Good To Be True began filming in May 2023 on location in Ireland. The drama is from Story Films, in association with All3Media International. Executive Producers are Sam Tipper-Hale and David Nath for Story Films and David Collins for Samson Films. John Wallace (Redemption) produces with Megan K. Fox (EastEnders) directing the series. Cameron McAllister (Coronation Street, Emmerdale) has written episodes 1 and 3 while Neesah Muthy (Coronation Street, Holby City) wrote episodes 2 and 4.
Sam Tipper-Hale, Executive Producer, Story Films says: “Cameron and Nessah have written a gripping thriller which questions whether the scars of our past have to determine our future.”
