''Gold Digger'' is a six-part

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

created and written by Marnie Dickens and starring

Julia Ormond Julia Karin Ormond (born 4 January 1965) is an English actress. She rose to prominence by appearing in ''The Baby of Mâcon'' (1993), '' Legends of the Fall'' (1994), ''First Knight'' (1995), ''Sabrina'' (1995), '' Smilla's Sense of Snow'' (199 ...

and Ben Barnes broadcast weekly from Tuesday 12 November 2019 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

. Unusually for a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

series, all episodes became available on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

on the day of the first episode's television broadcast and the series was broadcast internationally. The series has been described by the BBC as a contemporary relationship thriller, about second chances, family and betrayal.

Premise

After putting her own life behind the lives of everyone around her, a wealthy 60-year-old woman enters into a relationship with a man half her age. Her adult children worry that he's a

gold digger Gold digger is a term for a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold ...

Cast and characters

as Julia Day, a wealthy 60-year-old who falls in love with a younger man. * Ben Barnes as Benjamin Greene, Julia's 36-year-old boyfriend. *

Alex Jennings Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an English actor of the stage and screen, who worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. For his work on the London stage, Jennings received three Olivier Awards, winning for ...

as Ted Day, Julia's ex-husband. *

Sebastian Armesto Sebastian Felipe Xavier Fernández-Garcia Armesto (born 3 June 1982) is a British film, television and theatre actor. He is the son of the historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto. Career Television and film Armesto played Charles V, Holy Roman Emp ...

as Patrick Day, the oldest of Julia and Ted's children. *

Yasmine Akram Yasmine Akram (born 11 March 1981) is an Irish-Pakistani actress, writer and comedian. She has written comedy sketches for the BBC and Channel 4, and played Janine Hawkins in the third series of '' Sherlock''. Early life and education Akram was ...

as Eimear Day, Patrick's wife. *

Jemima Rooper Jemima Rooper (born 24 October 1981) is a British actress. Having started as a child actress in television series, she has appeared in numerous film and theatre roles. Background Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journ ...

as Della Day, Julia and Ted's daughter. *

Archie Renaux Archie James Beale (born 22 November 1997), known professionally as Archie Renaux, is an English actor and model. He is known for his roles in the BBC One miniseries ''Gold Digger'' (2019) and the Netflix series ''Shadow and Bone'' (2021–). ...

as Leo Day, the 25-year-old son of Julia and Ted, who still lives with his mother. *

Nikki Amuka-Bird Nikki Amuka-Bird (born 27 February 1976) is a Nigerian-born British actress of the stage, television, and film. Early life Amuka-Bird was born in Delta State, Nigeria, where her father still lives. She left there as a young child with her mot ...

as Marsha, Julia's former best friend who had an affair with Ted. *

Karla-Simone Spence Karla-Simone Spence (born 19 July 1996) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles in the film ''Blue Story'' (2019) and the ITVX period drama ''The Confessions of Frannie Langton (TV series), The Confessions of Frannie Langton'' (202 ...

as Cali Okello, Marsha's daughter, the troubled young adult dealing with the loss of her father. *

Julia McKenzie Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFT ...

as Hazel, Ted's mother. *

Indica Watson Indica Elizabeth Watson (born 20 January 2010) is an English actress. She is known for her work in BBC television drama series '' The Missing'' and for playing the young Eurus Holmes in British crime drama '' Sherlock''. Career Watson's first ...

as Charlotte Day, Patrick's daughter and Julia's granddaughter. *

David Leon David Jeremy Leon (born 24 July 1980) is an English actor, director, writer and producer. As an actor, he is known for appearing in Rankin and Chris Cottam's 2002 feature film, ''Lives of the Saints'' (as the character Othello), and director ...

as Kieran, Benjamin's half-brother.

Episodes

Ratings include pre-transmission.

Production

It was announced in August 2018 that

would be starring in the six part miniseries, commissioned by the

. The first three episodes of the series were directed by Vanessa Caswill. Ben Barnes was cast later that month. The supporting cast, including

and

, was added as filming began between

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and London. Filming commenced in September 2018.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the show holds an approval rating of 57%. The critical consensus reads: "Visually gorgeous and thematically ambitious, but ultimately void of cohesion, Gold Digger bites off more than it can chew."

Lucy Mangan Lucy Katherine Mangan''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian''. A major part of her writing is related t ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', however called the show "a bold and hugely entertaining attempt by writer Marnie Dickens."

Adaptations

An Italian adaptation for Netflix called Inganno has been announced, which will star the popular

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

actor

Giacomo Gianniotti Giacomo Keaton Gianniotti (born 19 June 1989) is an Italian-Canadian film and television actor. He studied theater at Humber College and made his acting debut in the Italian television series ''Medicina Generale'' in 2010. He went on to play rec ...

and be directed by

Pappi Corsicato Pappi Corsicato (born 12 June 1960) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography * ''Libera (film), Libera'' (1993) * ''Black Holes (film), Black Holes'' (1995) * ''The Vesuvians'' (1997) * ''Chimera (2001 film), Chimera' ...

under the production of the Cattleya company. Filming begins at the beginning of April and its premiere is expected for 2024 as an original Netflix series.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 8200550 2019 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas English-language television shows