''The Syndicate'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

drama series. It was written by Kay Mellor and is broadcast on BBC One. It sees five members of a betting syndicate win the

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

. Each series follows a different syndicate. The first series is set in a Leeds supermarket; the second, a public hospital in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

; the third, a crumbling stately home near Scarborough; and the fourth is set between a dog kennel in Yorkshire and Monaco. The theme tune for the first two series of the show is "

All or Nothing All or Nothing may refer to: Film and television * ''All or Nothing'' (film), a 2002 film by Mike Leigh * ''All or Nothing'' (game show), a 2004–2005 Russian game show based on ''Deal or No Deal'' * ''All or Nothing'' (sports docuseries), ...

", by the Small Faces. For the third series, a cover version of the same song performed by Scars on 45 was used. The score is composed by guitarist Hal Lindes from

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and percuss ...

. The theme tune for Season four of the show is a cover of "The Gambler" performed by David Nowakowski featuring Rising Fever. Series 4 premiered on BBC One on 30 March 2021. The series was remade in America as ''Lucky 7'' for ABC. However, it only ran for one series.

Cast

* Lorraine Bruce as Denise Simpson is the only cast member to appear in every series, Series 1 in which she won the lottery, her character was reprised in following episodes as the Lottery Winners Adviser in all subsequent series. Lorraine was also invited to play her character Denise in the USA version of the show. In Lucky 7 Denise Simpson becomes Denise Dibinksy a Native of Queens New York

Series 1

* Timothy Spall as Bob Davies * Lorraine Bruce as Denise Simpson * Matthew Lewis as Jamie Bradley * Joanna Page as Leanne Powell * Matthew McNulty as Stuart Bradley *

Amy Beth Hayes Amy Beth Hayes (born 8 October 1982) is a British actress. She is best known for her roles as Kitty in ''Mr Selfridge''; Lucy in "The Entire History of You", an episode of ''Black Mirror''; Ruth in ''Misfits (TV series), Misfits''; Clementine in ...

as Amy Cartwright *John Paul Hurley as DCI Newell *Katherine Dow Blyton as Annie Davies * Kai Owen as Gareth Powell *

Anthony Lewis Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field of legal jour ...

as Peter Davies * Clare Higgins as Joyce Bradley

Series 2

* Siobhan Finneran as Mandy Atkinson * Alison Steadman as Rose Wilson * Mark Addy as Alan Walters * Natalie Gavin as Becky Atkinson * Jimi Mistry as Tom Bedford *

Steven Waddington Steven Waddington (born 30 December 1967) is an English film and television actor. He is best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's ''The Last of the Mohicans''. Early life Waddington was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

as Steve Atkinson *Roma Christensen as Reah Atkinson * Sally Rogers as Helen Dolan * Karl Davies as Luke Summers

Series 3

* Elizabeth Berrington as Dawn Stevenson * Melanie Hill as Julie Travers * Lenny Henry as Godfrey Watson * Cara Theobold as Sarah Travers * Richard Rankin as Sean McGary/McAdams *

Anthony Andrews Anthony Colin Gerald Andrews (born 12 January 1948) is an English actor. He played Lord Sebastian Flyte in the ITV miniseries ''Brideshead Revisited'' (1981), for which he won Golden Globe and BAFTA television awards, and was nominated for an ...

as Lord Hazelwood * Alice Krige as Lady Hazelwood * Sam Phillips as Spencer Cavendish * Daisy Head as Amy Stevenson * Kieran O'Brien as Andy Stevenson * Polly Walker as DI Lynn Baker *Rob Kendrick as Nick Harrison *

Elaine C. Smith Elaine Constance Smith (born 2 August 1958) is a Scottish actress, comedian, and political activist. She has starred in the BBC Scotland sitcoms '' City Lights'' (1984–91), ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' (1988–2014) and '' Two Doors Down'' (2016–), ...

as Valerie Hardcastle * Poppy Lee Friar as Mary Campbell

Series 4

* Katherine Rose Morley as Keeley Sanderson * Taj Atwal as Roxy Varma * Liberty Hobbs as Gemma Hepworth * Kieran Urquhart as Jake Thackery * Kym Marsh as Donna Sanderson * Ruben Reuter as Shane Sanderson * Mark Benton as Graham Woods * Emily Head as Colette Andrews *

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in ''Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'', ...

as Frank Stevenson * Gaynor Faye as Cheryl Armitage * Rita May as Nanna * Joe Sugg as Sam * Katie McGlynn as Georgina Clarke

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2012)

In the first series the syndicate consists of workmates in a small local supermarket. It was written by Kay Mellor. Series 1 began on BBC One on 27 March 2012 and consisted of 5 episodes.

Series 2 (2013)

The second series aired in 2013 on BBC One. It revolves around another syndicate in a similar situation. It was written by Kay Mellor. The series looks at a syndicate involving workers at a public hospital in

, Yorkshire. Series 2 began on BBC One on 19 March 2013 and consisted of 6 episodes.

Series 3 (2015)

BBC One renewed ''The Syndicate'' for a third series of six episodes, and the first episode was broadcast on 2 June 2015. This series was filmed in Yorkshire in 2014. The BBC announced the details of the third series of the programme on 21 October 2014. Actor/comedian Lenny Henry stars in the series, which chronicles the lottery win of a staff syndicate at a crumbling stately home. Lynda Bellingham was due to play the role of a solicitor, in a role written especially for her by Kay Mellor, but she died shortly before filming commenced.

Series 4 (2021)

The fourth series began airing on 30 March on BBC One.

American adaptation

On 1 February 2013, it was announced that ABC had ordered a pilot for a US remake. It was renamed '' Lucky 7'' and written by David Zabel and Jason Richman. ''Lucky 7'' was cancelled on 4 October 2013 after only two episodes were broadcast, due to extremely low ratings.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Syndicate, The 2012 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 2010s British anthology television series 2020s British anthology television series 2010s British drama television series 2020s British drama television series BBC television dramas English-language television shows Scarborough, North Yorkshire Television shows set in Leeds