Adrian Lester returns as con artist Mickey Bricks in the fifth series of BBC One’s Hustle.
> Buy the Series 1-6 boxset on Amazon.
Episode 1
Thursday 8th January 2009
Following his stint in Australia, selling the Sydney Opera House to an unsuspecting punter, Mickey Bricks has returned to a “new” London. The credit crunch has hit Britain and, while the nation tightens its belt, there are still a scurrilous and greedy few who are getting ever richer. Mickey is keen to put new plans into action to extract their cash.
However, it’s not just the financial state of the nation that has changed; Mickey’s crew is looking somewhat depleted too. Local know-all Cyclops reveals that Ash is back to short cons, while Danny and Stacey are “grifting” their way across America. And the law has finally caught up with Mickey’s old friend and mentor, Albert, currently detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure.
Far from being desperate to get out of prison, Albert is living the high life. The art of the long con is in his blood and, naturally, he already has a “mark” lined up for Mickey. Albert’s tip off involves an obnoxious pair of developers, Sara Naismith and her assistant, Aaron, who have made a killing in dubious property deals and are benefitting from recession and repossessions. They bribe, batter and bully to ensure they get their own way. Keen to make a quick buck on the Stock Exchange, Sara and Aaron have no qualms about investing their million-pound fortune.
Enter Mickey, posing as a ruthless stockbroker who uses his insider trading to make a killing on the money markets. Keen to take advantage of Mickey’s knowledge, Sara and Aaron are quick to latch on to the almost “risk-free” investment he offers. They seem ready and primed to fall into his trap. Surely it’s a done deal?
Episode 2
Thursday 15th January 2009
Brother-and-sister duo Emma and Sean Kennedy are welcomed into Mickey’s illustrious crew, as the drama about a group of con artists continues. It’s time to teach the new recruits about the “long con”, and Mickey has found them the perfect package – two greedy, arrogant businessmen, whose callous business deals left a woman widowed.
Carlton Wood and Harry Fielding are venture capitalists who run a company called Cityprime Associates. They specialise in stealing other people’s patents, trademarks and copyrights and launching them as their own, pocketing millions in the process. Their latest product is a fool-proof security system that cannot be cracked. Called Spider’s Web, the concept was stolen from a family firm which subsequently went bust, causing its owner to commit suicide.
Mickey thinks he’s found a way to give the pair a taste of their own medicine. Carlton and Harry need to launch their new security system – and that requires a top PR firm. Mickey and Emma pitch a great stunt to launch Spider’s Web; fixing it to a priceless painting in a London Gallery, personally guaranteeing it against theft, saving the gallery millions of pounds in insurance fees, and bagging Cityprime a huge PR coup.
However, true to form, Carlton and Harry steal the idea, refusing to pay Mickey a penny. The con appears to have failed miserably, unless the team can steal the painting. But despite Ash’s best efforts to crack the Spider Web’s technology, it seems almost impossible to beat…
Episode 3
Thursday 22nd January 2009
Mickey wants Albert out of prison and back with the gang, as the drama about a group of con artists continues. The team plans the perfect welcome-home present; a holiday funded by conning the Honourable Sir Anthony Kent, a corrupt judge who famously presided over the notorious Fortness gold-bullion robbery in the Nineties. Rumour has it that the accused offered Kent a cut of the treasure in return for a lenient sentence, but Kent never got his hands on his bounty.
Ash is unable to front the con due to Kent sending him to prison several years earlier, so it’s left to Emma to work the inside with Mickey, and Ash to babysit an over-enthusiastic Sean. Posing as a journalist, Mickey tells Kent one of the infamous robbers has a secret love child who could have all the answers to where the gold is and, more importantly, how he can get his hands on it. However, the information comes at a price – £100,000!
Meanwhile, keen to learn the tricks of the trade, Sean is on a separate mission with Ash at a local casino, where they set about conning a gullible gambling addict. However, the team’s efforts could all be in vain as Albert’s freedom is put in jeopardy. He has been accused of fronting an illegal betting ring only a week before his parole hearing. Despite all Albert’s best efforts to impress her, it seems the Governor has finally got the evidence she needs to keep him behind bars for good.
Episode 4
Thursday 29th January 2009
The team think it’s their lucky day when the priceless Josephine love diamond falls into their hands, as the drama about a group of con artists continues. However, it turns out to be more of a curse than a blessing. The jewel has been stolen to order by reclusive millionaire Toby Baxter, who collects love diamonds – gifts of love from some of the most eminent figures in history. He is determined to obtain the Josephine to complete his collection at any cost.
Baxter is rich, competitive and ruthless and he has only one love – his diamonds. With his prized gem missing, he soon gets notorious tracer Pinky Byrne on the case and it’s not long before he’s on the hunt for Mickey and his crew. Mickey knows Pinky won’t stop until he gets what he needs, so there’s only one thing he can do to ensure the gang’s safety – con Baxter. The team must create a believable web to trap him but, as he’s a chess grand master and has an IQ above 220, so making a puzzle he can’t crack won’t be easy.
Despite Sean’s misgivings, Mickey asks Emma to go into the lion’s den and convince Baxter that the team has lost the necklace to a rival collector. Emma fears for her safety but, wanting to impress Mickey, she faces up to the challenge. Mickey knows it’s all in the detail and everything seems to be going to plan, until Emma slips up on her story – leaving Baxter questioning the facts and Emma in grave danger.
Episode 5
Thursday 5th February 2009
The Pulse, a local-drop in centre for problem kids, is about to be knocked down. The centre’s manager, Lennie, has been betrayed by ruthless local MP Rhona Christie, who is the fairy godmother of developers – taking bungs from property magnates and de-listing buildings for a profit. Mickey and the crew, however, soon realise that this could be a gift.
Ash gets cracking with some investigative research, but is stumped as to how Christie does her back-handed deals. With Sean’s impressive ability to absorb and digest information, Mickey has the perfect job for him – Christie has just sacked her researcher and Sean is ideal for the job, working inside as her office slave. Albert, meanwhile, borrows the identity of an aged billionaire property developer, JJ Kayne, while Emma plays Georgia, his trophy wife.
The team sets to work convincing Christie that Kayne has a historic building that needs de-listing. Once they’ve reeled her in with the bait, the team must quickly work out how she uses a third party to cover her tracks.
Mickey decides that he needs to implement a plan B to ensure The Pulse’s safety. Everything seems to be going well until Mickey and Emma appear to start mixing work with pleasure, much to Sean’s annoyance. Will the gang be able to put their differences aside, or will Christie get her way again? The fate of The Pulse lies in their hands.
Episode 6
Thursday 12th February 2009
Mickey and his team are persuaded by long-suffering stooge Eddie the barman that a holiday is in order. To finance their lavish plans, Albert sets about finding them a big bucks mark. But this time there’s a serious sting in the tail as Mickey’s grifting ways come back to haunt him when previous marks, Carlton Wood and Harry Fielding, initiate a counter-con to exact revenge and get their £500,000 back.
Carlton and Harry recruit four other marks that have fallen foul of Mickey and the team in recent times. Carlton plants a fake mark – bumbling aristocrat Alfie Baron – in one of Albert’s poker games and sets the bait to rope them in; a cool £4m inheritance windfall from the hapless toff.
Mickey takes the bait and sets up a con to get Alfie’s millions through a “double your money” laundering scam. Carlton directs Alfie to invest £1m cash in Mickey’s deal but, to see out the con and get their hands on the £4m, Mickey must match Alfie’s investment.
It appears the vengeful marks have every base covered. They plan to outwit Mickey and escape with his million, thus doubling Carlton’s investment and earning them all a tidy profit. The money exchanges hands and Carlton is happy to gloat about his success. Has the legendary Mickey Bricks finally been beaten, or does he have one final ace up his sleeve?