The Syndicate
Each series features a different group of people whose lives turn upside down after they jointly win the lottery.
Cast:Lorraine Bruce , Katherine Rose Morley , Kieran Urquhart , Taj Atwal , Liberty Hobbs , Neil Morrissey , Oliver Anthony , Emily Head , Gaynor Faye , Siobhan Finneran , Alison Steadman , Natalie Gavin , Mark Addy , Jimi Mistry , Sally Rogers , Christa Ackroyd , Steven Waddington , Karl Davies
S1.E1 ∙ Episode #1.1
As the five employees of the Right Buy U mini-market who have formed a lottery syndicate learn of their eight million pound win the story returns to events of four days earlier. Bob,the manager,is clearly unwell whilst homely,dog-loving Denise is caring for an invalid mother with little help from her husband Dave. Leanne is a single parent and brothers Stuart and Jamie live with their mother though Stuart has a partner Amy,who is threatening to take their two small children and leave him unless he finds them their own accommodation. To get the money Stuart reluctantly agrees to help Jamie rob the shop but this leads to Jamie inadvertently putting Bob in hospital. The police are called but the lads seem to get away with it.
S1.E2 ∙ Episode #1.2
On the night she hears of her win Denise's husband Dave walks out on her,leaving her to care for her cantankerous ailing mother. Devastated, Denise starts to use some of her winnings to make herself look more glamorous and Dave does indeed return but only because of the money and,having learnt he is having a gay affair,she kicks him out. She and Leanne visit Bob,recovering in hospital but told that he has a tumour. The police continue to suspect the brothers of the robbery and Denise has her doubts too as to their whereabouts on the night in question. Leanne,meanwhile,hears that someone from her past is trying to contact her having heard of her windfall.
S1.E3 ∙ Episode #1.3
Accompanied by sons,Yuppy Pete and slobbish Matt,Bob and partner Annie attend hospital,to be told that the cancer is inoperable. Later a tearful Stuart visits and confesses the truth about the robbery and is amazed when Bob says he already knew. Though Bob keeps quiet about his sickness Annie tells Stuart and he and the other winners discover a surgeon in South Africa who might be able to save him. At a lavish party organized by Pete for friends and family Bob proposes marriage to Annie,who consents,and agrees to go to South Africa.
S1.E4 ∙ Episode #1.4
In the hotel following Bob's engagement party Leanne and Stuart declare their feelings for each other but Leanne panics when daughter Stacey temporarily disappears. Next day Stuart learns that she is married and running from husband Gareth,who has tracked her down so he puts her up at his new house,to Amy's disapproval. In fact Gareth wants no more than a divorce so he can remarry but Leanne's problems are not over as it transpires that she was a foster-parent to Stacey,whose mother was a drug addict,and absconded from Wales with her.The police turn up but Bob's lawyer son Peter gets her bail,pending an appeal.A jealous Amy is not happy with Stuart's interest in Leanne though there is romance for Denise with dog-loving Rodney whilst Jamie considers taking on a lap dancing club.
S1.E5 ∙ Episode #1.5
Following his dream wedding and successful operation Bob returns to Leeds with Annie but,like DCI Newall,cannot get a confession of guilt from Jamie who is living the high life as part owner of the club. However Jamie's world will soon crumble as Amy rejects his advances,leading him to suggest that Stuart was unfaithful with Leanne,in turn breaking his brother and his girlfriend up as Stuart opts for Leanne over Amy. In atonement he is able to 'sort' Leanne's court case for her with some very heavy gangsters from whom he buys his drugs before turning the drug pushers over the police. However the net is closing in on him for his part in the robbery as Stuart,in a fit of conscience,confesses to both their involvements and Jamie is forced to run.
S2.E1 ∙ Episode #2.1
A syndicate of workers at St Anthony's hospital buys a lottery ticket every week and nurse Mandy Atkinson asks her daughter,trainee Becky, to buy this week's ticket having obtained subs from porter Alan,auxiliary Rose and nurse Tom - who,with his wife Natalie,is hoping to be accepted for adoption. Becky is a single mother and sweet-natured Mandy and her gruff husband Steve feel she relies on them overly. Whilst Becky is at a dance where she meets a boy called Luke, Helen,one of the original syndicate members,tells Mandy that they have won the lottery but Becky cannot recall where she put the ticket until she realises that she wrote her phone number on it to give Luke. Fortunately the group tracks him down and retrieves the ticket. However there is another problem as Helen,who devised the winning numbers,lapsed her contributions and is no longer a member of the syndicate. She is not pleased and nor is Luke when he sees the winners interviewed on television.
S2.E2 ∙ Episode #2.2
Prior to his big win Tom and Natalie are desperately trying for a baby but IVF is not working and Tom argues with the adoption agency. Following an apparent small lottery win Tom is hopeful they can pay for treatment but discovers that Helen never bought the winning ticket as she could not afford it,the resultant row leading to her withdrawal from the syndicate. Come the good news of the big win Tom and Natalie attend a private clinic and are asked if there are any health problems in the family. Tom then tracks down the father who deserted him and his mother nearly thirty years earlier but makes it clear he is in no mood for reconciliation. Back home he finds his wealth is alienating him from his drinking buddies and,with tee-total Alan beginning to drink again,Rose pursued by the DSS and Mandy,apparently beaten up by Steve and stealing medication, the only happy group member is Becky,who is now dating Luke.
S2.E3 ∙ Episode #2.3
With a house already full of daughters Rose finds herself having to accommodate her useless son Sean and his baby after he rows with his partner. To escape the chaos she goes to bingo with Helen and Mandy,whom she tells of her youth when she was an enthusiastic dancer - before her knees went. Afterwards she chills out with a joint at Alan's and actually has sex with him on the night the lottery win is announced. When the publicity breaks a fraud investigator calls her in since she has been working and claiming benefits for nine years. Fortunately for her she is not taken to court but ordered to repay it.Thus she is still able to have her knee operation and see her children right. At a celebratory party Mandy admits that Helen is blackmailing her,and Mandy certainly has a secret in her cellar.
S2.E4 ∙ Episode #2.4
Becky takes her parasitic friend Tamsen on a clothes shopping spree before visiting Rose,under siege from tabloid reporters after being shamed as a benefits cheat. It is apparent that Helen informed on her. Becky and Luke go to a night-club where he introduces her to professional rugby player Matt Greco. Luke has a younger brother Jonathan,who has suffered brain damage after an accident for which Luke blames himself and has the mind of a child but when Luke mentions taking him on holiday Becky assumes he is after her money like Tamsen and they row. On the rebound she goes out with Matt, who tells her how impressed he and his team-mates are with Luke's selflessness in giving up a promising sporting career to look after his brother. Becky goes to apologize to Luke and they reconcile but she gets a shock when she returns home and goes into the cellar.
S2.E5 ∙ Episode #2.5
Having won the lottery Alan bumps into his ex-wife who rebukes him for missing his estranged son Kieran's birthday. Alan returns to his old drunken ways,missing AA meetings and finally getting sacked. Feeling lonely he decides to go online for a Thai wife and meets Sulim,who flies to England to see him.He takes her to London,showering her with gifts and they meet up with Kieran,who accuses his father of neglect and refuses to acknowledge him whilst he is still drinking. Sulim offers to help Alan stay dry but then makes a startling revelation which ends the relationship. Alan returns to Bradford,rescuing Mandy from Steve,whom Becky has released,before going home and falling asleep with a cigarette. His house burns down but he is saved by his AA mentor Colin and Rose.
S2.E6 ∙ Episode #2.6
Mandy's violent and jealous husband Steve reacts angrily when he learns that she is attending college for a degree without his knowledge. He hits her and though he apologizes it is apparent this is a pattern of behaviour and it preys on her mind when she goes for a promotion interview,which she fails. Following another assault Steve falls down the cellar steps and breaks his leg.To control him Mandy gives him drugs stolen from the ward and ties him up but makes the mistake of telling Helen,who wants money to keep quiet. After Becky releases him Steve goes to hospital but says nothing and all the syndicate members close ranks to cover for Mandy when the police call.Steve promises to behave and books a holiday for Mandy and himself. They attend the house-warming given by the expecting Tom and Natalie,where Alan and Rose come out as a couple but Steve's promise does not last long and Becky has to help her mother to a new life.
S3.E1 ∙ Episode #3.1
Pregnant Dawn Stevenson and her daughter Amy work as maids at run down Hazelwood Manor, along with cook Julie and her daughter, manageress Sarah, gardener Godfrey and handyman Sean. Lord Hazelwood is kindly but an invalid and his imperious wife and her spoilt son Spencer run the household, paying poor wages as the family have heavy debts. To bring in cash the Hazelwoods host a party of visiting Americans and during their stay the six members of staff, who are members of a lottery syndicate, find that they have won fourteen million pounds. Whilst they are celebrating Amy disappears, having rowed with aggressive ex-boyfriend Nick.
S3.E2 ∙ Episode #3.2
The syndicate members are interviewed by the police following Amy's disappearance with bipolar Godfrey, who found her phone, being a prime suspect. Her father Andy believes she ran off with boyfriend Nick until her blood-stained apron is found on he moors. Lord Hazelwood begs Julie and Sarah to prevent his wife and her son selling the house to the American party if he dies and brings in an art expert to value his paintings, though when some prove to be fakes, he accuses Spencer of selling the originals. The group agrees to a press photo call where they announce their intention to donate some of their winnings to saving the house, making them part owners, and Dawn appeals to Amy to come home.
S3.E3 ∙ Episode #3.3
Whilst Spencer schemes behind his stepfather's back hoping to sell the house to the Americans Lord Hazelwood - unlike his wife - is happy to sign the contract giving the staff part ownership of his home. Dawn however is preoccupied with finding Amy and is approached by a journalist, Laura, who tells her that Sean is a former sex offender. When questioned Sean admits that he served a prison term having had sex with a girl he did not know to be under-age but denies any involvement in Amy's disappearance. Then Dawn gets a letter demanding a ransom for her daughter's release.
S3.E4 ∙ Episode #3.4
Keeping the ransom demand from the police the staff are divided as to whether to pay up or not and Sarah and Sean are angry when Godfrey decides to pay it without telling them. D.I. Baker is also displeased when she finds out, having had to release prime suspect Nick. Lord Hazelwood discovers that his wife wants to sell the house to the Americans for a larger sum than the syndicate offered and takes advice from their lawyer, who tells him he can rescind the power of attorney he gave her during his illness. Learning that she has been having an affair with family solicitor William Forcett he demands a divorce. Godfrey meanwhile believes he knows who is making the ransom demand whilst Nick, returning to his caravan at night, is shot.
S3.E5 ∙ Episode #3.5
As Dawn tends to Andy's bruised face they are interrupted by the police who tell them that Nick has been shot and who discover that the Stevensons seem to have paid the ransom. Andy admits to fighting Nick but denies shooting him whilst Dawn suspects her husband spent the money having an affair. However it transpires that he was purchasing a dream home for his family. Sarah and Sean, now lovers, discover that three years earlier whilst in shock following her husband's death Julie stole a valuable clock from the Hazelwoods. When Julie is about to own up to it Lord Hazelwood claims that he gifted it to her, resulting in Julie telling her daughter that she had an affair with the lord. After he has sent his wife packing Charles Hazelwood talks over old times with his beloved Julie though even he is shocked at what she has to tell him.
S3.E6 ∙ Episode #3.6
It's the day of Hazelwood Manor's grand opening. Dawn's shocked to discover Spencer was the last person to see Amy alive and the truth about her disappearance begins to unfold. Meanwhile, Lord Hazelwood tries to convince Julie to confess all to Sarah, or they risk losing everything.
S4.E1 ∙ Episode #4.1
The staff of Woodvale Kennels discover that their winning lottery ticket has been stolen. Contains some strong language.
S4.E2 ∙ Episode #4.2
Unable to prove that they are the rightful winners of the lottery, the members of the syndicate manage to follow Frank to Monaco. Only problem, they are not really sure of where he may be hiding.
