EXCLUSIVE: Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker are teaming on an ITV heist thriller about two skilled confidence tricksters separated by a 10-year prison sentence.

Gentleman Jack star Jones has created Frauds with Anne-Marie O’Connor, who she previously teamed with on ITV’s Maryland.

Jones will play Bert, who has spent the last decade in a Spanish prison cell with a burning desire to pull off one final job that will prove her worth. Doctor Who star Whittaker is Sam, her partner, who for the past decade has been content to live a life of quiet anonymity in the hills of Southern Spain. The story begins as Sam anxiously waits for Bert to be released from a maximum-security prison on grounds of compassionate discharge. On the pretext of one final, multi-million-pound art heist, Bert attempts to lure Sam out of retirement, but at what cost? 

The show comes from Ghosts producer Monumental Television in association with Jones’ indie TeamAkers.

Jones’ recent credits include two seasons of BBC hit Vigil. Upcoming is Film Club, the new BBC series from Aimee Lou Wood, and Netflix’s The Choice from Matt Charman.

Former Doctor Who lead Whittaker can next be seen in Netflix’s Toxic Town, Jack Thorne’s series about one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals.

Jones said she had “always wanted to work” with Whittaker. “Working on Frauds with Anne-Marie and Monumental for the last two years has been a wild ride,” she added. “We took the idea of toxic female friendship and turned it on its head to give the heist genre an emotional heartbeat.”

The drama will be executive produced by Alison Owen (Maryland, Ghosts, Harlots) and Katie Kelly (Maryland, Harlots) on behalf of Monumental Television, part of ITV Studios. Debra Hayward, Alison Carpenter, Jill Forbes and Pat Tookey-Dickson also executive produce for Monumental. O’Connor and Jones are also EPing. Helen Ziegler, Senior Drama Commissioning Editor, is overseeing production on behalf of the broadcaster.

It has been a big week for ITV drama. Yesterday, we revealed that the commercial net is teaming with Australia’s Stan on a phone hacking drama series starring David Tennant, Toby Jones and Richard Carlyle.