The show, which began in 2004, follows a group of con artists headed by ‘Mickey Bricks’ (Lester) Stone who specialise in ‘long cons’. Defending their cons with the maxim: ‘you can’t con an honest man’, the team target the less ‘straight’ members of the establishment, business and crime worlds.
Jordan and the BBC have confirmed that the series is to come to an end after the eight run. A BBC statement confirming the new episodes would be the last “with the current gang” suggests it could return with a new cast at some future point.
The show has seen several major cast changes starting with the departure of leading man Lester after the third series.
The fourth series saw the arrival of Ashley Walters as rookie Billy Bond who, along with regulars Marc Warren and Jaime Murray, did not return for the fifth series which aired in 2009.
That series did however see the return of Lester along with the arrival of Matt Di Angelo and Kelly Adams as bother and sister Sean and Emma Kennedy. The fast-paced show also stars Rob Jarvis as the team’s barman and occasional accomplice Eddie.
Guest stars across the seven series have included Anna Chancellor, Michael Brandon, Bill Bailey and Richard Chamberlain.
The most recent run of the show attracted average audiences of 6.3m viewers.
Announcing the show’s end to Broadcast Magazine, Jordan posed the question: “Do you allow the show to fade away or…quit while you’re ahead?” before suggesting it was best to “go out like James Dean in a fast car.”
