Introduction to series four - Radio Times, April 2007

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Introduction to series four - Radio Times, April 2007

Nick Griffiths catches up with the cast at work in Los Angeles.

"Taking Hustle to America is rather like taking coals to Newcastle. But you could argue it's their spiritual home. Consider movies such as The Sting, Ocean's 11, The Hustler, The Grifters, Paper Moon, the TV show Heist - all American.

Now the Americans have Hustle, and they've taken it to their hearts. "I went to see the Rolling Stones here at the Dodgers baseball stadium and a few people came up and said they liked the series," recalls Marc Warren. "I was amazed."

The American critics also love the show. The New York Times proclaimed Hustle "a refreshing throwback to 1960s caper movies". And Variety called it "captivating" and noted that its "top-notch production values deserve imitation in the US".

This will be Hustle's fourth series, and such has been its success in America that one of the original cast, Adrian Lester, has left, seeking movie fame. So Albert (Robert Vaughn), Danny, Ash (Robert Glenister) and Stacie (Jaime Murray) will be joined from episode two onwards by new boy Ashley Walters, the former So Solid Crew rapper-turned-actor, playing Billy Bond.

The first and last of the six episodes are set in the States. Episode six finds them in Las Vegas, trying to fleece a casino of $5 million, hotly pursued by the Mafia. Episode one is set in LA, where the team attempts the most audacious of cons by selling the iconic Hollywood sign to a Texan movie-memorabilia fanatic. "We got closer to the Hollywood sign than anyone's got since 9/11," says Robert Glenister. "It's very well protected because it was vandalised. We were buzzed a few times by the LAPD."

In this episode, the Texan "mark" (victim) is played by another Hollywood veteran, Robert Wagner. "I've known Robert for as long as I've been in Hollywood, practically. Over 50 years," says Vaughn, who appeared with Wagner in 1974's The Towering Inferno. Jaime Murray places her scenes with the 77-year-old Wagner among her favourites. "He's got such a naughty twinkle in his eye," she says. "He's a real charmer."

The same episode also sees the Hustlers driving down Hollywood Boulevard in a red Cadillac convertible - or rather, being driven on the back of a low-loader truck. It was the only time the locals batted an eyelid during the location filming, such is the ubiquity of the movie industry, says Robert Glenister.

He recalls: "It wasn't just a low-loader with a light and camera; they had a crane and bloody great big arc lights, and we drove past the Kodak Theatre and Chinese Theatre, with four of us in the back. That stopped a few cars." Murray takes up the story: "We were just tripping out. Robert and Marc were standing up taking pictures and being excited, like little kids. We know each other so well; it's been really nice to share such a great experience with people you have no inhibitions with."

This is the reason why an actor of Vaughn's stature keeps coming back to Hustle: "Mainly, I enjoy the people," he says. "It's the most fun I've ever had in a television series, because these British actors are so terribly funny. I never usually socialise with the people I work with in television series because you're with them 12 hours a day. But we have dinner together in London, and we've had dinner here in Hollywood."

It's clear that Vaughn's co-stars have been making the most of their time in LA. They've had it all here. Sun, sea celebrity, the LAPD. It's been a blast, but Murray sounds the obvious caveat: "They've really spoilt us. The only way to top it is to do a series out here, or have us in a different European city every episode. To go back to the studio in Bermondsey… I'm not sure that's going to be a valid choice."

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Now take a look at our full Hustle guide.

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