Jodie Whittaker reveals new drama Frauds includes moments you never usually see on TV
The actor spoke to RadioTimes.com about the drama's unusual central dynamic.
Frauds star Jodie Whittaker has praised the ITV thriller for including moments that women often don't get to perform in mainstream dramas.
The Doctor Who alum plays Sam in the new series, a British expat and retired con artist living in Spain, whose former partner-in-crime is released from prison on compassionate grounds.
Sam and Bert (Suranne Jones) haven't spoken in years, partly due to the latter being a tremendously reckless influence; naturally, she's looking to pull off one more epic heist before succumbing to a terminal illness.
Frauds explores the volatile relationship between these two women, which at times escalates beyond vicious words to physical violence, such as a swimming pool scrap that Whittaker recalled in a chat with RadioTimes.com.
"The idea of them is always more fun than the reality," she said of on-screen fights, "but I suppose that [pool] scene made me want to take the job, in a way, because you don't see that.
"You don't see women of that age having that kind of response to each other – that response is as normal as crying and cuddling each other, but we only see the crying and the cuddling."
Whittaker recalled that shooting the suspenseful sequence – in which Sam holds Bert's head under the water, causing her to struggle desperately and cough up blood – took several hours, with "a massive amount of choreography".
"It feels really satisfying, because it becomes this rhythmical dance between the two of you," she explained. "And once you've got that down, then you can add all the elements of the dramatisation, the tension, and the humour.
"That's one thing I love about every scene [in Frauds]. There was always something in it that kind of had that tone, where you sit in what you think it is, and then the tone slightly shifts, and it's something completely different."
Previously, Whittaker and co-star Jones reflected on how rare it is to see women leading the typically male-dominated heist genre, with the former particularly relishing showing a "different side" after years spent inhabiting The Doctor.
Frauds is available to stream on ITVX. Episodes air Sundays and Mondays at 9pm on ITV1.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
