‘You understand why she would go to such desperate measures’: Sheridan Smith on her new casino crime drama, The Cage

The Cage, a new five-part crime drama by Tony Schumacher, creator of The Responder, is set around a Liverpool casino and explores these themes.

The series stars Sheridan Smith, who lives near Doncaster, as a single mother and Michael Socha as a compulsive gambler, who discover they are both stealing from the safe at the inner-city casino where they work.

Directed by Al Mackay, the drama follows their lives as they spiral toward a collision course, with each other, the local gangster Gary Packer, played by Barry Sloane, whom they are stealing from, and the police.

Sheridan Smith, known for her roles in Gavin And Stacey, Cilla, and I Fought The Law, says she appreciated the complexity of her character, Leanne, and hopes audiences will root for her.

In the series, Leanne is a single mother who has lost her husband and is caring for her grandmother, who has dementia. She is also on the verge of losing her home. “I don’t know if I’ve seen many dramas where the two protagonists are so likeable,” says the 44-year-old actress.

Even though the characters are doing something wrong, audiences may still find themselves rooting for them. They’re doing it for good reasons, that’s the thing, isn’t it? So even if you don’t agree with what they’re doing, you can still get on board with it.”

She adds: “I think Leanne, being a single mum whose children’s father has died, is also caring for her grandmother, who has dementia. She’s trying to juggle everything as a single parent while not losing the house.

"So you can totally understand why she would go to such desperate measures, to keep the family together and well. And I think anyone, myself as a single mum included, would do anything for their children.”

Socha, who has starred in the This Is England TV series, says he admires the likeability of his character, Matty, despite his struggles with gambling addiction.

In the series, Matty is the casino manager who shares custody of his teenage daughter with his ex-partner. “Matty leads with love. Ultimately, at the end of the day, he’s a man really struggling,” says the 38-year-old actor.

“He’s a good bloke, just doing bad things. He’s an addict and he’s suffering. He’s going through it, but at the back of his mind there’s always his daughter, something that keeps him reasonably alive and anchored.”

“I think Matty ultimately feels massively ashamed of himself and the person he’s become. He’s not with the mum anymore, and I think he finds it so difficult seeing and maybe wanting the idea of a normal family that he glimpses from afar in the brief interactions he has with her.

"I think ultimately that’s what he wants: normality. But the situation he’s got himself into after years of addiction and making the wrong choices is maybe a barrel he can’t quite climb out of at this point.”

According to figures from the UK Gambling Commission, an estim­ated 1.3 to 1.4 mil­lion adults in the UK will have experienced adverse consequences from gambling and may have lost control of their behaviour.

Socha says he learned a lot about the impact while researching for the role. “I was doing a lot of research into gambling, and I went to a casino and tried online gambling apps. I realised how gripping they can be,” he explains.

“There are all types of addiction, but with gambling there’s a rare kind of hope, the possibility that you might win big or recoup all the money you’ve lost. With alcohol or drug addiction, it often ends badly, with no real light at the end of the tunnel other than stopping completely.

"Whereas with gambling, there’s always a little bit of something. I think that’s the most dangerous part of a gambling addiction: the possibility.”

Speaking about the casino world he says: “The ins and outs of casinos are really interesting. There are tricks used to keep you inside, and the clientele is incredibly varied. You’ve got young lads, first-timers, there’s also a real surge in online content around gambling, designed to make it look appealing and fun.

“The customers are so varied, which I found really interesting. And I suppose when you go into those places, it’s meant to be about entertainment.

"But for most people, it’s about leaving with more than they came in with. The chances, though, are so heavily stacked against you that it can become dangerous if you don’t have a grip on it.

“There’s also a real surge in casino promotion, online betting, and bookmakers’ advertising. I don’t know if it sits in the same category as cash-for-gold schemes or payday loans, it’s a similar kind of promise: a glimmer of fortune.

"You can win big, but the chances are extremely slim. If you can go into any of those places and enjoy it for what it is, that’s fine. But if you’re relying on it, it can become quite dangerous as well.”

Smith adds: “Morally, what we’re doing is wrong. But I think some people will really want us to get away with it, while others will feel it’s terrible and that we shouldn’t be doing it at all. But I guess that’s the point.

"That’s what you want to do with a story, make people unsure about whether they’re rooting for the characters or not. They’re doing something morally wrong, but you understand why they’re doing it, and that’s what makes it interesting to play.”

The Cage will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday, April 26.