Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in “long cons” – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but which return a higher reward than simple confidence tricks. The seventh series aired on BBC1 in early 2011, and the BBC has announced that the forthcoming eighth is likely to be the last.

Hustle was largely born from the same production team that created and popularised the early series of Spooks, a similarly-styled drama series first broadcast in 2002. Bharat Nalluri, that series’ Executive Director, first conceived the idea in early 2002 while filming for the first Spooks series was ongoing. Nalluri pitched the concept to Jane Featherstone, Managing Director of Kudos Film & Television which was the production company behind Spooks, in the back of a taxi while returning from a day’s filming. Intrigued by the idea, Featherstone recruited Tony Jordan, the lead scriptwriter of the soap opera EastEnders, to develop it into a workable proposal.

In response to the extremely positive reaction, the BBC recommissioned the show for a second series on 17 March 2004, after just three episodes had aired. The second series retained much of the initial production team including Jordan as lead scriptwriter, and introduced Karen Wilson as producer; all of the show’s lead actors agreed to reprise their roles. An eighth series has been confirmed, however creator Tony Jordan has said that this will be the last for at least a while and the last with the current cast. Guest stars featuring this season will include Sheila Hancock, Martin Kemp and Paterson Joseph. Peter Polycarpou and John Barrowman have also revealed on Twitter that they will have guest roles in series eight. This will be the third series to be filmed in Birmingham, the fifth in HD and the fourth series featuring all of the current cast. Adrian Lester is also set to direct an episode, in which Mickey is kidnapped. Other cons will see the team take on the world of slimming pills and pull off a gold heist. The series has been confirmed to air on Friday 6th January on BBC1 at 9pm.

• Season 1

1      1-01                24/Feb/04   The Con is On
2      1-02                02/Mar/04   Faking It
3      1-03                09/Mar/04   Picture Perfect
4      1-04                16/Mar/04   Cops and Robbers
5      1-05                23/Mar/04   A Touch of Class
6      1-06                30/Mar/04   The Last Gamble 

• Season 2

7      2-01                29/Mar/05   Gold Mine
8      2-02                05/Apr/05   Confessions
9      2-03                12/Apr/05   The Lesson
10     2-04                19/Apr/05   Missions
11     2-05                26/Apr/05   Old Acquaintance
12     2-06                03/May/05   Eye of the Beholder 

• Season 3

13     3-01                10/Mar/06   Price For Fame
14     3-02                17/Mar/06   Albert's Challenge
15     3-03                24/Mar/06   Ties That Bind Us
16     3-04                31/Mar/06   A Bollywood Dream
17     3-05                07/Apr/06   The Hustler's News Of Today
18     3-06                14/Apr/06   Law And Corruption 

• Season 4

19     4-01                03/May/07   As One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest, One Flew In
20     4-02                10/May/07   Signing Up to Wealth
21     4-03                17/May/07   Getting Even
22     4-04                24/May/07   A Designer's Paradise
23     4-05                31/May/07   Conning the Artists
24     4-06                07/Jun/07   Big Daddy Calling 

• Season 5

25     5-01                08/Jan/09   Return of the Prodigal
26     5-02                15/Jan/09   New Recruits
27     5-03                22/Jan/09   Lest Ye Be Judged
28     5-04                29/Jan/09   Diamond Seeker
29     5-05                05/Feb/09   Politics
30     5-06                12/Feb/09   The Road Less Travelled 

• Season 6

31     6-01                04/Jan/10   And this Little Piggy had Money
32     6-02                11/Jan/10   The Thieving Mistake
33     6-03                18/Jan/10   Tiger Troubles
34     6-04                25/Jan/10   The Father of Jewels
35     6-05                01/Feb/10   Conned Out Of Luck
36     6-06                08/Feb/10   The Hush Heist 

• Season 7

37     7-01                07/Jan/11   As Good as it Gets
38     7-02                14/Jan/11   Old Sparks Come New
39     7-03                21/Jan/11   Clearance From A Deal
40     7-04                28/Jan/11   Benny's Funeral
41     7-05                11/Feb/11   The Fall of Railton FC
42     7-06                18/Feb/11   The Delivery 

• Season 8
43     8-01                06/Jan/12 Series 8, Episode 1
44     8-02                13/Jan/12   Series 8, Episode 2
45     8-03                20/Jan/12   Series 8, Episode 3