Expected to be one of the best new TV dramas to grace our screens this year, BBC's latest drama The Cage is here.
Starring none other than Sheridan Smith, the drama sees casino cashier Leanne (Smith) begin skimming cash from the venue’s safe in a bid to support her family. The only thing is, she discovers she’s not the only one doing so. But will Leanne and her fellow nabber end up getting found out by the police? Or even the local gangster they’re stealing from?
Smith heads up the cast of the crime thriller alongside Michael Socha, Geraldine James, Barry Sloane and others. The Cage was written by Tony Schumacher (best known for The Responder) with Al Mackay directing and executive producers including Schumacher, Smith, Hilary Martin, Christopher Aird, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Lucy Richer.
The TV series is set to start tonight on Sunday, 26th April, available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am or watch on air on BBC One at 9pm. And the BBC warns while the series is "full of laughter and love" it also holds the power to potentially "break your heart" - particularly after you find out about how it's inspired by real-life events and people.
But who's real life experiences is the plot partly inspired by? And what inspiration has it taken?
Is The Cage based on a true story?
Well, writer Schumacher is no stranger to using inspiration from his own life to write a solid drama - take The Responder, inspired by his own experiences working as a police officer. And he certainly lives in Liverpool still - where The Cage is also set.
In an interview with Radio Times Magazine, he broke down the inspiration he's taken from his own life and used to fuel the characters and narrative in his latest series.
Schumacher noted he "definitely" draws on his own experiences and "feels" them while writing, later revealing how he settled upon seeking to explore the issue of addiction in his latest series.
The writer explained his brother Philip was an alcoholic and passed away in 2025, but that it was actually in 2019 when he first came up with the idea for The Cage.
"I was going through a bad period with Phil, who was drinking quite badly. I had a meeting with two brilliant producers Hilary Martin and Simon Judd, and I think I brought it up," he said. "We started talking about addiction, but alcoholism felt too close to home."
Alongside previously having worked as a police officer, it turns out Schumacher also has experience working on cruise ships where he says he saw how "everyone who worked in those casinos would gamble like mad the minute they weren't working."
The writer continued: "They all had, and I can say this with a degree of certainty, a bad relationship with money, which fascinated me.”
So, not only does The Cage star the indescribably talented Sheridan Smith, but it also raises awareness of important issues close to its writers' heart. What are you waiting for?
The Cage starts on Sunday 26 April from 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One.
