A NEW series of Kay Mellor’s TV drama The Syndicate is being shot in Burley-in-Wharfedale, after lockdown caused a delay in filming.

The show, about a team of low-paid kennel workers who think they’ve won the lottery but have been robbed of their ticket, has a starry cast headed by Neil Morrissey, Emmerdale’s Gaynor Faye, YouTuber and 2018 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Joe Sugg and Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh and Katie McGlynn, who played Michelle Connor and Sinead Tinker in the soap.

Filming has been taking place in Calverley and Burley-in-Wharfedale, with local actors among the cast.

This is the fourth of Kay Mellor’s popular stand-alone Syndicate dramas. Previous series, which starred Game of Thrones actor Mark Addy, Denholme actress Natalie Gavin and Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis, of Horsforth, were filmed in and around Bradford. Each series is about co-workers coping with a big lottery win.

When the owners of Woodvale Kennels announce they’re selling the business to a corporate chain, their staff fear for their futures. The weekly lottery looks like a lifeline to gambling addict Keeley, and when she checks the ticket with newsagent Frank (Neil Morrissey) and the machine goes off, she’s ecstatic. But is everything as it seems and will the syndicate get what’s rightfully theirs? Set between Yorkshire and Monaco, the ‘cat and mouse thriller’ sees the kennel workers spend every last penny to get justice done.

Bafta-winning dramatist Kay Mellor has set and filmed several shows in Bradford, including Band of Gold and Girlfriends, but this year filming was halted by the Covid pandemic. “Lockdown has been a roller-coaster of emotions for all of us,” said Kay. “I was devastated not to begin shooting the new Syndicate. All the scripts were written and we were four days away from principal photography but now we’re ready and I couldn’t be more excited. We’ve got a star-studded cast and a talented crew, who have waited patiently in the wings.”

Gaynor Holmes, Executive Producer for the BBC said: “We’re thrilled to have The Syndicate return to BBC One for a fourth series. Kay has written yet another brilliantly entertaining story and we can’t wait to see the fabulous cast bring it to life.”

Following its UK premiere, the series will run as a BritBox original co- production in America and Canada. The cast also includes Emily Head from The Inbetweeners, Line of Duty star Taj Atwal, Andrew Dunn from Victoria Wood’s dinnerladies, Waterloo Road actor Mark Benton and Grey’s Anatomy star Liberty Hobbs in her UK debut.