Sky 1, 2009, 4 episodes

Adapted from the Martina Cole bestseller, The Take opens with Freddie Jackson’s (Tom Hardy) release from prison. He’s done his time, made the right connections and now he’s ready to use them. His wife Jackie (Kierston Wareing) dreams of having her husband home but she’s forgotten the rows and the girls that Freddie can’t leave alone. Meanwhile, his younger cousin, Jimmy (Shaun Evans), dreams of making a name for himself – on Freddie’s coat-tails.

At first Freddie gets everything he ever wanted and Jimmy is taken along for the ride: a growing crime empire that gives them all the respect and money they’ve hungered for. But behind it all sits Ozzy (Brian Cox) – the legendary criminal godfather who manipulates Freddie and Jimmy’s fates from behind the bars of his prison cell.

Bitter, resentful and increasingly unstable, Jackie sees her life crumble while her little sister Maggie’s (Charlotte Riley) star rises as she marries Jimmy. The arrival of little Jimmy is a cause for consternation for Charlotte as she seeks to conceal his true parentage.

As Freddie spirals ever more frequently out of control, Ozzy urges Jimmy to go it alone and as a result he cut his former idol out of his new drug business. However, Freddie is not someone who forgives or forgets easily and he eventually decides that Jimmy must be ‘taken care of. Jimmy meanwhile has reached the same conclusion…

Principal Cast:
Freddie Jackson: TOM HARDY; Jackie Jackson: KIERSTON WAREING; Jimmy Jackson: SHAUN EVANS; Maggie Summers: CHARLOTTE RILEY; Ozzy: BRIAN COX; Patricia: SARA STEWART; Kitty Mason: HAYLEY ANGEL WARDLE; Lena Summers: MARGOT LEICESTER; Siddy Clancy: DAVID SCHOFIELD; Freddie Snr.:NICHOLAS DAY; Joseph Summers: JOHN ASHTON.

Awards:
Nominee: Royal Television Society (RTS) Television Award, Best Male Actor – Tom Hardy
Nominee: IFTA, Best Production Design
Winner: IFTA, Best Make-Up and Hair

Reviews:
‘A truly outstanding performance by Tom Hardy’ – The Sunday Times
‘Hardy produces an exhilarating display of paranoia and savagery’ – The Times
‘Deftly written and directed with considerable style and verve… superbly acted, not only by Hardy, but also the beauteous Charlotte Riley and Kierston Wareing.’ – The Observer
‘A stunning performance by Tom Hardy’ – The Sunday Mirror‘
‘Evokes the era of Culture Club, aerobics and Ford Capris far more effortlessly than Ashes To Ashes has ever managed.’ – The Daily Mirror
‘Tom Hardy gives a force-of-nature performance’ – The Independent