Hot Money
Caroline Quentin (left) in ITV's Hot Money (2001).jpg
Caroline Quentin and Kate Williams as Bridget Watmore and Molly Stern
Genre Crime drama
Written byNeil McKay
Directed byTerry Winsor
StarringCaroline Quentin
Gerard Horan
Kate Williams
Georgia Mackenzie
Jay Simpson
Melanie Hill
Cliff Parisi
Composer(s)Colin Towns
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producer(s)Jeff Pope
Producer(s)Jeremy Phillips
CinematographyJohn Daly
Editor(s)Edward Mansell
Running time90 minutes
Production company(s)Granada Television
Release
Original networkITV
Picture format16:9 (576i)
Audio formatStereo
Original release
  • 12 December 2001 (2001-12-12)

Hot Money is a British television crime drama film, written by Neil McKay and directed by Terry Winsor, first broadcast on ITV on 12 December 2001. Inspired by the Loughton incinerator thefts, the film stars Caroline Quentin as Bridget Watmore, a cleaner at the Bank of England who hatches a plot "for impoverished workers to pinch cash" before it is incinerated. The film was commissioned by ITV in January 2001, as one of two new projects to star Quentin, with the other, Blood Strangers, following in 2002. Nick Elliott, then controller of drama at ITV, described Quentin as being "...very good at playing very ordinary women." Filming began in February 2001.

The film received a 44% audience share between 9pm and 11pm, where it was screened against a Panorama investigative special programme on BBC One. Consolidated figures revealed the film drew 9.62 million viewers on its debut broadcast. Reception by newspaper critics ranged from "inadequate script" (Daily Mail; Daily Telegraph) to "thrilling comedy caper" (Mirror). In 2008, the film was remade in the United States under the title Mad Money, starring Diane Keaton as Bridget, Katie Holmes as Jackie, Queen Latifah as Nina, and Ted Danson as Don. Lindsay Lohan was initially cast to play Jackie, but was replaced due to a lack of completion bond.

Plot

Hot Money tells the story of three workers at the Bank of England incinerating plant in Essex. The trio, led by Bridget (Caroline Quentin), hatch a plan to steal thousands of pounds by stashing the notes in their underwear.

Cast

  • Caroline Quentin as Bridget Watmore
  • Gerard Horan as Don Watmore
  • Kate Williams as Molly Stern
  • Georgia Mackenzie as Jackie Haggar
  • Jay Simpson as Barry Weller
  • Melanie Hill as Liz Hoodless
  • Cliff Parisi as Bob Hoodless
  • Christine Ellerbeck as Mrs. Riddell
  • Shaun Curry as Mr. Glover
  • Dickon Tolson as Sean
  • Joan Hodges as Irene Haggar
  • Josie Kidd as Nancy Weller
  • Michael Jayes as Ralph Barnett-Leigh
  • Melissa Lloyd as DS Sally Markham
  • Michael Brogan as DI Jim Fenwick
  • Richenda Carey as Judge Lucinda Winchcombe

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Hot Money, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.