Hustling into fashion

BY now, most of us know that the majority of scam artists and confidence tricksters are out for themselves. Thankfully, in BBC1 drama Hustle, they are stylish modern-day Robin Hoods.

Fans will be delighted to learn that the hustlers are back, with some new, ingenious and totally brilliant plans to teach the filthy rich a lesson and relieve them of some of their ill-gotten wealth.

Hustle has proven to be one of BBC One’s most successful dramas and this series promises to be as slick and entertaining as ever.

Viewers can expect the usual high calibre of guest stars, including Angela Griffin, Joe Armstrong and Anna Chancellor. The greedy will require a better hold on their wallets because the gang is back and the cons are bigger and better than ever.

In this fun opener, Albert has three new marks lined up for the five tricksters – arrogant aristocrat Viscount Manley, corrupt MP Jeremy Garret and shady judge Stanley Mead.

The group of hustlers can’t decide which candidate is most deserving of their special treatment, but when Eddie’s niece is caught up in a modelling scam, the choice is made for them.

Wendy Stanton (played by Anna Chancellor), CEO of Model Devotion, is a failed model, making £100,000 each year from naive young girls hoping to make it in the modelling business. Ruthless, hard-nosed and ambitious, Wendy wants to hit the big time and hates parting with money… cue the Hustle gang.

Mickey poses as emerging fashion guru Hilary King, who is launching a new line of women’s clothing at Milan Fashion Week. He approaches Wendy looking for a face for the line, deliberately selecting Eddie’s niece from the list of potentials.

As the con unfolds, Mickey tries to persuade Wendy to invest a substantial amount of cash into the fashion line with the help of Ash and Sean, who are posing as his business associates.

When Wendy’s reluctance to part with money becomes problematic, Emma steps in to play a premium psychic life coach exploiting Wendy’s superstitions. She attempts to convince Wendy that investing in the fashion line is her one big opportunity with a few clever tricks. But will the hustlers succeed and teach Wendy a lesson on behalf of Eddie’s niece?

DAPPER but dippy crimebuster Patrick Jane returns in a repeat showing of a series one case which pushes him to his limits. In a small Californian town, a 16- year-old boy called Cody Elkins has vanished.

After assessing the scene, Jane leads the team to a nearby forest where several crows are circling overhead. This gives our hero enough information to track down the missing lad.

Alas, the boy’s dead body is found lying at the foot of a tree surrounded by a number of strange items, including a six-pointed star, leading Jane to suspect some kind of ritual sacrifice has taken place.

Cody’s parents, Michael and Janice, believe the prime suspect to be Tamzin Dove, a local ‘witch’ who recently accused Cody of killing her cat.

When the agents pay her a visit they find Dove unmoved by the news of the lad’s death. She even admits to placing a “killing spell” on the boy shortly before he died.

Simon Baker and Robin Tunney head the cast.

TOM Petty has released some superb music over the years, with the album Full Moon Fever worthy of a Classic Albums profile in a future episode. However, he also released Damn the Torpedoes in 1979, with his band the Heartbreakers.

It was recorded in secrecy as the band members fought for creative independence with their record company.

This fascinating programme examines how Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch created their third album with the help of co-producer Jimmy Iovine and engineer Shelly Yakus.

Tom and the band hoped it would do well, but had no idea it would chime with the mood of the masses. It occupied the number two spot in America for seven weeks and initially sold more than 2.5m copies.

DON’T be fooled into thinking Criminal Minds is another straightforward cops and robbers show. It features the work of the FBI’s Behavioural Analysis Unit as they attempt to solve crimes through psychological profiling. Each episode involves a journey into the psyche of a killer rather than simply telling the story of a police investigation.

In this episode, the first in a new series, serial killer Flynn uses Ellie to trap his next victim and forces her to work alongside him in torturing another family.

The team struggles to track the pair down in the city-wide blackout until JJ finally gains access to the emergency broadcast system and starts talking to the killer. Tim Curry guest stars alongside Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan and Austin Highsmith as Kristin.

AMONG the thousands of YouTube clips sifted through, there’ll be golden oldies including The Tortoise Dancing with a Toothbrush and Geordie Pants Man, plus clips destined to become classics such as The Cheeseburger Fight and The Ultimate Wedgie.

Between them, the chosen clips have received over 100m hits, so in counting down the top 100 it looks set to be the most entertaining collection yet.