Coltrane in New BBC America


Complex heist film, The Planman, follows a brilliant lawyer whose mid-life crisis leads to a new double life of crime. Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter, Goldeneye, Cracker) stars as Jack Lennox, the flamboyant, quick-witted, high-power lawyer who’s spent a career keeping sloppy criminals out of jail. His annoyance at how they make rookie errors and get caught, leads to a shocking new side project—becoming the planman, or mastermind of a new crime ring. This is a very risky line of work for a lawyer, but even worse, he’s married to Gail Forrester (Celia Imrie, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Wimbledon), a Member of Scottish Parliament.
The Planman premieres Sunday, November 11, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

In Glasgow’s high court, Jack Lennox is defending police officer Jim Townsend (Vincent Regan, 300, Rescue Me) on a corruption charge, after his fingerprint was found at a crime scene. Lennox confidently cross examines Assistant Chief Constable Brian Richards (Neil Dugeon, The Street, Midsomer Murders), whose team found the questionable fingerprint, the only clue from a six-month underground investigation in search of the city’s biggest crime leader. Lennox deconstructs the case in a simple manner leaving the jury eating from his hand. Townsend’s career has been destroyed, but he’s a free man.

After the trial, Lennox and Townsend coincidentally have tickets to the same soccer game and attend together. In friendly banter, Lennox claims all criminals are caught out of stupidity – all they need is better planning. To prove his point, he uses his methodical prowess to lay out a theoretical scheme to rob a bank in Edinburgh.

Lennox’s wife, Gail Forrester, is a Member of Parliament a job that has left no room for children and little for a husband. Her recent crackdown on crime has the full support of Assistant Chief Constable Brian Richards. Lennox questions the cop’s political motivation, but little does he know that the two share pillow-talk as well as business meetings.

While her affair will be unveiled, it is Lennox’s new dalliances that will threaten the marriage. A few days after the soccer match, he receives an envelope full of cash and learns that the exact bank robbery scheme he outlined was committed. Townsend, who has moved his family to a home in the country, admits to his criminal connections but lures Lennox into his next big robbery.

The new illegal sideline is a boost to his ego and brings excitement to his dormant existence, but his success as a criminal brings its own set of problems. When Richards discovers Lennox’s secret and offers him the chance to keep his freedom, “The Planman” is forced to devise one final brilliant heist that involves handing over four top criminal gangs. His freedom, his wife’s career and, most importantly, his marriage is at risk, so Lennox agrees to the deal Richards is offering.

But it will take more than smarts to pull of this plan. His future is in the hands of Britain’s most dangerous crime bosses and the cop who’s sleeping with his wife. When the heist of a lifetime is executed, will she be standing by his side?

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CAST AND PRODUCTION CREDITS

Jack Lennox Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter, Goldeneye, Cracker)
Gail Forrester Celia Imrie (Bridget Jone’s Diary, Wimbledon)
Brian Richards Neil Dudgeon (The Street, Midsomer Murders)
Jim Townsend Vincent Regan (300, Rescue Me)
Deirdre McIntyre John McGlynn (The Queen, Silent Witness)
Lord Belford Graham Crowden (Waiting For God, Doctor Who)
Louise Beattie Deirdre McIntyre

Writer Stuart Hepbum (Taggart, Rebus)

Director John Strickland (Bodies, Prime Suspect)

Producer Mervyn Gill-Dougherty (Peak Practice, Holby City)

Executive Producers Robbie Coltrane
Angus Lamont

An Ideal World Production for ITVI