Cleaning Up starts tonight (Wednesday, January 9) on ITV at 9pm. There are six episodes in the series, airing every Wednesday on the channel. You can watch Cleaning Up as it airs on ITV or stream it live via the ITV Hub. Cleaning Up tells the story of Sam (played by Sheridan Smith), a gambling addict who starts taking risks on a much bigger scale through insider trading. Here’s everything you need to know about insider trading.
What is insider trading?
Insider trading is when traders buy or sell public company’s shares based on information that is not public knowledge.
For example, if a trader knows that a company’s profits look like they are going to be good or bad and they tell you that information privately – if you go on to sell or buy shares in that company you are participating in insider trading.
Usually, it is key employees or executives who will have access to this kind of information.
The practice puts other stockholders at a huge disadvantage and leads to unfair trading in the market.
In the UK it is a criminal offence under the Criminal Justice Act 1993.
If caught and prosecuted, you can face up to seven years imprisonment or a hefty fine.
What is Cleaning Up on ITV about?
Cleaning Up follows Sam and her friend Jess (Jade Anouka) who are cleaners at a huge banking firm in Canary Wharf.
They both have significant debts and work zero hour contracts on minimum wage, so often find themselves struggling to make ends meet.
Sam is a mother-of-two to daughters Alice (Kristy Phillips) and Lily (Anya McKenna Bruce).
She is also a gambling addict who is in denial, which is also adding to her growing debts and tearing her family apart.
Her husband Dave (Matthew McNulty) has left her because of her gambling problem and is threatening to take the girls into his custody.
One night on shift, Sam and Jess overhear banker, Blake (Ben Bailey Smith) engaging in insider trading.
After overhearing his conversation, Sam learns everything you need to know about insider trading.
If she and Jess hold shares in some of the companies Blake is associated with, they could make thousands or worse, lose everything.
Who stars in Cleaning Up on ITV?
Cleaning Up features familiar faces from British stage and television.
Cilla actress Sheridan Smith stars as the show’s main character, Sam, a working-class mother of two.
She said: “I loved playing all the scenes with the two girls who play Sam’s daughters. A total contrast to the world of Canary Wharf, which was also brilliant to film.
“What I love about Sam is that she’s working class and made not educated like a lot of people are but she’s still savvy and smart. She’s a chameleon who can fit into any world.”
West End star Jade Anouka plays Sam’s best friend Jess, who participates in insider trading with Sam.
Jess works in a cafe with her family, who owe a great amount of money to the landlord and are struggling to come to terms with her brother’s imprisonment and the death of their father.
Anouka said: “Jess is a strong-willed woman who wants to do what’s right and help out her family.”
Versailles actor Matthew McNulty plays Sam’s estranged husband in Cleaning Up.
He said: “I hope the audience might sympathies with Dave. You do feel bad for him and the situation he’s found himself in.
“It’s not his fault. Maybe he did make a bad decision but he was driven to it. Sam also knows she has done something wrong. It’s not just him.”
Cleaning Up starts tonight on ITV
