The gang are back with Adrian Lester as master con man Mickey "Bricks" Stone, with his "partners in crime"; veteran roper, Albert Stroller (Robert Vaughn) and fixer extraordinaire, Ash "Three Socks" Morgan (Robert Glenister). Also returning are brother and sister duo, Emma and Sean Kennedy (played by Kelly Adams and Matt Di Angelo).

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

Guest stars on Hustle

Viewers can expect the usual high calibre of guest stars, including Angela Griffin, Joe Armstrong and Anna Chancellor. This series sees the team flirt with fashion's finest, take a gamble on a casino and follow an unsuspecting mark's crooked trail to Birmingham.

Hustle actor Adrian Lester said: "It's fantastic that this series includes an episode set in my home town of Birmingham. The greedy better hold on tight to their wallets, as the gang is back and the cons are bigger and better than ever!"

Great new stories

Karen Wilson, executive producer, commented: "Reading Tony Jordan's fantastic scripts, this series looks like it's going to be fabulous. I can't wait for Adrian and co to bring the action to life! This time around, the guys take a little trip to the Midlands, with the gang trying to give a female mark a new lease of life."

Sarah Brandist, BBC executive producer, added: "Hustle is an extraordinarily special show and we are thrilled to be working on series seven with Kudos and Red Planet. And along with every other fan of this series, I cannot wait to see Mickey and the team work their way through a season of the most fabulous scams."

Hustle films in Birmingam

Suzie Norton, CEO of Screen WM, said: "Kudos' return sends a welcome signal that Birmingham and the wider region is a great place to do business for film and television production. Further employment opportunities for local crew and use of local facilities including locations, hotels, restaurants and caterers ensures an extra boost for the local economy and the city's profile as an emerging centre of excellence in film and TV."

Previous series

Hustle was lcreated by the the same production team that created and popularised the early series of Spooks, a similarly-styled drama series first broadcast in 2002. Filming for the first Hustle series took place in London between August and November 2003. The lead actors were given professional instruction in sleight-of-hand and pickpocketing; "all the tricks of the trade from card-shuffling to stealing watches", according to Lester.

Filming for the second Hustle series took place in mid-2004, again in and around central London. The programme retained all of the lead actors from the first series; guest actors appearing the second run included Lee Ingleby, Fay Ripley,[31] and Robert Llewellyn.[32] The second series was broadcast on BBC One from 29 March 2005,[33] to a first-night audience of 6.7 million.

All five of the lead actors again reprised their roles in the third series, which featured guest stars including Richard Chamberlain,[45] Linford Christie, Sara Cox and Paul Nicholls.

Adrian Lester did not reprise the role of Mickey Bricks in the fourth series, and the BBC casti Ashley Walters as a replacement lead .

Series Five debuted on 4 January 2009 with the return of Adrian Lester and the departure of cast members Marc Warren and Jaime Murray. With the return of Lester's character, Mickey Bricks, Ashley Walters didn't reprise his role from series 4.

Series Six started 4 January 2010. All of the 5th series cast returned with production that moved to Birmingham, despite the show retaining its London setting. The series once again consists of 6 episodes.

Episode Guide Series Eight ►

Episode guide Series Seven ►

Episode guide Series Six ►

Photograph of the cast of Hustle - Matt Di Angelo, Robert Glenister, Robert Vaughan, Kelly Adams and Adrian Lester