Too Good To Be True, a gripping new Channel 5 psychological drama, boasts a sensational cast list.
The series stars Kara Tointon as a single cleaner mum, Rachel, who is living on the breadline, and is approached by a businesswoman (Sara Powell) on behalf of a wealthy client, Elliot (Allen Leech) who makes her an incredibly generous job offer, working far fewer hours.
Elliot makes Rachel and her young son Liam feel very welcome with lavish gifts, but as the young mum is drawn further into the handsome stranger’s world, she becomes suspicious of his motives.
Here’s the Too Good To Be True cast and what you’ve seen them in before.
Kara Tointon plays Rachel
Essex-born actress Kara Tointon portrays Rachel, a struggling single mother who is enchanted by the wealthy Elliot’s generous job offer.
Kara, 40, was a big deal in EastEnders in the late noughties. She portrayed Dawn Swann, the sister of established character Mickey Miller (Joe Swash). Dawn joined her family on Albert Square in 2005 as she conned her new neighbours into funding a boob job.
During her time in Walford, Dawn was abducted by the villainous Dr. May Wright after agreeing to sell her baby to the GP. Dawn also began a relationship with Jase Brown (Stephen Lord), which ended on their wedding day when the groom was found dead. She also regularly feuded with Jase’s son Jay (Jamie Borthwick). Following Jase’s murder, Dawn eventually fell for long-time friend Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves) and the pair sailed into the sunset together in 2009.
Fresh from her EastEnders exit, Kara next took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2010. She won the series with partner Artem Chigvintsev.
Her next big role came in 2015, when Kara replaced Poppy Lee Friar as Rosalie Selfridge in seasons 3 and 4 of Mr Selfridge. Rosalie was the daughter of the titular Mr. Harry Gordon Selfridge (Jeremy Piven), who founded the famous Oxford Street department store.
Also in 2015, Rosalie portrayed Maria Von Trapp in the ITV festive bonanza The Sound of Music Live alongside Julian Ovenden.
She then portrayed the singer Betsey Day in 1940s-set period drama The Halcyon (2017).
Most recently, Kara appeared in BritBox original Archie, alongside Jason Isaacs.
Too Good To Be True cast: Allen Leech plays Elliot
Irish actor Allen Leech portrays Elliot, the enigmatic wealthy businessman with a strange interest in Rachel and her son Liam.
Allen, 42, is most recognisable for his role of Tom Branson on the hit ITV drama Downton Abbey (2010-2015). A radical socialist, Tom somehow bagged the job as a chauffeur for the aristocratic Crawley family and fell for their youngest daughter Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay). Tom and Sybil later married in Ireland, but tragically she died in childbirth in series 3. Tom then struggled with his position as an adopted member of the Crawley family and temporarily moved to Boston (series 5) before accepting Downton as his home in series 6.
Tom appeared in all seasons of Downton Abbey, as well as the two feature films in 2019 and 2022.
He also played the British WW2 spy John Cairncross in the Alan Turing biopic, The Imitation Game (2014), starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Since starring in the Downton TV series, Allen appeared in the Canadian crime drama Bellevue (2017), before bagging the role of Freddie Mercury’s manager Paul Prenter in biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
Prior to appearing on Downton, Allen also had recurring roles in Love Is the Drug (2004), Legend (2006) and HBO epic Rome (2007).
Most recently, Allen starred in Irish drama The Vanishing Triangle. While the series has already aired in the US, it should hit the UK on Acorn TV soon.
Charlie Hodson-Prior plays Liam
Charlie Hodson-Prior portrays Liam, Rachel’s beloved young son. To Liam, Elliott seems like a dream come true as he shows the young boy his vintage car collection.
While this is Charlie’s TV debut, you might have seen him before in 2022 musical film Matilda the Musical. He portrayed Bruce Bogtrotter, Matilda’s fellow student who the villainous Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson) forces to eat an entire cake. This role is somewhat expanded from the previous book and film adaptations of Matilda, with loads of singing parts.
Too Good To Be True cast: Sara Powell plays Simone
Jamaican-born actress Sara Powell, 55, portrays businesswoman Simone, who puts Rachel in touch with her wealthy client Elliot.
Sara’s first major role was as driver Sally Reid in ITV firefighter drama London’s Burning (1993-1994).
She later starred in the short-lived Holby City police spin-off Holby Blue. She portrayed Rachel Barker, a worker for the Crown Prosecution Service.
Sky One comedy You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015) was next, before a role as Pat Gallan in Stephen Graham crime drama Little Boy Blue (2017).
She portrayed the psychologist Cass in Channel 4 comedy Damned, which aired for two seasons from 2016-2018. Sara was also the arbiter in season 3 of Unforgotten (2018).
Most recently, Sara’s in long-running ITV drama Vera and Paramount+’s The Killing Kind (2023) with Colin Morgan.
Taj Atwal plays Jasmine
British actress Taj Atwal plays Jasmine in the Too Good To Be True cast.
Norwich-born Taj has been in quite a few big-name dramas in recent years. Most recently, she played Rana in Lucy Beaumont’s Hull-based sitcom Hullraisers (2022-2023). She also had roles in Trying and The Control Room in 2022.
Taj appeared in season four of lotto win-themed anthology drama The Syndicate (2021). She portrayed Roxy Varma, a Kennels worker who won a windfall alongside colleagues.
Other roles include Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s Truth Seekers (2020) and Line of Duty in 2019.
She also played Jasminder in Ruth Jones’ comedy Stella (2012-2016) and Jasmine in pregnancy drama In The Club (2014-2016).
Too Good To Be True cast: John Thomson plays Geoff
Actor and comedian John Thomson, 54, plays Geoff in the Too Good To Be True cast.
John is best known for his work on British comedy drama Cold Feet. He portrayed Pete Gifford, from seasons 1 through 9. Pete was the best friend of womaniser Adam (James Nesbitt) and the husband of Jenny Gifford (Fay Ripley) and, later on, Jo Ellison (Kimberley Joseph). The series originally ran from 1998 to 2003 before a successful reboot from 2016-2020.
He also played the regular role of Jesse Chadwick on Coronation Street between 2008 and 2010. Jesse was a children’s entertainer who formed a bond with Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver). However, his time on the cobbles ended after he made several passes at Eileen’s sister Julie Carp (Katy Cavanagh).
His other big roles include Spitting Image (1990-1996), a gig he got after meeting Steve Coogan at university. He also appeared in Roger Roger as Barry (1998) and Men Behaving Badly as Ken (1996-1998). John played Eddie Ryan in Playing the Field between 1998 and 2000, alongside series star Lorraine Ashbourne.
In the noughties, John also had major roles in Blackpool (2004), New Street Law (2006-2007) and Kingdom (2008-2009).
He appeared as Geoff in After Hours in 2015, Brassic in 2020 and Silent Witness in 2024.
Denise McCormack plays the shopkeeper
Dublin-based actress Denise McCormack will play the shopkeeper in the Too Good To Be True Cast.
Denise is best known for starring in Irish crime drama Red Rock, between 2015-2020. She portrayed Bridget Kiely, an absent mother who returns home after her son is left for dead on Red Rock Pier. The incident reignited a bitter family feud.
As well as Red Rock, Denise appeared in 2021 series Kin, alongside Emmett J Scanlan. She also starred in 2023 drama Northern Lights.
Denise also had a small role in EastEnders in early 2018. She portrayed Ciara Maguire, the ex-wife of Aidan Maguire (Patrick Connolly Bergin) and the sister-in-law of Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite).
Who else is in Too Good To Be True?
Colleen Keogh plays the receptionist
Scottish actress Colleen Keogh plays the receptionist in Too Good To Be True.
Colleen is best known for her role in Irish soap Fair City. From 2021 to 2023, she portrayed Anna MacShane, an immigrant living in Ireland, on the series.
Alongside Too Good To Be True co-star Denise McCormack, Colleen also starred in Kin. Her other roles include Serial Daters (2021) and Dublin Crust (2023).
Lesley Conroy plays Sandra Fielding
Irish actress Lesley Conroy portrays Sandra Fielding.
Lesley’s early roles include Barbara Buckley in 2007’s The Running Mate and Kathleen in The Clinic (2003-2007). She also portrayed Sharon Kelly on Mattie (2009-2010) and Suzy on Fir Bolg (2016).
More recently, Lesley appeared in an episode of The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021). She also portrayed Lynda Huntley, mother of child killer Ian Huntley, in Maxine (2022).
Oliver Devoti plays Keiron. The Birmingham-born actor’s TV gigs include soaps Hollyoaks (2012), Doctors (2015) and Coronation Street (2020). He also starred as Lt. Jamie Gatley in the 2023 series of Silent Witness.
Seamus Moran plays Martin. Seamus’ biggest roles were in Northern Irish newspaper drama Scúp (2013-2014) and the 2021 miniseries Intruder.
Alison Rose plays Debra Manning. Actress Alison has played multiple roles in The Bill (1994-2002) as well as small parts on Midsomer Murders (2003) and Mistresses (2009). She also portrayed Lieutenant Draper in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.
Graeme Coughlan plays Gregory Fielding. Graeme appeared in 2023 horror film The Gates. He also starred in Netflix film The Wonder (2022), alongside Florence Pugh. Other roles include Hello Au Revoir (2021) and The Edge of Chaos (2020).
Ciara McKeown (My Sailor, My Love) and Esther Ayo James (The Woman in the Wall) also star.
Read more: Kara Tointon welcomes second baby with partner Marius Jensen
Too Good To Be True begins tonight on Channel 5 at 9pm.
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