The Syndicate: Leeds writer Kay Mellor's final play to be staged in daughter Gaynor Faye's directorial debut

Leeds-born writer Kay Mellor, who also wrote other hit shows including ITV’s Girlfriends, Band Of Gold and Fat Friends, died in May last year.

Actress Faye, who has starred in Coronation Street, Emmerdale and The Chase on BBC One, a series she co-wrote with her mother, will make her directorial debut with the stage version of The Syndicate.

She said: “It is extremely special to be a part of this new theatrical version of The Syndicate and one which my mum was really excited to stage. Having acted in the last series on TV, when she asked me to assist her on directing the show – I jumped at it.

“Now, it has become my first solo directing role and whilst I am so sad not to be doing it with her, I am also very proud and excited to bring mum’s vision to the fore.

“Josh Andrews is a fantastic producer who I’ve worked with on several shows and with a fabulous creative team and, of course, an incredible script, we’re going to reach for the stars and make mum’s wish come true, bringing another Kay Mellor classic to theatres across the country.”

The first series of The Syndicate aired on the BBC in 2012, with the drama telling the story of five supermarket workers whose lives are changed with a joint lottery win. It starred Timothy Spall, Gavin & Stacey’s Joanna Page and Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis.

The fourth and final series of the programme aired in 2021 and was set between Yorkshire and Monaco and followed the workers at Woodvale Kennels, with a cast including Katherine Rose Morley, Kieran Urquhart, Liberty Hobbs, Emily Head, Neil Morrissey and Kym Marsh, as well as Faye.

The stage version of The Syndicate will tour for 15 weeks in 2024 from April to July and will visit Leeds, Norwich, Newcastle, Salford, Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham and more.

Faye added: “People want to see what people do with that money. And we see, I think my mom really cleverly showed all the different people affected by it, and some for the good and some for the not so good.

“And that’s what this play does really well. It shows us how winning the lottery can completely transform your life and give you something to be able to stand up for yourself… and it also can also give you so much money that you tie yourself in knots with it and lose complete focus and lose yourself.”

Casting for the play will be announced soon.