'It felt spine-chilling': New 'high-stakes' BBC crime drama The Cage starring Sheridan Smith gets even darker than you could imagine — especially after episode 5

BBC iPlayer never leaves us high and dry when it comes to bingeable crime dramas. From April 26, the six-part "high-stakes" series The Cage joins the streamer's back catalog.

Starring Sheridan Smith, Michael Socha, Barry Sloane, and Geraldine James, the series follows Leanne (Smith) and Matty (Socha), who discover they are both robbing from the safe at the casino they work in.

As the BBC puts it, "their lives are set on a collision course; with each other, the local gangster they're stealing from, and the police."

It's got everything and the kitchen sink thrown at it, put it that way. But if things don't seem dramatic enough as The Cage begins, you don't have to wait too long until the trauma ramps up.

For its cast, it's episode 5 that you have to watch out for — and it's the part they're the most proud of.

'I've only got one way to work, and it's full-throttle'

The Cage | Trailer - BBC - YouTube

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"It's mine and Barry's scene in episode 5," James tells me when I ask her what she's proudest of in the series. The pair play Gary (Sloane), a local criminal, and his mother Nancy (James), who owns the casino where the drama takes place.

"I felt his spine chilling. It was amazing writing, and to be so in the moment was very revealing. It's a wonderful thing when you have to prepare. But when you get there, and somebody like Barry Sloane throws something back at you, it becomes totally different from what you thought it was going to be."

"As soon as I got [episode 5] on the page, I knew it was gonna be amazing," Sloane continues. But it's also terrifying. You've been gifted and want it to be really good; you want to be pleased with it. I've only got one way to work, which is full throttle. I think it's a good throttle."

Gary and Nancy's earlier years are explored in this part of the series, but that doesn't mean Leanne and Matty are in the clear — in fact, things are just getting worse.

But for Sheridan, The Cage was actually more "fun" than many of her previous roles.

"It's just so layered and fun, so and to get to work with Tony Schumacher and the cast was a no-brainer. I was really excited about this one, and it was a fun one after doing quite a lot of heavy stuff. And a bit more cool as well. I don't really get to play those parts very often."

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