THE SYNDICATE (2015)

At the crumbling stately home of Hazelwood Manor, life for its few remaining downstairs staff is about to take a dramatic leap upstairs, when their small syndicate beats the unlikely odds and wins the lottery.

Overlooking the seaside town of Scarborough, the once impressive manor has been in the family of Lord Hazelwood since his ancestors built it in the 18^th century. There used to be more than thirty staff at the house, but now, with a mounting debt of £6.5 million and counting, there are just five remaining since Lord and Lady Hazelwood were forced to let the others go.

Gardener and math enthusiast Godfrey, housekeeper Sarah, cleaner Dawn, cook Julie and gamekeeper-come-groomsman Sean all have to pitch in and do more than one job just to keep the household running smoothly. Now Lord Hazelwood’s health is failing and the second Lady Hazelwood and her son Spencer are more concerned with maintaining their lifestyle than sorting out the estate’s disastrous finances.

With the future of Hazelwood in question and their jobs on the line, the unthinkable happens - the staff wins the lottery! This touching drama from BAFTA award-winning writer Kay Mellor follows the highs and lows of their journey from downstairs to upstairs… There are now 14.5 million reasons why the lives, and loves, of the staff of Hazelwood Manor are about to change beyond recognition - but will the dream of instant riches be different from the reality?