The Syndicate TV Show Is Like Downton Abbey With A Lottery Twist

Lenny Henry (arrowed) plays a gardener in the third series of the British TV drama series The Syndicate. PHOTO: BBC

It looks like Downton Abbey with an upstairs and downstairs class structure, but when the staff win the lottery, everything changes in this third series of The Syndicate.

Comedian Lenny Henry's role is unlike any other part he has played. PHOTO: BBC

And Lenny admits that he was entering new territory when taking on the very serious role.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: "He’s very different from anyone I’ve played before. He’s quite highly functioning. He’s a child-like man who’s obsessed with numbers."

The Syndicate features Anthony Andrews (Lord Charles Hazelwood, head of the manor with ailing health and desperate debts), and Alice Krige (Lady Rachel Hazelwood) PHOTO: BBC

Discussing the show as a whole, he added: "Godfrey set up the syndicate and he’s been studying sequences for the last 15 years, so he’s sure they’re going to win. When the staff do manage to hit the jackpot, it tips the balance because the people below stairs have all this money."

Henry says: "People love the show because there’s this wish fulfilment. Everyone wants to know what others like them would do if they won the lottery."

In an online poll, most viewers say they intend to watch the series. POLL: Metro