‘Cleaning Up’ on ITV: Overview of British TV show

One of the popular British television drama series is Cleaning Up.

First released on ITV on 9 January 2019, this TV show is created by Mark Marlow and airs every Wednesday at 9 pm weekly. The series has six episodes and each is an hour long. Cleaning Up stars Sheridan Smith as Sam, a single mother separated from her husband Dave played by Matthew McNulty

Sam works as a cleaner with no contract of employment in Canary Wharf and she is addicted to gambling, one of the reasons for her couple’s breakup. The first episode of the show received three stars from Lucy Mangan, a TV critic for the Guardian. The drama came to end on Wednesday, February 13, 2019.

 

What is Cleaning Up About?

Cleaning Up is about a single mother Sheridan Smith or Sam who works as a cleaner in Canary Wharf in London. This mother is in debt as she has become addicted to gambling. So she is tempted to engage in illegal trading. Sam denies her addiction and refuses to admit that she is a compulsive gambler. Her gambling problem has led to huge debts and the breakdown of her marriage. She is fighting a custody battle for her two daughters Alice (Kristy Phillips) and Lily (Anya McKenna Bruce). 

 

Despite these issues, Sam has not stopped her habits and has experienced an endless problem but she refuses to look for help. There are also other actors like Jess (Jade Anouka) and Mina (Branka Katic) which are Sam’s friends and colleagues. The finale episode showed Sam get ejected from her home and came to being caught after Swanny (the insider trader) realised that Nancy was not the person that she pretended to be.

 

What Lessons can the Viewers Learn from Cleaning Up?

Cleaning Up is one of the rare TV shows that address the issue of female gambling. This drama teaches people about the consequences of excessive gambling. Sam should have been a happy mother but since she has become an addicted gambler, her addiction disrupts her life. She should seek help as gambling impacts her and her family. 

With gambling growth, it is a crucial topic to warn people about the bad impact of gambling. Today, there are several women who are experiencing a gambling problem and even struggling with debt and divorce. These degenerate gamblers need effective support and therapy to reduce their urge to gamble. In Cleaning Up, Sam refuses help and her situation is getting worse and worse.

 

Is Cleaning Up Based on a True Story?

When Marlow spoke to the press, he said that he was influenced by the way traders operate in the market. He realised that Sam’s problem should be shown and he had also needed to find the causes behind gambling. This screenwriter spoke to GamCare and discussed with women who had experienced problem gambling. Sheridan Smith, the starring role added that she got to understand about women who face problem-related harms. 

 

She understood how many gambling ads were actually pushing people to gamble too much. That is the reason why gambling is an important topic as there are several women who are struggling with gambling addiction and debt. Catherine Sweet, a Head of Marketing and Communications at GamCare explained that gambling is not a harmful activity for many people but for some, it can become a serious problem. With Cleaning Up, GamCare believes that people should correctly understand the risks related to gambling and those who experience it are able to access support and cure.