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What could you do if that wildest companion from your youth reappeared? Imagine if you were dying of cancer and had nothing to lose? Consider if you felt guilty for landing your friend in the clink 10 years ago? If you were the one she landed in the clink and you were only being released to die of cancer in her care? If you used to be a almost unstoppable pair of con artists who retained a collection of costumes left over from your glory days and a deep desire for one last thrill?

All this and more are the questions that Frauds, a new drama featuring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, presents to viewers on a exhilarating, intense six-part ride that traces two conwomen determined to pulling off one last job. Echoing an earlier work, Jones developed this series with her collaborator, and it has all the same strengths. Much like the mystery-thriller formula was used as background to emotional conflicts gradually unveiled, here the elaborate theft Jones’ character Roberta (Bert) has carefully planned while incarcerated after learning her prognosis is the vehicle for a deep dive into companionship, deceit, and affection in every variation.

Bert is released into the care of Sam (Whittaker), who resides close by in the Andalucían hills. Guilt stopped her from ever visiting Bert, but she has stayed close and worked no cons without her – “Bit crass with you in prison for a job I botched.” And to prepare for Bert’s, albeit short, life on the outside, she has purchased numerous undergarments, because various methods exist for women companions to offer contrition and one is the acquisition of “a big lady-bra” following ten years of uncomfortable institutional clothing.

Sam wants to carry on leading her quiet life and care for Bert until her passing. Bert has other ideas. And when your daftest friend devises alternative schemes – well, those tend to be the ones you follow. Their old dynamic slowly resurfaces and Bert’s plans are already in motion by the time she reveals the complete plan for the robbery. This show plays around with the timeline – to good rather than eye-rolling effect – to present key scenes initially and then the rationale. So we observe the duo slipping jewellery and watches from affluent attendees at a funeral – and bagging a golden crown of thorns because what’s to stop you if you could? – before ripping off their wigs and reversing their funeral attire to become colourful suits as they walk confidently down the chapel stairs, awash with adrenaline and loot.

They require the stolen goods to fund the plan. This entails hiring a document expert (with, unknown to the pair, a betting addiction that is likely to draw unneeded scrutiny) in the form of illusionist’s aide Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who has the technical know-how to assist in swapping the intended artwork (a famous surrealist piece at a prominent gallery). They also enlist feminist art collector Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who focuses on works by male artists exploiting women. She is equally merciless as any of the gangsters their accomplice and the funeral theft are drawing towards them, including – most perilously of all – their former leader Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a contemporary crime lord who had them running scams for her since their youth. She reacted poorly to the pair’s assertion of themselves as self-reliant tricksters so there’s ground to make up in that area.

Unexpected developments are interspersed with progressively uncovered truths about Bert and Sam’s history, so you experience the full enjoyment of a sophisticated heist tale – carried out with immense energy and praiseworthy readiness to skate over rampant absurdities – alongside a captivatingly detailed portrait of a friendship that is potentially as harmful as Bert’s cancer but just as impossible to uproot. Jones delivers arguably her best and most complex performance yet, as the wounded, bitter Bert with her lifetime pursuit of excitement to distract from her internal anguish that has nothing to do with metastasising cells. Whittaker stands with her, doing brilliant work in a somewhat less flashy role, and alongside the writers they create a incredibly chic, deeply moving and highly insightful piece of entertainment that is inherently empowering without preaching and an absolute success. More again, soon, please.