Love Rat | Preview (Channel 5)

Sally Lindsay stars in a new four-part drama about an Englishwoman abroad whose romantic dream turns into a nightmare.

The cast includes Sally Lindsay as Emma, Neil Morrissey as Pete, Gerald Kyd a Niko, Ramon Tikaram as George, Imogen King as Susie, Louiza Patikas as Christina, Joanna Kalafatis as Maria, Camilla Roholm as Freja and Rina Mahoney as Claire.

Emma (Sally Lindsay) dreams of a new start. Divorced from Pete (Neil Morrissey) and estranged from her embittered daughter, she escapes her dull life for a holiday in Cyprus. There she gets chatting to Niko (Gerald Kyd), the handsome, wealthy owner of the hotel.

Niko sweeps Emma off her feet – trips to secluded beaches, romantic meals and making love with carefree abandon - and when he suggests she move into a beautiful villa with him, Emma - to the horror of her loved ones - makes the huge decision to turn her back on her life in the UK.

When Niko needs what he says is a short-term loan to complete the villa purchase, Emma happily lends him the money. But then Niko, her money and her dreams of a new life disappear.

Desperate, she sets out to find him and get her money back, descending into a shadowy underworld of conmen where nothing is at is seems, and uncovering an even more twisted truth as she battles for justice.

In the opening episode, Emma is still regrouping after her divorce from Pete, and decides that the best way to help the healing process is to go on holiday to Cyprus, where she and Pete enjoyed holidays together in the past. Shrugging off her daughter Susie's criticism of her plan, she packs her bags and heads for the sun, checking in to a beautiful beachfront hotel and hoping to recover some of her joie de vivre.

She soon crosses paths with handsome, charming Niko, the owner of the hotel. She is touched by Niko's efforts to make sure that she is being looked after properly, and then pleasantly surprised when he asks her if she'd like to go out on his boat with him. Emma agrees and a passionate romance quickly develops between them.

All too soon it is time for Emma to return home to the UK, but Niko then makes a proposal: that she stay in Cyprus with him and move into the villa that he is buying. Emma feels she has nothing to lose and, to Pete and Susie's disgust, agrees, also offering to loan Niko the money (around £200K) that he needs to secure the purchase of the villa.

But all is not what it seems with Niko. To Emma's horror, he suddenly vanishes - along with her money. Emma's initial hope that it is all a misunderstanding soon gives way to panic as she fails to track both him and her money down..

Love Rat begins Monday 11th March at 9pm on Channel 5 and airs over four consecutive nights.