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What would you respond if your most reckless friend from your teenage years got back in touch? What if you were battling a terminal illness and felt completely unburdened? Consider if you were plagued by remorse for getting your friend imprisoned a decade back? If you were the one she got sent to prison and you were only being released to die of cancer in her custody? If you used to be a almost unstoppable pair of con artists who still had a collection of costumes left over from your glory days and a longing to feel some excitement again?

All this and more are the questions that Frauds, a new drama starring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, presents to viewers on a exhilarating, intense six-part ride that follows two female fraudsters bent on executing a final scheme. Similar to an earlier work, Jones developed this series with her collaborator, and it has all the same strengths. Just as a suspense-driven structure was used as background to the psychodramas gradually unveiled, here the grand heist Jones’ character Roberta (Bert) has meticulously arranged while incarcerated since her diagnosis is a means to explore a deep dive into companionship, deceit, and affection in all its forms.

Bert is placed under the supervision of Sam (Whittaker), who lives nearby in the Andalucían hills. Guilt stopped her from seeing Bert during her sentence, but she has stayed close and avoided scams without her – “Bit crass with you in prison for a job I botched.” And for her new, albeit short, life on the outside, she has purchased numerous undergarments, because various methods exist for female friends to offer contrition and a classic example is the purchase of “a big lady-bra” after a decade of underwire-free prison-issue rubbish.

Sam aims to continue maintaining her peaceful existence and look after Bert till the end. Bert possesses different plans. And when your daftest friend has other ideas – well, those tend to be the ones you follow. Their former relationship slowly resurfaces and Bert’s plans are already in motion by the time she lays out the full blueprint for the robbery. This show experiments with chronology – to good rather than eye-rolling effect – to present key scenes initially and then the explanations. So we observe the duo slipping jewellery and watches off wealthy guests’ wrists at a memorial service – and bagging a golden crown of thorns because what’s to stop you if you could? – before removing their hairpieces and reversing their funeral attire to transform into vibrant outfits as they walk confidently down the church steps, awash with adrenaline and assets.

They need the assets to fund the plan. This involves hiring a document expert (with, unbeknown to them, a gambling problem that is due to attract unwanted attention) in the guise of illusionist’s aide Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who possesses the necessary skills to help them remove and replace the intended artwork (a renowned Dali painting at a prominent gallery). Additionally, they recruit art enthusiast Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who specialises in works by male artists exploiting women. She is equally merciless as all the criminals their accomplice and the funeral theft are drawing towards them, including – most perilously of all – their old boss Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a contemporary crime lord who had them running scams for her from their teens. She reacted poorly to the pair’s assertion of themselves as independent conwomen so unresolved issues remain in that area.

Unexpected developments are layered between deepening revelations about the duo’s past, so you experience the full enjoyment of a Thomas Crown Affair-ish caper – executed with no shortage of brio and admirable willingness to overlook obvious implausibilities – plus a captivatingly detailed portrait of a bond that is potentially as harmful as Bert’s cancer but equally difficult to eradicate. Jones delivers arguably her best and multifaceted portrayal yet, as the damaged, resentful Bert with her lifetime pursuit of excitement to divert attention from her internal anguish that has nothing to do with her medical condition. Whittaker stands with her, delivering excellent acting in a slightly less interesting part, and together with the creative team they create a fantastically stylish, emotionally rich and profoundly intelligent piece of entertainment that is inherently empowering without preaching and an absolute success. More again, soon, please.