Clive Owen before he was famous: a conman so smooth you'll let him steal your wallet twice.
Season 2 • Episode 7
LatestDerek Love, now working for Franklyn's ailing "build British, buy British" campaign, discovers his main weapon is to pour scorn on the bankers who refuse to back it.
Chancer is a British television serial produced by Central Television for ITV. It tells the story of a likable conman and rogue at the end of the yuppie eighties. There were a total of twenty episodes, split into two series which aired on Tuesdays at 21:00 in 1990 and 1991.
Acting
Owen's breakout—snake-oil charisma that launched his career.
Writing
Sharp class satire disguised as glossy melodrama.
Production
Greed-is-good aesthetics dripping with late-80s nostalgia.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Clive Owen's first leading role; he was working as a factory security guard when cast.
The show captured the exact moment British TV pivoted from cozy period dramas to cynical antihero stories—two years before 'This Life' and four before 'Our Friends in the North.'
GB
