“THIS is the real world of Cheshire, believe it or not.”
That was how a preview screening of Channel 4’s much anticipated new drama series Goldplated was introduced last night.
And on the evidence of the first episode, most of Cheshire and Manchester will be hooked by a show with a dark underside.

“It’s about time something like this was made. It’s about real people,” actress Jamie Winstone, daughter of Ray, told us later.
She plays the damaged Lauren in a series set and filmed in the golden triangle of Wilmslow, Prestbury and Alderley Edge.
At its heart is the White family, led by construction firm boss John (David Schofield), his estranged wife Beth (Barbara Marten) and their children, including Lauren.
Goldplated has been described as Footballers’ Wives meets Shameless. But that doesn’t really do it justice.
Creator and writer Jimmy Gardner explains: “The affluence in the series is a Trojan Horse to get across ideas about that world and the people who inhabit it.”

Former Casualty star Kelly Harrison (pictured right with Jamie) plays Cassidy, a gold digger from Moss Side who has struck rich – or so she thinks.
Some things are not as they seem in the world of bling, Bentleys and “The Blondes” – and some people don’t react in the way you might expect them to.
Jamie thinks the real Cheshire set will love the series. “If it’s honest, why should they hate it? It’s their time and place being highlighted and put into a Channel 4 series.
“There are things in there where they might go, ‘Oh, we’re not like that.’ But they are. So that’s fine.”
Last night’s screening and interviews took place at the Astor Bar in London with the cast allowed to let their hair down after months of filming.
But the work isn’t over yet. Final scenes are due to be shot tomorrow before the intriguing eight-part series arrives on screen at 10pm on Wednesday October 18.
Look out for a Goldplated special in the MEN next Tuesday.
TV Gold