To say ITV's Cleaning Up is more of a fantasy than a gritty financial drama is probably an understatement.
Since the very first episode, viewers have been noticing some pretty massive logic gaps. The series takes place at a top investment firm, where the cleaning crew led by Sam (Sheridan Smith) gain access to insider trading documents. Lots and lots of them!
To buy into the premise at all, you have to suspend disbelief. But all along the way, fans have put up with top-secret financial documents literally just lying around and questioning the difficulty level of making spreadsheets.
There were some serious improvements along the way though, and it looked like Cleaning Up was heading in the right direction. That is, until Wednesday night's (February 6) penultimate episode.
This week, the brokers started handed out large stacks of cash. Yes, at one point the shady Swanny (Lloyd Owen) had £50,000 in hand and gave it to Sam with no real strings attached to make some nebulous investment.
And guess what happened? Sam rinsed the money like she always does, and stuck it in her daughter's bank account without anyone asking any questions.
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Well, viewers had some questions...
Viewers were probably right in wondering how many real high rollers just hand out 50 grand without any accountability. It doesn't sound like a real solid business practice!
Unfortunately for Sam, the investigation into insider trading at her office did catch up with her at the end of the episode when she got fired.
Her ex also found the 50 grand in their daughter's account, and swiped it to clear their debt. So, she's in serious trouble!
Hopefully she can slip out of handcuffs in next week's finale as easily as she came by £50,000…
Cleaning Up concludes next Wednesday (February 13) at 9pm on ITV.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
