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How would you respond if your most reckless companion from your teenage years reappeared? What if you were dying of cancer and felt completely unburdened? Consider if you felt guilty for getting your friend imprisoned 10 years ago? Suppose you were the one she got sent to prison and you were only being released to succumb to illness in her custody? What if you had been a nearly unbeatable pair of scam artists who retained a collection of costumes left over from your glory days and a deep desire for one last thrill?

These questions and beyond form the core of Frauds, an original series featuring Suranne Jones and Jodie Whittaker, flings at us on a exhilarating, intense six-part ride that traces two conwomen determined to executing a final scheme. Similar to an earlier work, Jones developed this series with a writing partner, and it has all the same strengths. Much like the mystery-thriller formula was used as background to emotional conflicts slowly revealed, here the grand heist the protagonist Roberta (Bert) has carefully planned in prison after learning her prognosis is a means to explore an exploration of companionship, deceit, and affection in every variation.

Bert is released into the care of Sam (Whittaker), who resides close by in the Spanish countryside. Guilt stopped her from seeing Bert during her sentence, but she has stayed close and avoided scams without her – “Rather insensitive with you in prison for a job I messed up.” And for her new, albeit short, freedom, she has purchased numerous undergarments, because there are many ways for women companions to show repentance and one is the acquisition of “a big lady-bra” after a decade of underwire-free prison-issue rubbish.

Sam aims to continue leading her quiet life and look after Bert till the end. Bert has other ideas. And when your daftest friend devises alternative schemes – well, you often find yourself going along. Their former relationship gradually reasserts itself and her strategies are underway by the time she reveals the complete plan for the heist. This show experiments with chronology – producing engagement rather than confusion – to present key scenes initially and then the rationale. So we watch the pair slipping jewellery and watches off wealthy guests’ wrists at a funeral – 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 loot.

They require the stolen goods to fund the plan. This entails recruiting a forger (with, unbeknown to them, a betting addiction that is due to attract unwanted attention) in the guise of illusionist’s aide Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), who possesses the necessary skills to assist in swapping the target painting (a renowned Dali painting at a major museum). They also enlist art enthusiast Celine (Kate Fleetwood), who specialises in works by male artists exploiting women. She is equally merciless as all the criminals the forger and their funeral robbery are attracting, including – most perilously of all – their former leader Miss Take (Talisa Garcia), a contemporary crime lord who employed them in frauds for her since their youth. She did not take well to their declaration of independence as self-reliant tricksters so unresolved issues remain there.

Plot twists are interspersed with progressively uncovered truths about Bert and Sam’s history, so you experience the full enjoyment of a sophisticated heist tale – executed with no shortage of brio and praiseworthy readiness to skate over rampant absurdities – alongside a captivatingly detailed portrait of a bond that is potentially as harmful as her illness but just as impossible to uproot. Jones delivers arguably her best and multifaceted portrayal yet, as the wounded, bitter Bert with her lifetime pursuit of excitement to divert attention from her internal anguish that is unrelated to her medical condition. Whittaker stands with her, delivering excellent acting in a somewhat less flashy role, and together with the writers they create a incredibly chic, emotionally rich and profoundly intelligent piece of entertainment that is feminist to its bones devoid of lecturing and in every way a triumph. More again, soon, please.