The Inheritance | Preview (Channel 4)

The Inheritance is Channel 4’s devious new game conceived and crafted by Studio Lambert. Thirteen strangers are summoned to a grand stately home. They are there to compete for part of the fortune left in the will of The Deceased, a fabulously glamourous benefactor played by Elizabeth Hurley.

But winning the money won’t be easy. The Deceased had a wicked sense of humour and believed some people will go to great lengths to get what they want, so she designed a mischievous game to ensure only the most cunning can claim her inheritance.

Overseeing the stipulations of The Deceased’s will is her Executor and trusted legal counsel, RobertRinder. The lucky 13 players must work together to complete The Deceased’s final requests, a series of devilishly difficult assignments that will test their diligence, decency and ruthlessness in a race to claim what they truly deserve.

The Deceased’s game has a delicious twist: only one player can collect the money released from each request. To claim it, they must convince the others that they alone deserve to take all the cash they earned. The Inheritance is a camp, cut-throat game of wit, willpower, persuasion and betrayal, where it’s not about who deserves the money, but who can outplay, out-charm and out-scheme the rest to claim it.

Episode 1: In episode one, the newly arrived Players are straight into the deep end with their first Request — fulfilling the final order of The Deceased’s boutique wine range. Tensions grow and tempers flare as alliances start to form. At the first Division Ceremony, the players must decide who has earned the right to claim the day’s winning and become the game’s first Prime Beneficiary

Episode 2: As suspicions start to circulate, The Deceased delivers her next request, and it’s far from glamorous. The Players are thrown into a physical challenge that forces them to get down and dirty, rounding up four-legged and feathered animals on The Deceased’s farm.

As well as identifying the most valuable animals, if the Players want to release additional money from the will, they must fill sacks of manure for market. It's brains versus brawn, as well as a strong stomach, as they dig deep to release more of the fortune.

Alliances are strengthened and new bonds emerge, but it all comes down to the Division Ceremony when the Jury must determine who will be voted as the next Prime Beneficiary. Will hard graft and fairness bring home the bacon – or are their other forces at play?

Episode 3: The Deceased delivers her most devilish request yet, which puts players under pressure. With secrets woven into the task itself, players must rely on each other to protect The Deceased’s legacy, all while quietly protecting their own position in the game.

As always, the Division Ceremony looms — but this time, one player takes a major risk, choosing to reveal a devastating secret in front of the group. As suspicions bubble to the surface, it’s revealed that one player will be cut from the will.

The Inheritance begins Sunday 31st August on Channel 4 and continues Sunday-Tuesdays.