Stranger than fiction
The bizarre disappearance of accused Sydney fraudster Melissa Caddick is the latest true-crime tale about an alleged high-flying scammer to get the small-screen treatment, writes
What is it about scammers that insatiable audiences find so hard to resist? From Inventing Anna and The Dropout to WeCrashed and The Tinder Swindler, the small screen is awash with hard-to-believe true-crime stories about con artists and swindlers who take the fast-track to the top before inevitably falling from grace. It seems tales of greed gone wrong will always find an audience.
Inspired by the real-life mystery that captivated Australians, Underbelly: Vanishing Act tells the bizarre story of the disappearance of Melissa Caddick (played by Wentworth’s Kate Atkinson), the high-flying financial adviser who allegedly embezzled $23 million from unsuspecting friends, family and investors.
In the two-part series, Caddick lives large – spending all the cash on designer clothes, fast cars, ski holidays and expensive real estate – before vanishing into thin air after being confronted by authorities at her mansion.
Months later, her severed foot is found washed-up on a beach in southern NSW and it’s presumed the 49-year-old has met an untimely demise. The mystery leaves Caddick’s family, clients and the police questioning everything they thought they knew about her.
Like many Australians, writer and producer Matt Ford was captivated by the story from the get-go.
“Everyone has a theory,” Ford says. “Everyone seems to love dissecting her actions, her methods, her ruthlessness, her disappearance.”
Ford says the story works on many levels. “Obviously it’s a cautionary tale about greed and desire, trust and betrayal,” he says. “But it’s also crazy, and weird, and gothic in its scope – the foot in the shoe, the staggering expenditure, the sheer scale of the lies and the depth of personal harm. The more I looked into it, the more I found things that seemed too wild to be true.”
But it was important that the series was not a superficial romp or a celebration of greed and excess.
“The series goes way beyond that, into the trail of devastation in the aftermath of Melissa’s disappearance,” Ford says.
Writer-producer Matt Ford: The more I looked into it, the more I found things that seemed too wild to be true.
“The human cost – from every side. Her alleged victims are represented here in characters like ‘Angie’ and ‘Nash’. They are fictional, composite characters drawn from discussions with the real people in Melissa’s life.
“This miniseries is inspired by real events; it is not a documentary. In keeping with the spirit of Melissa’s story and the swirling rumours, ongoing fascination and speculation of the general public, I’ve used a blend of fiction and fact. In collaboration with co-writer Michael Miller I’ve also embraced the concept of an unreliable narrator. I believe the result is a genuinely complex thrilling prime-time drama.”
Q Underbelly: Vanishing Act, Sunday, 8.45pm and Monday, 9pm, Nine