Ashley Morgan (Hustle)
Encyclopedia
Ashley Morgan is one of the five lead characters in the popular BBC
television series Hustle
. He is played by Robert Glenister
.
Ashley Morgan, known simply as Ash to his own crew, and “Three Socks” Morgan to the wider grifting circle, is a seasoned grifter, and the team's "fixer". He got the nickname whilst serving an 18-month prison sentence when a short-con known as 'The Flop' he pulled on an insurance broker went wrong. Whilst in prison he would 'go into the shower with 3 socks', suggesting he is a well endowed man.
As the "fixer" it is Ash's role to ensure that anything the team needs to carry out a con, the team gets. He possesses considerable technical expertise and knowledge and can hack into CCTV systems, security systems, phone lines and computer servers. He is also tasked with building websites to convince marks of the legitimacy of any fake business the team have created, and will fabricate any props and equipment small electronic gadgets such as bugs and phone taps the team may need. His only failure being an attempt to bypass an impossible anti-theft system in Season 5 Episode 2 that would set off alarms if they attempted to move a painting. The team also rely on him and his vast number of contacts within the grifter community to supply them with anything they need, from fake IDs and forged items to cars and hotel rooms. If the crew need it, Ash will get it. In Series 4, the gang needed £30,000 worth in Rubles in order to con a caviar shop owner. The mark was having trouble getting that amount of Rubles anywhere, whereas Ash managed to get hold of them in a very short period of time and felt insulted that Danny even asked if it could be done in the time frame.
As well as being the fixer Ash is an excellent grifter in general, able to play the part of various characters with ease in order to con the mark. Despite being mild mannered, he also acts as the teams "heavy" and will not tolerate anyone threatening other members of the team. He is able to intimidate others with considerable menace when the situation is called for. It has been hinted in several episodes that Ash was "tasty" (slang for a good fighter) in his younger days, and often the threat of him becoming violent is enough to defuse situations where the team need protection from an aggressor.
It was revealed in a recent episode that Ash was actually one of two candidates for Mickey's team Fixer, the other one being a notorious grifter called Benny. However, although Benny was the more skilled grifter overall, capable of playing multiple roles such as the roper or the fixer, Mickey chose Ash in the end because he concluded that Ash was the better man, Benny being more of a solo operative while Ash was a better team player who could be counted on to keep his word.
Although his age gives the impression that he is the second-most-experienced member of the team- Albert being the first-, Ash has stated more than once that he is not interested in leadership of the group, recognising his niche as the technical expert and remaining within that area even on such occasions as the group's vote for a new leader during Mickey's absence in Season Four, Danny taking the job instead. Even when he was temporarily put in charge as the result of a card draw when Mickey was suffering a run of bad luck, he tended to subtly rely on Mickey for inspiration rather than exclusively coming up with his own idea.
Since the beginning of Season Five, Ash has become an unofficial mentor figure to new team member Sean Kennedy, often advising Sean on various short-con antics such as pick-pocketing.
When Mickey was in jail Ash ran short cons. Using a skull fracture he obtained in a bar room brawl 10 years before the start of Season One to play a con known as "The Flop". He waits on the pavement (after covering himself with a padded coat to avoid actual injury) for a driver that's not paying attention to the road, steps in front of the car, gets hit and acts badly injured. When he gets to the hospital, the x-ray shows the fracture and the insurance pays out. His ex-wife, June, also used to do this con but due to all that time being hit by cars she has suffered brain damage. Ash gives a lot of his earnings to funding her treatment. When the gang heard about this they decided to all contribute to her medical expenses. He gives his date of birth as 21 July 1960. He is the only character to appear in every episode (Albert having appeared in almost every episode apart from Episode 2 of Season 5).
In Series 7, episode 5, during a con, Ash suffered an injury to the frontal lobe and subsequently suffered from "Cruetzman Belling Syndrome", leaving Ash with an inability to lie - an obvious problem for the con! However, the con goes to plan and the team are able to just pull it off- Ash answering questions honestly but in a tone of voice that suggested that he was just joking-, subsequently being cured when he sustained another blow to the head.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series Hustle
Hustle (TV series)
Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...
. He is played by Robert Glenister
Robert Glenister
Robert Lewis Glenister is a British actor known for his roles as con man Ash "Three Socks" Morgan in the British TV series Hustle, and Nicholas Blake in the BBC spy drama Spooks.-Career:...
.
Ashley Morgan, known simply as Ash to his own crew, and “Three Socks” Morgan to the wider grifting circle, is a seasoned grifter, and the team's "fixer". He got the nickname whilst serving an 18-month prison sentence when a short-con known as 'The Flop' he pulled on an insurance broker went wrong. Whilst in prison he would 'go into the shower with 3 socks', suggesting he is a well endowed man.
As the "fixer" it is Ash's role to ensure that anything the team needs to carry out a con, the team gets. He possesses considerable technical expertise and knowledge and can hack into CCTV systems, security systems, phone lines and computer servers. He is also tasked with building websites to convince marks of the legitimacy of any fake business the team have created, and will fabricate any props and equipment small electronic gadgets such as bugs and phone taps the team may need. His only failure being an attempt to bypass an impossible anti-theft system in Season 5 Episode 2 that would set off alarms if they attempted to move a painting. The team also rely on him and his vast number of contacts within the grifter community to supply them with anything they need, from fake IDs and forged items to cars and hotel rooms. If the crew need it, Ash will get it. In Series 4, the gang needed £30,000 worth in Rubles in order to con a caviar shop owner. The mark was having trouble getting that amount of Rubles anywhere, whereas Ash managed to get hold of them in a very short period of time and felt insulted that Danny even asked if it could be done in the time frame.
As well as being the fixer Ash is an excellent grifter in general, able to play the part of various characters with ease in order to con the mark. Despite being mild mannered, he also acts as the teams "heavy" and will not tolerate anyone threatening other members of the team. He is able to intimidate others with considerable menace when the situation is called for. It has been hinted in several episodes that Ash was "tasty" (slang for a good fighter) in his younger days, and often the threat of him becoming violent is enough to defuse situations where the team need protection from an aggressor.
It was revealed in a recent episode that Ash was actually one of two candidates for Mickey's team Fixer, the other one being a notorious grifter called Benny. However, although Benny was the more skilled grifter overall, capable of playing multiple roles such as the roper or the fixer, Mickey chose Ash in the end because he concluded that Ash was the better man, Benny being more of a solo operative while Ash was a better team player who could be counted on to keep his word.
Although his age gives the impression that he is the second-most-experienced member of the team- Albert being the first-, Ash has stated more than once that he is not interested in leadership of the group, recognising his niche as the technical expert and remaining within that area even on such occasions as the group's vote for a new leader during Mickey's absence in Season Four, Danny taking the job instead. Even when he was temporarily put in charge as the result of a card draw when Mickey was suffering a run of bad luck, he tended to subtly rely on Mickey for inspiration rather than exclusively coming up with his own idea.
Since the beginning of Season Five, Ash has become an unofficial mentor figure to new team member Sean Kennedy, often advising Sean on various short-con antics such as pick-pocketing.
When Mickey was in jail Ash ran short cons. Using a skull fracture he obtained in a bar room brawl 10 years before the start of Season One to play a con known as "The Flop". He waits on the pavement (after covering himself with a padded coat to avoid actual injury) for a driver that's not paying attention to the road, steps in front of the car, gets hit and acts badly injured. When he gets to the hospital, the x-ray shows the fracture and the insurance pays out. His ex-wife, June, also used to do this con but due to all that time being hit by cars she has suffered brain damage. Ash gives a lot of his earnings to funding her treatment. When the gang heard about this they decided to all contribute to her medical expenses. He gives his date of birth as 21 July 1960. He is the only character to appear in every episode (Albert having appeared in almost every episode apart from Episode 2 of Season 5).
In Series 7, episode 5, during a con, Ash suffered an injury to the frontal lobe and subsequently suffered from "Cruetzman Belling Syndrome", leaving Ash with an inability to lie - an obvious problem for the con! However, the con goes to plan and the team are able to just pull it off- Ash answering questions honestly but in a tone of voice that suggested that he was just joking-, subsequently being cured when he sustained another blow to the head.