A Good Thief is a British television crime drama film, written by and starring Kay Mellor, that first broadcast on ITV on 22 July 2002.
The film, directed by Douglas Mackinnon, stars Mellor as Rita Pickering, a working class mother who witnesses a brutal drugs killing.
After she testifies in court, she is threatened by a number of gang members, and fearing for her life, goes on the run and is forced to turn to shoplifting to survive.
I wrote it for Pippa Cross and Granada Television and when the original casting fell through it was something I put to one side while I concentrated on other projects."
[4] The Northern Echo reviewed the film following its debut broadcast, commenting: "This was one of those TV movies that couldn't decide whether to be funny or serious.