Kim Hee-ae and Noh Sang Hyun Cast in JTBC's Korean Remake of BBC Drama Gold Digger

Kim Hee-ae and Noh Sang Hyun are confirmed as the leads of JTBC's Gold Digger (골드디거), the network's upcoming Korean remake of the acclaimed 2019 BBC series, according to JTBC's official cast announcement on March 30, 2026. Kim Hee-ae plays a successful, self-made woman who visits an art museum alone on the quiet morning of her 60th birthday, where she meets a charming 33-year-old man played by Noh Sang Hyun. What follows is a psychological battle between the two as they each try to read the other's true intentions, with the drama's central tension orbiting a question that does not have a clean answer: is it love, or is it a long con? Gold Digger is scheduled as a 12-episode series, set to air on Saturdays and Sundays in October 2026 on JTBC, with director Im Hyun-wook at the helm and a script from Sun Young, who wrote Forecasting Love and Weather.

Kim Hee-ae: A Career Built for This Role

For a story built around a woman of singular composure and moral complexity, JTBC could not have found a sharper lead than Kim Hee-ae. The actress, now 58 and represented by KeyEast Entertainment, has spent more than four decades building one of the most quietly formidable resumes in Korean television. She broke through in the early 1990s with Sons and Daughters but it was Secret Affair (2014) and, above all, The World of the Married (부부의 세계, 2020) that turned her into a generational reference point. That drama, another JTBC production built on a BBC adaptation, peaked at 31.7 percent nationwide audience rating, which Nielsen Korea confirmed as the highest for any Korean cable drama at the time. Kim Hee-ae returning to JTBC for another BBC-sourced drama is full-circle casting that makes immediate sense, and her ability to play controlled, interior complexity is precisely what this story demands.

Noh Sang Hyun Steps Into the Frame

Opposite her, Noh Sang Hyun takes on the role that the original BBC series built its central tension around: the younger man whose motivations stay just out of reach long enough to make the drama compelling. The Korean-American actor, also known internationally as Steve Sanghyun Noh and represented by Echo Global Group, has been steadily building his profile across a series of high-visibility projects. He appeared in Love in the Big City (2024) and Netflix's Genie Make a Wish (2025), and is currently mid-run on MBC's Perfect Crown (2026) alongside IU and Byeon Woo-seok. His JTBC casting was confirmed in the same March 30 announcement, as reported by Soompi. Gold Digger will be his most psychologically demanding role to date, requiring him to hold charm and ambiguity in equal measure for the full run.

Supporting Cast and Family Dynamics

The drama's family structure fills in around the two leads. Shin Jae-ha, recently seen in Still Shining (2025), is joining the cast as Kim Hee-ae's adult son, while Kim Ji-eun, currently starring in Check In Hanyang, plays her daughter, as reported by Dramabeans. The children's reaction to their mother's new relationship is one of the central dramatic engines of the original BBC series, and casting both Shin Jae-ha and Kim Ji-eun suggests the Korean version intends to use that tension in full. Shin Jae-ha in particular has shown real range in recent work, making him a strong choice for a role that requires visible internal conflict without collapsing into a villain.

The Creative Team Behind the Adaptation

Director Im Hyun-wook brings proven JTBC experience to the project, having previously directed King the Land (2023) and Surely Tomorrow. Writer Sun Young comes from Forecasting Love and Weather (2022, JTBC/Netflix), a drama that balanced procedural tension with romantic stakes in ways that align closely with what Gold Digger requires. The production is handled by SLL alongside Hi.ji.eum Studio, 221B, and Geulline, with original screenplay material developed by the creative team at Geulline alongside creator Kang Eun-kyung. That combination of an experienced director, a writer fluent in emotional restraint, and a network that knows how to platform prestige drama positions Gold Digger well for the second half of JTBC's 2026 schedule.

What to Know Before October 2026

The BBC's original Gold Digger (2019), written by Marnie Dickens and starring Julia Ormond and Ben Barnes, ran six episodes and built its reputation on the discomfort of watching two adults navigate attraction while both the audience and the characters remained genuinely uncertain about who was using whom. The Korean adaptation extends to 12 episodes, which gives the creative team more room to develop the family dynamics and the psychological back-and-forth at the story's core. No specific premiere date within October 2026 has been confirmed as of the time of this report. International streaming details have not been announced. Given JTBC's existing relationships with Netflix for past productions, international distribution news is worth watching as the premiere window approaches.