The Gold (TV series)

The Gold is a British television drama series written by Neil Forsyth and co-produced by his Tannadice Pictures production label. It stars Hugh Bonneville, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Spencer, Sean Harris, Jack Lowden and Tom Cullen and is a dramatization of events around Brink's-Mat robbery in 1983. It is directed by Aneil Karia and Lawrence Gough. The first episode was previewed at the BFI Southbank on 17 January,[1] and aired on BBC One from 12 February 2023, with all episodes simultaneously available on BBC iPlayer. It began streaming on Paramount+ in September 2023.[2]

The Gold
GenreCrime drama
Created byNeil Forsyth
Written byNeil Forsyth
Directed by
Starring
ComposerSimon Goff
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Neil Forsyth
  • Ben Farrell
ProducerCharlie Leech
Production companies
Release
Original networkBBC One/BBC iPlayer/Paramount+
Original release12 February (2023-02-12) –
19 March 2023 (2023-03-19)

Synopsis

The series covers the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which £26 million (equivalent to £93.3 million in 2021[3]) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, and the widespread events that followed over the following decade. At the time it was the biggest robbery in history, and led to a number of international criminal investigations.[4]

Cast

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date Viewers
(millions) [lower-alpha 1]
1"To Be King"Aneil KariaNeil Forsyth12 February 2023 (2023-02-12)6.23
A gang led by Micky McAvoy successfully steal gold from the Brinks-Mat warehouse at Heathrow. The gang approach gold dealer Kenneth Noye, who subsequently engages lawyer Edwyn Cooper, a fellow Freemason, to help them fence the gold. DCI Boyce takes the investigation out of the hands of the Flying Squad but reluctantly allows DI Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer) and DI Tony Brightwell to join his team.[5]
2"There's Something Going on in Kent"Lawrence GoughNeil Forsyth19 February 2023 (2023-02-19)4.97
The police find intelligence via Customs officers that the gang have purchased a portable smelter. They also use Bristol-based gold dealer John Palmer to melt down the gold with cheap jewellery to disguise its purity. Cooper and gang associate Gordon Perry fence the money. Cooper decides to invest it in property, buying a new flat in Chelsea and a wing of his daughter's school.
3"The Consequences Are Mine"Aneil KariaNeil Forsyth26 February 2023 (2023-02-26)4.93
Palmer flees to Tenerife with his family from where he cannot be extradited. The police arrest Noye at his home after he fatally stabs John Fordham, one of the officers involved in his surveillance.
4"Vengeance Is Easy, Justice Is Hard"Aneil KariaNeil Forsyth5 March 2023 (2023-03-05)4.92
After a trial including a jury visit to his home to reconstruct the crime scene, Noye is found not guilty of murder.
5"The Boy You Were"Lawrence GoughNeil Forsyth12 March 2023 (2023-03-12)5.07
Boyce travels to Switzerland where he bonds with a Swiss policeman over their wartime experiences in the Spanish Civil War and the Cyprus Emergency respectively. The official allows him to attend a court session which reveals the Swiss bank accounts used by the gang. Following a failed attempt by the Spanish police to arrest Palmer in Tenerife, the UK extradites him from Brazil. Cooper returns to Rotherhithe where he is also arrested although Parry escapes in a car.
6"I'll Be Remembered"Lawrence GoughNeil Forsyth19 March 2023 (2023-03-19)5.24
Cooper provides information to the police, resulting in the conviction of Noye and the other gang members in relation to the gold theft. McAvoy marries his fiancee in prison and Parry is arrested in Spain. It transpires that the gang only took half of the missing gold.
  1. 7-day ratings

Production

The series was commissioned by the BBC in August 2021.[6]

The project was announced to have started principal photography in April 2022 with Bonneville, Lowden, Spencer, Cooper and Harris all revealed to be cast and Karia announced as director and Forsyth's Tannadice Pictures producing.[7] Filming took place in the UK and Spain and locations included Dorchester Prison in July 2022.[8]

Broadcast

The BBC released the first trailer for the show in on 20 January 2023.[9] The first episode aired in the UK on BBC One on 12 February 2023 with all episodes immediately available on BBC iPlayer in UHD picture quality.[10]

Reception

Hugo Rifkind of The Times remarked of the series, "it's tremendous. I'm not sure there's been a drama like it in years".[11]

In the Sunday Times, Camilla Long said The Gold was “astonishingly, lavishly, well realised”,[12] while Esquire said that The Gold was “British TV at its best” and had “all the hallmarks of a crime classic”.[13]

Radio Times said it was "an intricately crafted crime drama".[14] Euan Franklin of Culture Whisper said The Gold "proves that shows dealing in largely British matters are just as ambitious as prestige American television".[15]

The New Statesman called it "outstandingly enjoyable TV",[16] with the Evening Standard calling it "a truly smart British crime drama with a classic feel and a knockout cast".[17]

Ellen E. Jones of The Guardian dubbed it an "ever-enjoyable ride".[18] Nick Hilton of The Independent gave it four stars and remarked the show was "a lively, creative piece of work from writer-creator Neil Forsyth, which bubbles away with the vigour of a red-hot crucible".[19]

There was some criticism of the perceived sympathetic portrayal of Kenneth Noye from the family of the man he murdered and one of the police officers involved in his conviction.[20][21]

Book

Screenwriter Neil Forsyth co-wrote a book with Thomas Turner entitled The Gold: The real story behind Brink's-Mat: Britain's biggest heist and published by Penguin Random House, which had involved extensive interviews with some of the major characters involved.[22] Forsyth commented on the morality of the story, saying they were not seeking "a black-and-white reading of it. No-one in the show is an out-and-out criminal living in a world dictated by criminality. They've got families and lives". Forsyth gives historical context and says, "Social mobility is an interesting aspect, because it was obviously a theme of the time in the 1980s. I think we examine that...Criminality is a tool which they're trying to use to achieve something".[23]

See also

References
  1. "Hugh Bonneville And Jack Lowden Look Smart As They Attend A Screening Of Their New Drama The Gold". NY Breaking. 13 February 2023.
  2. Jones, Ellen E (12 February 2023). "The Gold review – a 24-carat drama about one of the UK's most shocking robberies". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  3. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. "First Look images and further casting announced for upcoming BBC Drama The Gold". BBC.co.uk.
  5. Independent https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/brinks-mat-robbery-true-story-the-gold-where-kenneth-noye-now-2156999
  6. "BBC Commissions Comedy-Thriller 'Black Ops' & Brink's Mat Robbery Drama 'The Gold'; Fremantle Inks First-Look With Afua Hirsch – Global Briefs". Deadline. 25 August 2021.
  7. "The Gold': Hugh Bonneville, Jack Lowden, Charlotte Spencer, Dominic Cooper, Sean Harris Among Cast For BBC & Paramount+ Series; Oscar Winner Aneil Karia To Direct". Deadline. 13 April 2022.
  8. "New BBC and Paramount+ drama The Gold about famous heist being filmed at Dorchester Prison". Dorset Live. 5 July 2022.
  9. "Tailer The Gold". bbc.co.uk. 20 January 2023.
  10. "BBC confirms release date for new drama The Gold". Radio Times.
  11. Rifkind, Hugo. "The Gold review — it's tremendous. I'm not sure there's been a drama like it in years". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  12. Long, Camilla (28 June 2023). "The Gold thoughts". The Times.
  13. "'The Gold' Has All the Hallmarks of a Crime Classic". Esquire. 2 March 2023.
  14. "The Gold isn't what you expect – and it's all the better for it". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  15. "Hugh Bonneville stars in thick, thrilling true-crime drama". Culture Whisper. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  16. Cooke, Rachel (12 February 2023). "BBC One's The Gold is outstandingly enjoyable TV". New Statesman. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  17. Robinson, Martin (6 February 2023). "The Gold on BBC One review: a smart British crime drama with a classic feel". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  18. Jones, Ellen E. (12 February 2023). "The Gold review – a 24-carat drama about one of the UK's most shocking robberies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  19. "The Gold review: Pure primetime fun that bubbles away like a red-hot crucible". Independent.co.uk. 12 February 2023.
  20. "Murder victim's family 'disgusted' by BBC portrayal of The Gold killer". The Independent. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  21. Collins, David. "The grim truth about Kenneth Noye, The Gold's glamour boy". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  22. The Gold: The real story behind Brink's-Mat: Britain's biggest heist. Penguin.co.uk. 16 February 2023.
  23. Singh, Anita (6 February 2023). "A taller, blonder Del Boy' – new BBC drama's take on criminal Kenneth Noye". The Telegraph.
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