THE BBC really is the gift that keeps on giving, when it comes to gripping drama.
BBC One's The Gold is about an armed robbery, and due to the nature of the plot will have some viewers wondering if it is a true story or not.
Is The Gold based on a true story?
The Gold is based on real life events that happened on November 26, 1983.
On that fateful day six armed men broke into the Brink’s-Mat security depot near London’s Heathrow Airport, and inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth £26m.
What started as "a typical Old Kent Road armed robbery" according to detectives at the time, became a seminal event in British criminal history.
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It was remarkable not only for the scale of the theft, at the time the biggest in world history, but for its wider legacy.
The disposal of the bullion led to a vast international money laundering operation, provided the dirty money that helped fuel the London Docklands property boom, united blue and white collar criminals, and left controversy and murder in its wake.
The Gold is a dramatisation of these real life events and tells the epic story for the first time in its entirety.
The robbery itself is recreated accurately to all historical accounts available after extensive research.
It is also true that the robbers were unaware of the lucrative gold bounty available, and they were in fact anticipating a much smaller sum when breaking into the vault.
Is The Gold based on a book?
The Gold was written by Neil Forsyth, who is known for Guilt, and Eric, Ernie & Me.
The talented screenwriter put the drama together after conducting extensive research and interviews with some of those involved in the events.
Neil has also released a book called The Gold - The Real Story Behind Brink’s-Mat: Britain’s Biggest Heist, to coincide with the BBC series.
Who is in the cast of The Gold?
It's fair to say The Gold brings with it an impressive cast of A-List actors.
The criminals in the drama are directly based on real people, as is the detective in charge of the case, but some of the other characters are fictional.
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The all-star line-up for The Gold includes:
- Hugh Bonneville plays DCI Brian Boyce
- Jack Lowden plays Kenneth Noye
- Tom Cullen plays John Palmer
- Sean Harris plays Gordon Parry
- Dominic Cooper plays Edwyn Cooper
- Charlotte Spencer plays Nikki Jennings
- Emun Elliott plays Tony Brightwell
- Stefanie Martini plays Marnie Palmer
How can I watch The Gold?
The Gold airs on Sunday nights at 9pm on BBC One.
There are six episodes in the series, which means the drama will conclude on March 19, 2023.
But if you can't wait until then, you can also stream the series in full on the BBC iPlayer right now.
