The Gold (TV series)

{{Infobox television

| image =

| genre = Crime drama

| creator = Neil Forsyth

| based_on =

| writer = Neil Forsyth

| director = {{Plainlist|

Aneil Karia
Lawrence Gough

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| composer = Simon Goff

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| num_series = 1

| num_episodes = 6

| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|

Neil Forsyth
Ben Farrell

}}

| producer = Charlie Leech

| editor =

| cinematography =

| runtime = 58 minutes

| company = {{Plainlist|

VIS (series 1)
Tannadice Pictures

}}

| budget =

| network = {{Plainlist|

BBC One
Paramount+ (series 1)

}}

| first_aired = {{Start date|2023|2|12|df=yes}}

| last_aired = present

}}

The Gold is a British drama television 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 dramatisation of events around the 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,{{cn|date=May 2024}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Ellen E |title=The Gold review – a 24-carat drama about one of the UK's most shocking robberies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/12/the-gold-review-a-24-carat-drama-about-one-of-the-uks-most-shocking-robberies |access-date=13 February 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=12 February 2023}} The BBC commissioned a second series in November 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2023/the-gold-series-two|accessdate=30 November 2023|website=bbc.co.uk|title=BBC Announces the Return of Hit Drama The Gold|date=29 November 2023}}

Synopsis

The series covers the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which £26 million (equivalent to £{{Format price|{{Inflation|UK|26000000|1983}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}{{Inflation/fn|UK}}) 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2023/the-gold-first-look-pictures|title=First Look images and further casting announced for upcoming BBC Drama The Gold|website=BBC.co.uk}}

Cast

=Main=

Hugh Bonneville as DCS Brian Boyce
Jack Lowden as Kenneth Noye
Emun Elliott as Tony Brightwell
Charlotte Spencer as DI Nicki Jennings
Tom Cullen as John Palmer
Stefanie Martini as Marnie Palmer
Sean Harris as Gordon Parry
Adam Nagaitis as Micky McAvoy
Dominic Cooper as Edwyn Cooper
Daniel Ings as Archie Osbourne

=Recurring=

Ruth Bradley as Isabelle Cooper, Edwyn's wife
Nichola Burley as Brenda Noye, Kenny's wife
Peter Davison as Assistant Commissioner Gordan Stewart
Amanda Drew as Commander Cath McLean
Hadley Fraser as DC John Fordham
Sean Gilder as Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neville Carter
Sophia La Porta as Kathleen Meacock, Micky's lover

Dorothy Atkinson as Jeannie Savage, Kenny's associate
Silas Carson as Harry Bowman, police officer
James Nelson-Joyce as Brian Reader
Ellora Torchia as Sienna Rose, Edwyn's lover

Episodes

{{Episode table |background=#ebc028 |overall= |title= |director= |directorR= |writer= |writerR= |airdate= |airdateR= |viewers= |viewersR={{efn|7-day ratings}} |altdateR={{cite web |title=Shows A-Z – Rogue Heroes on Epix |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/rogue-heroes/listings/ |website=The Futon Critic |access-date=29 October 2022}} |episodes=

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 1

|Title = To Be King

|DirectedBy = Aneil Karia

|WrittenBy = Neil Forsyth

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2023|02|12|df=y}}

|Viewers = 6.23

|LineColor = ebc028

|ShortSummary = 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.Independent https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/brinks-mat-robbery-true-story-the-gold-where-kenneth-noye-now-2156999

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 2

|Title = There's Something Going on in Kent

|DirectedBy = Lawrence Gough

|WrittenBy = Neil Forsyth

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2023|02|19|df=y}}

|Viewers = 4.97

|LineColor = ebc028

|ShortSummary = 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.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 3

|Title = The Consequences Are Mine

|DirectedBy = Aneil Karia

|WrittenBy = Neil Forsyth

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2023|02|26|df=y}}

|Viewers = 4.93

|LineColor = ebc028

|ShortSummary = 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.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 4

|Title = Vengeance Is Easy, Justice Is Hard

|DirectedBy = Aneil Karia

|WrittenBy = Neil Forsyth

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2023|03|05|df=y}}

|Viewers =4.92

|LineColor = ebc028

|ShortSummary = After a trial including a jury visit to his home to reconstruct the crime scene, Noye is found not guilty of murder.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 5

|Title = The Boy You Were

|DirectedBy = Lawrence Gough

|WrittenBy = Neil Forsyth

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2023|03|12|df=y}}

|Viewers = 5.07

|LineColor = ebc028

|ShortSummary = 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.

}}

{{Episode list

|EpisodeNumber = 6

|Title = I'll Be Remembered

|DirectedBy = Lawrence Gough

|WrittenBy = Neil Forsyth

|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2023|03|19|df=y}}

|Viewers = 5.24

|LineColor = ebc028

|ShortSummary = 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.

}}

Production

The series was commissioned by the BBC in August 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/bbc-comedy-thriller-black-ops-gbemisola-ikumelo-brinks-mat-robbery-the-gold-fremantle-afua-hirsch-1234821598/|title= BBC Commissions Comedy-Thriller 'Black Ops' & Brink's Mat Robbery Drama 'The Gold'; Fremantle Inks First-Look With Afua Hirsch – Global Briefs|website=Deadline|date= 25 August 2021}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/04/hugh-bonneville-jack-lowden-charlotte-spencer-dominic-cooper-gold-bbc-1235001001/|title= The Gold': Hugh Bonneville, Jack Lowden, Charlotte Spencer, Dominic Cooper, Sean Harris Among Cast For BBC & Paramount+ Series; Oscar Winner Aneil Karia To Direct|website=Deadline|date= 13 April 2022}} Filming took place in the UK and Spain and locations included Dorchester Prison in July 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dorset.live/whats-on/whats-on-news/dorchester-prison-filming-bbc-gold-7296534|title= New BBC and Paramount+ drama The Gold about famous heist being filmed at Dorchester Prison|website=Dorset Live|date= 5 July 2022}}

The show was renewed for a second series in November 2023 with filming scheduled to start in January 2024. Returning cast members include Hugh Bonneville, Charlotte Spencer, Emun Elliott, Tom Cullen, Stefanie Martini and Sam Spruell.{{cite web|website=Deadline Hollywood|accessdate=30 November 2023|url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/the-gold-bbc-season-2-hugh-bonneville-brinks-mat-robbery-1235638403|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129110911/https://deadline.com/2023/11/the-gold-bbc-season-2-hugh-bonneville-brinks-mat-robbery-1235638403/|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 November 2023|title='The Gold' Renewed For Season 2 At BBC As Hugh Bonneville & Tom Cullen Return For Brink's-Mat Heist Drama|first=Jesse|last=Whittock|date=

November 29, 2023}}

Broadcast

The BBC released the first trailer for the show in on 20 January 2023.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0dxpydx|title=Tailer The Gold|website=bbc.co.uk|date=20 January 2023 }} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-gold-release-date-confirmed-newsupdate/|title=BBC confirms release date for new drama The Gold|website=Radio Times}}

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".{{Cite news |last=Rifkind |first=Hugo |title=The Gold review — it's tremendous. I'm not sure there's been a drama like it in years |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/the-gold-television-review-hugo-rifkind-zvqxssxvq |access-date=2023-02-23 |issn=0140-0460}}

In the Sunday Times, Camilla Long said The Gold was “astonishingly, lavishly, well realised”,{{cite news |title=The Gold thoughts| website=The Times| date=28 June 2023|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-gold-kenneth-noye-and-john-palmer-are-grimy-icons-of-thatchers-britain-7dm758xpw| last1=Long| first1=Camilla}} while Esquire said that The Gold was “British TV at its best” and had “all the hallmarks of a crime classic”.{{cite web |title='The Gold' Has All the Hallmarks of a Crime Classic| website=Esquire| date=2 March 2023|url=https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a43118579/the-gold-has-all-the-hallmarks-of-a-crime-classic/}}

Radio Times said it was "an intricately crafted crime drama".{{Cite web |title=The Gold isn't what you expect – and it's all the better for it |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-gold-bbc-comment/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Radio Times |language=en}} Euan Franklin of Culture Whisper said The Gold "proves that shows dealing in largely British matters are just as ambitious as prestige American television".{{Cite web |title=Hugh Bonneville stars in thick, thrilling true-crime drama |url=https://www.culturewhisper.com/r/tv/the_gold_bbc_drama_review_hugh_bonneville/17357 |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Culture Whisper |language=en}}

The New Statesman called it "outstandingly enjoyable TV",{{Cite web |last=Cooke |first=Rachel |date=2023-02-12 |title=BBC One's The Gold is outstandingly enjoyable TV |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv/2023/02/bbc-one-the-gold-review-outstandingly-enjoyable-tv |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}} with the Evening Standard calling it "a truly smart British crime drama with a classic feel and a knockout cast".{{Cite web |last=Robinson |first=Martin |date=2023-02-06 |title=The Gold on BBC One review: a smart British crime drama with a classic feel |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/the-gold-bbc-one-review-dominic-cooper-jack-lowden-hugh-bonneville-b1057897.html |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}

Ellen E. Jones of The Guardian dubbed it an "ever-enjoyable ride".{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Ellen E. |date=2023-02-12 |title=The Gold review – a 24-carat drama about one of the UK's most shocking robberies |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/12/the-gold-review-a-24-carat-drama-about-one-of-the-uks-most-shocking-robberies |access-date=2023-02-15 |issn=0261-3077}} Nick Hilton of The Independent 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".{{cite web |date=12 February 2023 |title=The Gold review: Pure primetime fun that bubbles away like a red-hot crucible |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-gold-review-bbc-brinks-mat-b2279854.html |website=Independent.co.uk}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-15 |title=Murder victim's family 'disgusted' by BBC portrayal of The Gold killer |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bbc-the-gold-killer-true-story-b2282546.html |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=The Independent |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=David |title=The grim truth about Kenneth Noye, The Gold's glamour boy |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/kenneth-noye-gold-bbc-drama-brinks-mat-robbery-nf82m9nbm |access-date=2023-03-13 |issn=0140-0460}}

=Accolades=

The series was nominated for Best Drama Series at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.{{cite web|url= https://rts.org.uk/award/rts-programme-awards-2024|date=7 March 2024|website=RTS.org.uk|title= RTS PROGRAMME AWARDS 2024}} In March 2024, the series was nominated in the Best Drama category at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards.{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/mar/20/bafta-tv-awards-2024-nominations-full-list|website=The Guardian|date=20 March 2024|accessdate=20 March 2024|title= Bafta TV awards 2024 nominations: full list|first=Hollie|last=Richardson}}

Neil Forsyth was nominated for Best Writer Film and TV at the 2023 Scottish BAFTAS.{{cite web|url= https://www.bafta.org/bafta-scotland-awards-2023-full-nominations-list|website=BAFTA|date=20 March 2024|accessdate=20 March 2024|title= Bafta TV awards 2023 nominations: full list}}

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.{{Cite book |url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/448405/the-gold-by-turner-neil-forsyth-and-thomas/9781529149524 |title=The Gold: The real story behind Brink's-Mat: Britain's biggest heist |publisher=Penguin.co.uk|date=16 February 2023 }} 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".{{Cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Anita |date=6 February 2023 |title=A taller, blonder Del Boy' – new BBC drama's take on criminal Kenneth Noye |newspaper=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/06/taller-blonder-del-boy-new-bbc-dramas-take-criminal-kenneth/}}