BBC's The Gold analysed and what happened to other half of the Brink's-Mat loot

Wales Online

7 hours ago

BBC's The Gold analysed and what happened to other half of the Brink's-Mat loot
The Gold season 2 concludes the story of the Brink's-Mat heist
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Gold on BBC
Season two of The Gold premieres on the BBC today (June 8) and dramatises the infamous Brink's-Mat heist of 26 November 1983, where six armed robbers made off with three tonnes of solid gold bullion worth £26 million from a security depot near Heathrow Airport, reports the Express.
‌
The show weaves fact and fiction to recount the audacious theft, with creator Neil Forsyth commenting about the new outing: "This series follows the second half of the Brink's-Mat gold and it's also a story of the consequences faced by several of our key characters across the entire show. I always saw The Gold as a two-series show, following the two halves of the gold, so this will be the final series."
‌
The story picks up the story from the first outing, which first aired back in 2023.
As fans will remember, season one ended with police officer Nicki Jennings making a huge revelation: "We thought we'd stopped them. We thought we'd stopped all of them. There was more to come, more gold, more money but he said he'd finished."
She gestured towards the sum of £13 million displayed on a board, suggesting that only half of the stolen wealth was accounted for, with the remainder being divided at the outset of the robbery.
Article continues below
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Boyce (portrayed by Hugh Bonneville) confirmed this with a simple acknowledgement: "I know."
As the episode concluded, the investigative team appeared poised to delve into the mystery of the missing gold's whereabouts.
John and Marnie Palmer will be living it up in The Gold series 2
(Image: BBC )
‌
What happened to the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold?
Despite extensive efforts, the other half of the Brink's-Mat gold has never been recovered by law enforcement.
Rumours persist that the unrecovered gold eventually re-entered the legitimate gold market.
It was even reported by police that some of the purloined gold was sold back to its original owner, Johnson Matthey.
‌
There have been suggestions that any gold jewellery purchased after 1983 could potentially be from the stolen loot.
As per BBC News, some of the gold is believed to have disappeared into the criminal underworld, later resurfacing in foreign bank accounts in places such as Miami, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Tony Brightwell and Nicki Jennings return for The Gold series 2
(Image: BBC )
‌
It's reported that a portion of the gold was melted down by a British businessman.
The proceeds from the gold travelled globally as the money was laundered and disassociated from the stolen haul.
Funds from the gold were later invested in the property development boom in London Docklands.
‌
Some of the money from the gold was used to purchase a former section of Cheltenham Ladies' College, which was then converted into flats and sold off, according to The Independent.
The Gold is based on the Brink's-Mat heist
(Image: BBC )
Even decades post-heist, the police continued to investigate the whereabouts of the missing gold, but it seems most of those involved in the Brink's-Mat robbery escaped justice and the gold will regrettably never be recovered.
‌
This is due to the operation being executed with precision and a highly sophisticated money laundering process in place to cleanse the gold and the money as swiftly as possible.
Lead star Bonneville said of the new episodes: 'In series two we see the ripple effect of even more gold being smelted and even more money being laundered.
'Our principal characters return and we see the effect the gold is having on them and the impact the proceeds of the robbery has around the world.
‌
'Because the money is spreading so far and wide it proves increasingly difficult for Boyce and his team to keep up, especially as their operation - already criticised for being the most expensive in police history - is facing pressure to scale back in the face of limited results.
'As far as his superiors are concerned, Boyce hasn't put enough of the bad guys behind bars.'
Hugh Bonneville as Brian Boyce in The Gold
(Image: BBC )
‌
The Downton Abbey star detailed how, in reality, the police investigation continued for at least a decade after the initial robbery in 1983.
Boyce was on the brink of retirement and trying desperately to crack the case before retirement, but sadly, this wasn't to be.
The real-life Boyce faced pressure against the clock towards his retirement, but his superiors were also concerned about the escalating costs of the investigation versus the diminishing returns.
‌
Bonneville commented on how season two would show the 'consequences' and the 'extraordinary ripple effect' the stolen gold had not only through the British economy but around the world.
The show depicts how the impact would be felt in Tenerife through to Tortola in the Caribbean with even the Russian mafia getting involved.
He added: 'The implications are huge, and the consequences of the actions of six men in a van really do have a worldwide impact.'
Article continues below
The Gold seasons 1 & 2 are streaming on the BBC iPlayer now