Gangs of London, series 3, review: TV's bloodiest drama is back with a vengeance

Telegraph

11-03-2025

Gangs of London (Sky Atlantic/Now) is back and finding ever more creative ways to kill people. Deadly weapons this time include a fountain pen, a car door, a child's swing, a toilet, a fairground test-your-strength hammer, a bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling water and an umbilical cord.
The ultraviolent epic's third series kicks off with chaos erupting after a Fentanyl-spiked shipment of cocaine kills hundreds across London. The new mayor (T'Nia Miller) declares war on drugs – despite snorting powder in the City Hall loos herself – and vows to rid the capital of organised crime. Violent turf wars ensue. Can undercover cop-turned-drug baron Elliot (the superb Sope Dirisu) find out who sabotaged his narcotics and cling to gangland power?
The aforementioned navel string is deployed in a mid-season 'bottle episode' which proves a series highlight. Kurdish freedom fighter Lale (fan favourite Narges Rashidi) gives birth in an empty office block while pursued by gun-toting Pakistani henchmen. In a ferocious fight for survival, lioness Lale strangles one adversary with the umbilical cord, placenta still attached. Probably not an NCT-approved post-natal practice. With its kitschy Christmas trimmings (it's set over the festive break, complete with tinsel-draped trees and Wham! on the soundtrack) and tense air-vent chases, it's like Die Hard with contractions. Yippee-ki-yay, pass the gas and air.
Taking over as lead director, Korean action film-maker Kim Hong Sun orchestrates baroque battle scenes and squelchy hand-to-hand combat. People are tortured with defibrillator paddles and a woodwork vice. There's a thrilling jailbreak, a funeral gunfight, a pool hall confrontation and a funfair shoot-out, complete with waltzer death. Those rides often look lethal and here is the proof.
As automatic weapons are fired liberally and black Range Rovers riddled with bullet holes speed through the city streets, you can be forgiven for wondering where the police are. Perhaps they're too busy investigating the Reform UK party in-fighting.
New faces include Andrew Koji as the enigmatic, ninja-like Zeek and Richard Dormer as craggy Irish enforcer Cornelius Quinn, who wields his blackthorn stick like a murderous leprechaun.
One of Gangs of London's strengths has always been its casting, recruiting internationally and from the theatre scene. Diverse young talent is supplemented by cameos from veteran character actors Phil Daniels, Ruth Sheen and David Bradley. The story's ambitious span reflects the global nature of the drugs trade, with sequences set in Lahore and Myanmar.
The high-octane series starts at a million miles per hour but flags towards the end of its eight episodes. Betrayals and double-crossings grow repetitive. Flashbacks become confusing. Characters are constantly ordering hits on one another and placing bounty on rivals' heads. The ending is underwhelming.
Gangs of London has always been gory but this series is particularly trigger-happy. It kills off not one but three central characters – the first of whom is saddled with some inadvertently amusing last words.
One wonders if TV's bloodiest drama is running out of ground, a little like the gangs it portrays. However, it remains one of Sky's biggest original productions, meaning that the broadcaster is unlikely to wield the axe. Crime finds a way. So do lucrative action franchises.