Latest news with #BrinksMat
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews The Gold on BBC1: Gold, greed, booze... this caper has the hallmarks of a classic crime flick
The Gold (BBC Where would you hide £10 million in gold bars? You can't bury it in the back garden — that's the first place police will look. Lock-up garages are too risky. Those places are apt to get burgled . . . the problem with being a big-time crook these days is that there are so many petty thieves. I'd go for the Gothic option — an overgrown Victorian graveyard. Plenty of cities have them, with tombstones and cracked sarcophagi all at crazy angles, overgrown by ivy. Take a crowbar, prise a few open, and conceal the ingots with the coffins. Ingeniously creepy, don't you think? Neil Forsyth, writer of The Gold, has a different theory for what happened to the missing half of the Brink's-Mat bullion. As he told Nicole Lampert, in the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine, it's an idea that was floating around in the 1980s: one of the villains behind Britain's biggest heist simply hid his haul in a Cornish tin mine. That's the basis for this comedy-thriller's second series. Good luck to anyone who hasn't seen the first run, aired in 2023, because many characters return with no introductions, including Hugh Bonneville as the luckless Met detective DCS Brian Boyce. Hugh, doing a gruff South London accent, is never quite convincing playing a straight-as-a-die copper who aims to get results by twisting a few arms and wearing out a lot of shoe leather. He lacks stolidness. There's always an edge of irony in his voice, a knowingness that doesn't fully match his character. But he's on a losing wicket from the start, because all Forsyth's sympathies are with the robbers and their associates. The chief failing of the first series was its insistence on making them likeable, even lovable — when the truth is that men such as Kenneth Noye and John Palmer were obnoxious thugs. Noye, played by Jack Lowden, hasn't returned yet, but Palmer (Tom Cullen) takes a central role. This time, at least, we can see what a vicious man he is — conning retirees into buying worthless timeshares in Tenerife, and lashing out with increasing violence as his paranoia grows. The real entertainment comes from supporting roles, especially Joshua McGuire as a spitefully camp accountant who specialises in tax dodges, and Peter Davison as the wonderfully snobbish Met Commissioner. Stephen Campbell Moore is effortlessly watchable, too, as a bent copper who sees himself as the Lone Ranger. Forsyth's reverence for classic gangland flicks shone through in a closing sequence of smelting gold, bundles of cash, boozing and greed, all set to a soundtrack of electronic music. It recalled one of the great crime movies, Thief, starring James Caan. Sam Spruell plays Charlie Miller, the crafty wide boy who is landed with that tricky problem of stashing a ton-and-a-half of ingots somewhere safe. The Cornish mine is his masterplan. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. The Famous Five are bound to stumble across it on a holiday adventure. 'I say, you fellows — look what Timmy's found!'
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The Gold, series 2, review: bleaker, more desperate, but the show retains its sparkle
The first series of The Gold (BBC One), a drama about the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery, was an accomplished piece with one major flaw: a soft spot for its chief villain. Everyone likes a Robin Hood figure, but Kenneth Noye is a convicted murderer who also stabbed a police officer to death. This isn't loveable rogue territory. The second series wisely avoids doing the same thing again. It differs in two ways. When Noye (Jack Lowden) eventually appears, he is now just a nasty piece of work. And the sequel is more interested in two other characters linked to the heist: John 'Goldfinger' Palmer and Charlie Miller. They're not exactly nice guys either, but they've got more nuance in storytelling terms. Cast your mind back to the ending of series one, and one of the final shots was of Miller (Sam Spruell) sunning himself on the Costa Del Sol. He was revealed to be one of the armed robbers, and that tied in with Scotland Yard's realisation that they had only ever been on the trail of half of the Brink's-Mat gold. Now they're going after the other 50 per cent – all £13 million of it – and the drama explores various theories, which range from stashing it down a Cornish tin mine to laundering the money through a former public schoolboy based in the British Virgin Islands. 'A lot of blokes in South London become villains to be big men in South London. I became a villain to get out of South London. I became a villain so that one day I wouldn't have to be a villain any more,' says Miller, but his unsophisticated ways soon tell and he finds out that acquiring wealth and knowing what to do with it are two separate things. Meanwhile, Palmer (Tom Cullen) is sitting pretty on the Sunday Times Rich List thanks – on paper at least – to his dodgy timeshare business. Unfortunately for him, he's a magnet for trouble. With the chauffeur, private jet and champagne comes cocaine, Russian gangsters, and angry pensioners fleeced out of their life savings. There are so many threads to the story, which freely admits to being based on theories rather than facts, and writer Neil Forsyth handles them with great skill. While it may lack the narrative drive of series one, it will keep you watching through the strength of the writing and the top-notch performances from everyone involved – Bafta nominations for Cullen and Spruell would be well-deserved. If the scenes in Tortola begin to drag, they are pepped up by a great turn from Joshua McGuire as Douglas Baxter, a prissy, disgraced lawyer who brings a welcome note of comedy. There's also a great little cameo from Phil Davis as a crime boss hankering after the good old days. The hunt for the gold is again led by Hugh Bonneville as Brian Boyce, the dogged detective who personifies everything that was good and proper about old-fashioned British policing. At the beginning, he's under pressure to wrap it up – this has been the longest and most expensive investigation in the history of the Met, and its failure has become an embarrassment. But Boyce presses on, aided by trusty colleagues Brightwell and Jennings (Charlotte Spencer and Emun Elliott) and new addition Tony Lundy (Stephen Campbell Moore). It's no spoiler to say the police never did find the gold. But nobody got clean away. Where series one was full of verve, this series has a bleaker, more desperate tone. Pulling off the heist was all well and good. This follow-up is about the reality of being on the run, and it's not much fun.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Gold season two review – this thrilling tale of stolen millions is top quality British drama
At the end of the first series of The Gold, it dawned on the officers of the Met's Flying Squad that for all of their multiple investigations into the infamous Brink's-Mat robbery of 1983, they had only ever been chasing half of the stolen bullion. Arriving two years after its highly entertaining predecessor, series two sets off with an irresistible premise: what exactly happened to the rest of it? The trouble is that the show doesn't know the answer, though it freely admits this. None of the gold has ever been recovered, but a note at the beginning explains that the series is based on both real events and theories as to where the loot went. As before, some of the characters are real and some invented. The focus, this time, is on bringing down the ones who got away. The police are hot on the heels of the charming rogue John Palmer (Tom Cullen), AKA 'Goldfinger', who talked his way out of a conviction so convincingly in series one. They're also trying to track down Charlie Miller (Sam Spruell), a fictional amalgam of various south London villains, who has come away from the robbery with a lot of gold to hide and only loose ideas of what to do with it. The first series, set in the 1980s, was a classic cops-and-robbers drama, and as a result, was more contained and more thrilling. The second series moves the action to the 1990s, and has to work harder, at least initially. It follows the money through a sprawling network of villains, some small-time, some so big-time that at one point we take a detour to the country then called Burma. (I'm sure the cast who were stuck on the Isle of Man felt no resentment whatsoever towards the actors who ended up mostly in Tenerife.) For the first couple of episodes, The Gold seems uneasy with this new sense of unharnessed scale. It starts out like an instalment of The Famous Five, or Scooby-Doo, as Miller heads for the disused tin mines of Cornwall. But it soon drags its attention back to the money trail and the investigation, still led by Det Supt Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville at his best). The police work has been going on for so long that he and his team are losing the support of their superiors, who are trying to shut them down. These scenes feel a little stuck, a little repetitive, lacking the excitement of the robbery and its immediate aftermath. That is, until Palmer begins to flaunt his wealth and muscle his way into the English establishment. The Gold has always had something to chew on about who belongs where, and who gets to do what. The establishment and the underworld are rarely as distinct as you might think, the series seems to say, an idea that on occasion muddies the waters of who you are supposed to be rooting for. Miller is perceived as a 'knuckle-dragger' by Douglas Baxter, a disgraced Cambridge graduate and tax whiz whom Miller tasks with cleaning the dirty money. Joshua McGuire – a standout – plays Baxter with a snivelling haughtiness as repellent as it is pathetic. In fact, this is filled with thunderingly good performances, both billed and in the form of a few surprise appearances, which should please fans of series one. Any sense of triumph, of thieves luxuriating in their ill-gotten gains, is soon swallowed up by paranoia, and by episode three, the claustrophobia experienced by those involved in Brink's-Mat is palpable. Palmer's timeshare business in Tenerife is hiding a multitude of sins, and when the Russians arrive, it's fair to say that his work-life balance tips in an unfavourable direction. Miller, meanwhile, directs his attention towards the Virgin Islands, and a network of old boys to which he does not belong. For Palmer and Miller, the bubble can only get so big before it bursts, and the series revels in slowly turning the screws on them. The Gold is still prone to giving its characters lengthy speeches, in order to explain their belief system or philosophy of life, but that quirk has become as much a part of the series as sweaty detectives shouting 'nick 'im!', or indistinct timeframes indicated by captions like 'a few years ago'. But there is an overwhelming sense that this is Good Quality British Drama, despite the inevitable sprawl that comes with a story wandering across the Canaries, the Caribbean, Asia, the Isle of Man and London. For the most part, it is focused and newly thrilling. And despite having no obvious ending to draw from in real life, The Gold manages to cobble one together, with gusto. The Gold aired on BBC One and is on iPlayer now.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Charlotte Spencer shares personal link to Brink's-Mat scandal from BBC's The Gold
The enigma surrounding the infamous Brink's-Mat robbery may have been partially unravelled in BBC One's first series of The Gold, but there's still more beneath the surface to uncover. Hugh Bonneville and Charlotte Spencer are back on the case as London detectives in the gripping second series of the drama, which draws inspiration from the 1983 heist where a staggering £26 million in gold bullion was nicked from a Heathrow warehouse. Though Micky McAvoy's crew were nabbed for the heist in the initial series, they only ever recovered half of the lost loot. Charlotte, who portrays Detective Jennings, shared her insights with fans curious about the need for a sequel: "A lot of people have said, 'Oh my God, why is there a second series?'" she said. "A lot of people don't realise that they actually only found half of the gold." READ MORE: ITV Coronation Street icons' return 'sealed' and it's good news for Kevin Webster READ MORE: Coronation Street fans all say same thing as Eileen Grimshaw's exit sparks complaints Discussing the depth of the storyline, Charlotte hinted, "There's a whole other half – a whole other story. There are many stories that happen from this and I think people are going to be amazed at just how far it spreads and how much this web keeps growing." Not just on-screen, but also in real life, Charlotte has a personal connection to the notorious heist through her father, who knew Neil Murphy – one of the cops digging into the case. Talking about her dad's surprising revelation when he came across the script, Charlotte confessed, "It was such a passing comment that I just thought it was amazing – and you tend to find that a lot of people knew people involved in whatever way." "My dad hasn't spoken to that man for years but it's very rare that you get any kind of connection to a real story. For me, that was like, 'Wow – this was really ingrained in British culture.'" Even though it's been over two years since filming the first series, Charlotte, 33, effortlessly slipped back into her role as the collected and unwavering Nicki Jennings who remains on the straight and narrow despite her family's dodgy dealings. "This is the second time that I've done a series where my character has come back and there's just a really lovely feeling of going in and knowing the character," she reminisced. "There's none of this panic about, 'Have I found her?' because I know where she is now. It's really lovely." Already boasting several convictions as notches on her belt, Nicki no longer needs to impress her superior Brian Boyce – portrayed by Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville. "We find her a bit more solidified in where she is now. She's already proved herself and she is a good detective," Charlotte expressed. "She's getting her head down and concentrating on finding these people." The new series ushers in fresh faces like Malpractice's Tom Hughes, Criminal Record's Stephen Campbell Moore, Cheaters' Joshua McGuire and The Witcher's Lorna Brown to spice up the drama. Viewers can also get excited for Jack Lowden and Tom Cullen to return as the notorious criminal gold dealers Kenneth Noye and John Palmer. However, when the cameras stopped rolling on The Gold, Charlotte and her fellow actors swapped the gritty crime scenes for some cheeky sunshine, chilling out on location in sunny Tenerife. "It was so wholesome – a load of us would go out for dinner together and some people have young children so brought them out," she reveals. Charlotte, gearing up for intense scenes, would tap into the mindset of Jennings by listening to a custom-made playlist - a technique she employs for every role. "I make the playlist and it might be really random stuff – whatever gets me into that mood for some reason or what I think they'd listen to. I listen to that on set and it gets me in the headspace," she discloses. "There was a lot of 1980s stuff – David Bowie and Queen's Under Pressure... even things like the Beatles that maybe she would have listened to with her dad growing up." Discussing the prospects of The Gold returning for another series, Charlotte remarks, "The story finishes after this otherwise we'd be in the realms of fiction, so this is the last series but I think that's right. "I'll miss the fact that she genuinely wants to do good and there are people like that out there. There are police officers and all sorts and we don't see enough of them. Wholly good people who can make mistakes but the drive is for justice." Watch the premiere of The Gold tonight at 9pm on BBC One and catch-up on BBC iPlayer.
The Guardian
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: gripping heist thriller The Gold returns as the hunt for the Brink's-Mat bullion heats up
9pm, BBC OneThe Bafta-nominated 80s crime drama based on the wild true story of the Brink's-Mat robbery returns. The police hunt for the other half of the stolen £26m gold bullion is the longest and most expensive investigation in the Met's history. This second series is inspired by theories of what happened to it, starting in Tenerife, where John Palmer (Tom Cullen) has started a timeshare business. The top cast is back, including Stephen Campbell Moore and Hugh Bonneville, and look out for Jack Lowden in a later episode. Hollie Richardson 7.30pm, BBC FourA fittingly opulent concert to mark the 150th birthday of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts classical greats including music from Carmen and La Traviata, featuring the big-name voices of bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and soprano Sonya Yoncheva. HR 8.20pm, BBC One Kiell Smith-Bynoe guest stars as an unbearable groom who is using his wedding day as a 'digital marketing super event' (guests are from LinkedIn, not Lincoln). When his best man's body is found outside the church, real detective Janie (Gwyneth Keyworth) once again calls on TV detective John (Timothy Spall) for help. HR 9pm, Channel 4Grimsby's tea-loving speed demon wraps up his latest travelogue by heading south to the Mekong delta. There, he cheerfully mucks in selling mangoes from a floating stall and irrigating rice on a sustainable farm. This being Guy Martin, he also sniffs out a race, joining a 50-strong squad of Buddhist rowers on a dragon boat. Graeme Virtue 9pm, BBC ThreeThe penultimate episode of the Dannii Minogue-hosted dating show is when emotions hit their peak. In the wake of the Daisy Duke party the night before, and with the final Kiss-Off looming, there are big decisions to be made. Plus, the bubble of the Italian masseria is broken by the arrival of the contestants' loved ones. Jack Seale 10pm, Channel 4A pivotal episode in the hard-hitting dystopian drama's final season, as loyalties shift and characters face the show's central dilemma: keep working to defeat totalitarianism, or preserve whatever personal happiness you can salvage? June and Nick have choices to make about their future, but big secrets are about to spill. JS Ocean With David Attenborough (Keith Scholey, Toby Nowlan, Colin Butfield, 2025), 8pm, National Geographic/Disney+ As David Attenborough passes his 99th birthday, here's another landmark documentary to add to his collection – and one that's more polemical than usual. His lucid message here is 'If we save the sea we save our world', as he talks us through what humanity has done to the Earth's oceans and how we can protect them. Awe and anger intermingle – there are glorious images of aquatic life, such as the remote submarine seamounts that are 'pitstops' for migrating fish or the kelp forests in coastal waters that capture carbon. But it's the underwater footage of indiscriminate dredging by trawlers that has the most emotional impact – a picture of devastation that's also a call to arms. Simon Wardell Julius Caesar (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1953), 2pm, BBC Two There aren't many Shakespeare plays with more quotable lines than his Roman power play, from 'It was Greek to me' to 'Let slip the dogs of war'. And in Joseph L Mankiewicz's slick take it's Marlon Brando as Mark Antony who gets the best: his 'I came to bury Caesar not to praise him' speech is a masterclass in rhetorical rabble-rousing. And Brando has to raise his game, what with seasoned stage stars James Mason (Brutus), Louis Calhern (Caesar) and, particularly, John Gielgud (Cassius) immersing us eloquently in portents and plots, murder and mayhem. SW Men's International T20 Cricket: England v West Indies, 2pm, Channel 5 The second match from Bristol. Men's International Football: FA Nations League Final, 7.30pm, ITV1 Portugal take on Spain at Allianz Arena, Munich.
