The Gold

The Gold is the latest offering from the BBC in the ever-popular genre of crime dramas based on very famous real events. It tells the story of the operation to launder the gold stolen in the Brink’s-Mat robbery of 1983, where a gang of men stole 3,000 kilograms of gold bullion worth £28 million (£100 million nowadays) – the largest heist in British history at the time.

The show opens with the robbery, jumping straight into the action in refreshingly abrupt fashion, particularly when compared to its many contemporary peers that spend far too long building to an event the audience knows is coming. 

What The Gold instead focuses on is the resulting web of criminal activity that sought to smelt, reforge, distribute and profit from the stolen bullion, as well as the police officers hot on its trail. Spearheading the criminal pursuit is Kenny Noye (Jack Lowden), who enlists his compadres to take part in an ingenious plan involving a backyard crucible, unlikely cash mules and a fake mine in Sierra Leone. Pursuing him is hard-nosed DCI Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville), a classic stiff-upper-lip type with an impressive record in counterterrorism. The resulting chess match makes for very entertaining television.

The Gold’s greatest strength is its style. It is effortlessly watchable, with buckets of wonderful 80s production design and some top-notch cinematography. Bonneville and Lowden’s performances also complement each other nicely, with Charlotte Spencer, Dominic Cooper, Tom Cullen and Emun Elliot rounding out an excellent cast. 

While the series does often stray into somewhat dramatic territory, those peaks are matched by slow, down-to-earth moments between genuinely interesting characters. Particular praise must be heaped on Cullen for his depiction of gold dealer John Palmer’s inner turmoils. Whether or not the show’s deception took liberties with the source material, Palmer’s story proved a gripping focal point that carried the episode’s slower sections. 

Overall, The Gold is a fantastic addition to Sunday nights on BBC One, with enough twists, turns and thrills to keep viewers hooked for the coming weeks.

Joe Milo

The Gold is released on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on 12^th February 2023.

Watch the trailer for The Gold here: