The Gold has left viewers gripped with its portrayal of the fall-out from the Brink’s-Mat robbery in 1983.
Now, as The Gold season 1 concludes and with The Gold season 2 in the pipeline, a fascinating documentary The Gold: The Inside Story looks at the challenges the real-life detectives, including Brian Boyce, who is played in the drama by Hugh Bonneville, faced in trying to bring the robbers to justice and find the stolen bullion.
Here’s everything we know about The Gold: The Inside Story...
The Gold: The Inside Story — what is the release date?
The one-off documentary will air on Monday 20 March at 9pm on BBC One. We will let you know when we hear of a US release date.
The Gold: The Inside Story — what is it about?
The documentary uses archive footage from the time and interviews with detectives who worked on the case to explore the aftermath of the robbery, which saw six armed raiders break into the Brink's-Mat security depot near London’s Heathrow airport. They stole three tons of gold bars worth £26 million, which is valued at nearly £100 million in today’s money.
It shows how the police were under enormous pressure to solve the case as the robbers raced to disguise the gold and turn it into cash. While the former cops reveal how some of the robbers were caught quickly, including Micky McAvoy, played in the drama by Adam Nagaitis, they then faced a Europe-wide search to trace the others who were involved and uncover how the gold was being smelted and laundered.
They explain how fence Kenneth Noye, played in The Gold by Jack Lowden, came onto their radar, along with gold merchant John Palmer, who is played by Tom Cullen in the series.
But the detectives also discuss the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of DC John Fordham during surveillance at Noye’s home, which led to Noye going on trial for murder, only to be acquitted. Eventually, however, Noye was found guilty of handling stolen goods and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The far-reaching impact of the crime and how it changed Britain forever is also revealed, including links between the robbery and the development of London’s Docklands, as well as the burgeoning drugs culture of the 1980s and 1990s.
The Gold: The Inside Story — who is in it?
Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Boyce, who is now retired, is a key figure in the documentary as he recounts the painstaking work that he and his team carried out.
“Our task was far greater than just arresting the robbers, we hadn’t even recovered the dust of the gold,’ he says. “We had to work extremely hard, follow the trail and recover as much of the gold as possible.”
Also featured in the documentary are former cops Roy Ramm, Tony Yeoman and Jackie Malton, who was the inspiration for Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect.
The Gold: The Inside Story airs on Monday 20 March at 9pm on BBC One.
The finale to drama series The Gold airs on Sunday 19 March at 9pm on BBC One. All episodes are available on BBC iPlayer
