When is The Gold release date? Cast and latest news for BBC drama

Dramatising the “crime of the century”, The Gold will be coming soon to BBC One.

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Monday, 30 January 2023 at 12:00 am

A new year only means a wealth of new shows to get acquainted with, and one of BBC One’s big shows of 2023 is The Gold.

This “pulsating” new drama is inspired by extensive research and interviews with some of those involved in the events, as it goes back in time to the 1980s to the “crime of the century”.

The theft was a seminal event in British criminal history – not least because it was the biggest worldwide at the time – but also went on to have a much larger impact on the state of blue and white collar crime, money laundering and the London Docklands property boom. It also left controversy and murder in its wake.

Now, the events are being explored in the BBC’s new drama, which also boasts an all-star cast. So, what is The Gold about and who will star in it? Read on to find out everything you need to know about the new series.

When is The Gold release date?

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Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliot) and Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer) in The Gold
BBC, Tannadice Pictures,Sally Mais

As of now, the BBC has not confirmed an exact release date for the new series. However, we do know that the series is coming soon to BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

The Gold cast

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Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville) in The Gold.
BBC, Tannadice Pictures,Sally Mais

The cast for The Gold is a star-studded one, to say the least. It’s written by Neil Forsyth (Eric, Ernie & Me) and directed by Academy Award-winning Aneil Karia (The Long Goodbye) along with Lawrence Gough (The Last Bus, Snatch, Misfits).

The cast is led by Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) as Brian Boyce, Jack Lowden (Small Axe: Mangrove) also stars as Kenneth Noye, Dominic Cooper (The Preacher) as Edwyn Cooper, Charlotte Spencer (The Duke) as Nicki Jennings, Tom Cullen (Becoming Elizabeth) as John Palmer and Emun Elliott (Guilt, Old) as Tony Brightwell.

The cast also includes Sean Harris (Southcliffe), Ellora Torchia (Ali and Ava) and Stefanie Martini (Prime Suspect) in the real-life drama.

In yet-to-be-disclosed roles, the additional cast of The Gold also includes:

  • Daniel Ings (I Hate Suzi)
  • James Nelson-Joyce (Time)
  • Sophia La Porta (Four Weddings And A Funeral)
  • Dorothy Atkinson (Call the Midwife)
  • Adam Nagaitis (Red Rose)
  • Hadley Fraser (Gentleman Jack)
  • Silas Carson (Doctor Who)
  • Sean Gilder (Sherwood)
  • Nichola Burley (Behind Her Eyes)
  • Amanda Drew (A Very British Scandal)
  • Sam Spruell (Small Axe: Mangrove)
  • Frankie Wilson (House of the Dragon)
  • Paul Thornley (Treadstone)
  • Dan Li (Vigil)
  • Chris Coghill (Slow Horses)
  • Micah Balfour (The Trial of Christine Keeler)
  • Ruth Bradley (Ted Lasso)
  • Peter Davison (All Creatures Great and Small)

The Gold plot

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Kenneth Noye (Jack Lowden) in The Gold.
BBC, Tannadice Pictures,Sally Mais

The drama explores one of the most remarkable true crime cases and its impact on the world after the event. Taking place on 26th November 1983, six armed men broke into the Brink’s-Mat security depot near London’s Heathrow Airport.

What was supposed to be a ‘routine’ armed robbery, actually ended up being one of the seminal events of British criminal history because the six men inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth £26m.

It was just supposed to be “a typical Old Kent Road armed robbery”, according to detectives at the time. But it soon went on to be a massively remarkable event, not only due to the scale of the theft – at the time, the biggest in global history – but for its wider legacy.

As the synopsis states: “The disposal of the bullion caused the birth of large-scale international money laundering, provided the dirty money that helped fuel the London Docklands property boom, united blue and white collar criminals and left controversy and murder in its wake.

“Inspired by extensive research and interviews with some of those involved in the events, The Gold is a pulsating dramatisation which takes a journey into a 1980s world awash with cheap money and loosened morals to tell this extraordinary and epic story for the first time in its entirety.”

Speaking about the new series, BBC’s commissioning editor Tommy Bulfin said: “The fact that we have assembled such a talented and exciting ensemble cast is testament to Neil’s incisive interrogation of one of the most infamous robberies in British history and the remarkable events which came in its wake.

“And to have the brilliant Aneil Karia join fresh from his Oscar win is the icing on the cake. The BBC One audience are in for a real treat when this hits the screen.”

Is The Gold based on a true story?

It most certainly is. The drama has been inspired by research and interviews with some of those involved but of course, the robbery happened in real life too.

Known as the “Brink’s-Mat robbery” or the “Brink’s-Mat bullion heist”, the largest gold heist in British history happened on 26th November 1983, like in The Gold.

At most, the gang of south London criminals thought that they would come away from the robbery with £3 million. But in reality, they actually ended up finding £26 million worth of gold bars, uncut diamonds and cash.

After the event proved even more wild, with the gang having to onboard the help of an expert jeweller to dispose of the gold, counterfeit stolen gold bars, the collapse of Johnson Matthey Bankers (where the bullion was stolen from) and the so-called “curse”, which refers to the fact that several of those involved were shot and killed.