User reviews

Overall not a bad drama except for some very clear facts. Kenny Noye was not a slick 'business' type. He was a rough villain, successful yes, but not the slick geezer they portray he was an hard man. John Palmer, who I met once had a high pitched, soft Birmingham accent, not the West Country twang portrayed here (just view the YouTube videos). Marnie was a Bristol girl an did have a Bristol accent. A couple of parts of the story could have been highlighted that are missed, the van that the bullion was stolen in could hardly move because of the weight of gold. Noye did fly to Jersey to buy a gold bullion bar to get a receipt to cover his tracks but he was already under surveillance. John Palmer two Rotwieller dogs that guarded the 'Battlefields' Coachhouse were named 'Brinks and Mat' they were not friendly. The money from the Brinks Mat robbery coincided with the new prediction of Ecstasy coming from Amsterdam, new music from Manchester and Ectstasy created a huge influx in drugs into the UK. The Leah Betts death and the Essex Boys murders are all connected to the Brinks Matt money in a linear way.

For once we get a BBC police drama that is not stuffed with the latest modern cliches to make it more 'now' and 'authentic' and in which the direction, script and acting are not noticeably produced by the same sausage machine. In many respect The Gold really is several cuts above yer standard BBC fare. But it does have its flaws.

The first of these has been highlighted by other reviewers: for some reason the 'villains' - Noye and Palmer in particular - are sympathetically portrayed as somewhat loveable characters who just happen to be on the wrong side of the law. They were nothing of the kind: partners, mistresses and associates are on record that both were hard, violent, cruel and ruthless.

Noye is still alive. Palmer was murdered at his home in the south of England, the victim of other gangsters he had upset once too often as he made his fortune, reputed to have been £300m.

Noye was acquitted of murdering an undercover police officer but later jailed for a 'road rage' murder. Noye was - make that is - not a nice guy and certainly not a man you would care to cross.

Such characterisation of villasin is not new, of course, and Tinseltown and television have long used that schtick to sex up their cops and robbers drama. A good example which comes to mind is 1967's Bonnie And Clyde starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway which portrays the couple as rather glamorous and heroic. In fact, their short criminal career was sordid and tragic - but that doesn't sell as well.

A second flaw of the BBC's The Gold is more serious as in a sense is it possibly more dishonest: the role of Britain's 'Establishment' is highlighted and the vicious, soulless way it looks after its own.

That is certainly the case and corruption in various police service, a main them of The Gold, is not a scriptwriter's fancy, included just to jazz up his drama. It was then and apparently still is rampant, not just in the police but in other corners of British society.

The Gold's portrayal of it, though, is what is dishonest: both Noye and Palmer, and a third villain who was a crucial element in the scheme to get rid of the gold stolen at Heathrow Airport and launder the proceeds are consciously shown partly to be motivated by sticking one up the Establishment, if kicking back at 'the system'.

From what we know of both men that is just not true: both were motivated purely by greed. They were not 'victims of the system' who were, like some kind of latter-day Robin Hoods, turning on it and giving as good as they could get.

The theme of 'a - potentially - good man' being held back because he 'didn't go to the right school' or something along those lines is perpetuated by the uncorrupt and uncorruptible copper Brian Boyce who is the nemesis of Noye and Palmer. He was a good enough enlisted man to be considered as officer material but he wasn't because he was from the wrong social drawer (runs the drama).

This second flaw does not, though, spoil a very good piece of drama. It is a flaw nothing more. The acting throughout is top-notch, there is none of that silly grandstanding which wrecks an otherwise police procedural, and the cinematography - hand-held cameras making this seem much more of a documentary than it really is - comes off well.

If only the BBC had the courage to free itself of its self-imposed restraints and make more of this kind of drama. We can hope.

Neil Forsyth is an excellent writer and The Gold has assembled an excellent cast. It's a very well-written, well-performed, heavily-dramatised version of real events and works well as escapism. Where it doesn't work is when it's trying to be a lesson on class struggle in the 1980's.

Firstly, the viewer didn't ask for, and doesn't need, a one-sided, finger-wagging morality lesson on societal iniquity. Secondly, Kenneth Noye and his associates were not class warriors fighting a rigged class system; they were a demonstration of amoral violent greed that makes even the worst of the class system look relatively humane.

But don't let that put you off watching The Gold; it's very entertaining and mostly manages to remember that it's supposed to be entertainment. In a world of multiple streaming options which credit the viewer with a modicum of intelligence, it would be great to see the BBC survive and thrive. If it's able to understand that the entertainment viewer primarily wants to be entertained and isn't actually looking for a simplistic, sophomoric morality tale, it might be in with a chance.

First Hugh Bonneville is brilliant in this . Races along often , you get an episode that's a bit of a filler not here . Full of interesting characters and compelling plot. Plus amazing cars from my youth . Highly recommended for anyone of a certain age who was around when the job happened . It's frightening the. Corruption Within the police which hasn't changed much to this day . My only reservation was the portrayal of Keneth Noye as a bit of a cheeky cockney but in truth he was a nasty thug who went on to kill a young boy in cold blood. But that said it is an entertainment series and not entirely based of fact .

A group of Armed robbers successfully rob £26 million worth of gold from Brinks Mat, expecting a much smaller haul, they face a major problem, how to dispose of it.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best things The BBC has done for some time, it is a quality production. Not one single dull moment, as one episode ends, you'll want to move on to the next.

Set over six parts, it's based on actual events, but of course dramatised, some of the changes seemed reasonable, some seemed to fit the present day climate and narrative.

The story is a compelling one, it makes you wonder if any of the jewellery in your home is part of that haul. This is an exciting, surprising and fast paced series, it is brimming with tension, suspense and drama, several moments will have you on the edge of your seat.

The acting is first rate, this is a cast list to savour, Hugh Bonneville is phenomenal, he truly is one of the best, star quality comes in the form of Dominic Cooper, great to see him in a made for television role.

9/10.

As a television drama series, The Gold was very well done, well-acted, and a reasonable story line, but this is a fictional story, very loosely based on fact.

These are not nice, warm-hearted criminals, who would never hurt anyone outside their community, they are hardened, vicious and violent career criminals, who will stop at nothing in their way, it is very important to remember that.

The series makes compulsive viewing, but it is wrong to convey them as nice people, they are simply horrible people, who should not have publicity, it is a pity that the series did not portray them as such, and a pity it is not so factual.

However, despite all this, it is worth watching.

Absolutely loved this! What a cast! Hugh Bonneville and Jack Lowden were a truly charismatic duo playing goodie vs baddie.

Beautifully filmed with cleverly scripted witty dialogue. Although I was 26 when the Brinx Mat robbery took place I was only vaguely aware of the characters and the "how" of the story so it was fascinating to watch it unfold without really knowing how it ended. As it happens there was an opening left for a potential 2nd series. I tried not to, but couldn't wait and binged the last few episodes on iPlayer. I'll definitely make a point of watching anything Jack Lowden is in in the future...

As Episode 1 of "The Gold" (2023 release from the UK; 6 episodes of about an hour each) opens, it is."26 November 1983" and six guys enter a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, and overwhelm the security staff. They make off with a bunch of gold bars worth £26 million (more than $120 million in today's currency). Now comes the hard part: how to convert the gold into cash? At this point we are less than 15 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is billed in the US as a "Paramount+ Original", but let's be clear: this is a BBC production from start to finish, from top to bottom. And what a great TV series this turned out to be. The mini-series starts with the robbery and doesn't look back as to the why or how of the robbery. Instead it focuses exclusively on the aftermath of the robbery. It affects not only the 6 robbers, but also their families and others who become entangled in the fallout. The no-star ensemble cast is terrific all the way through. Also loved the careful recreation of the early-to-mid 80s scenery in (primarily) London. And then of course there is this: how does it all play out? Will anyone get caught or will they get away with what was then the greatest robbery in England's history? Just watch!

"The Gold" aired on BBC in early 2023, to immediate critical acclaim. It currently is rated 91% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. "The Gold" recently started airing on Paramount+ and I just finished it last evening. If you have any interest in true crime drama or simply yearn for a terrific classic BBC tv series, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

#thegold #thegoldtvseries @bbciplayer - 6 episodes about 1 hr each - binge watched this too - I thought it was the lead up to the robbery but it's after and how the police go about trying to catch the robbers - based on facts about the Brink'sMat robbery in 1983 - well acted and worth watching if you're interested in this - I remember the robbery but couldn't remember anything about it so I found it interesting to watch and of course I didn't know the outcome ! It shows the arrogance of the nouveau riche criminals and frustration with the still prevalent class system which they just can't quite be accepted into - also shows the links with them and the Masons and how corrupt it all is especially when top police are involved - hand shakes and favours to look after each other - apparently a lot of policing methods were changed after this event and you now have to reveal if you are a mason in the police - give it a go ! £26 million was robbed which in today's money is approx £101 million !! @bonhughbon @jack.lowden @emunelliott_ @charlottelouisespencer @stefaniemartini @sean.gilder @dominiccooper #crime #drama #robbery #police #themasons.

First episode is promising. Then it becomes clearer with each further episode that there's not enough story to sustain a series. Instead we get monologues. Endless monologues. Minor characters given "I remember when" monologues. Hardly any crime. No story. Everything is eked out to an excruciating degree. Casting is very 2023, which looks odd in the period the series is set in.

It all looks great. Wonderful cast. But the script is lacking. It feels rushed and doesn't clarify key details, leaving you feeling like you've missed a scene or an episode. Probably a great 3 part series here. But a poor, repetitive 6 hours.

4 episodes (and 4 hours) in and it's quite clear that this series does not have enough story to sustain a 6 hour limited-run series. It might have been a crackerjack 2-2.5 hour movie. The other problem, and I suspect the fault must lie with Directors Lawrence Gough and Aneil Karia, is that too many of the main actors are playing their roles as if they might slip into a coma at any moment. Hugh Bonneville's character, Bryan Boyce, is perfectly suited to the stoic, controlled, low-keyed persona, but when you add Jack Lowden (Kenneth Noye), Emun Elliott (Tony Brightwell), Dominic Cooper (Edwin Cooper), Tom Cullen (John Palmer) and Sean Harris (Gordon Parry), all under-playing so extremely, you welcome screen time from Dorothy Atkinson and her lively and cheeky portrayal of 'Jeannie Savage.'

The story is an interesting and compelling one, just not 6 hours compelling!

This drama about the Brinks Mat robbery is one of the best things on TV in ages. Superbly acted by a brilliant cast, including Hugh Bonneville, who is outstanding as the lead investigating officer, and his brilliant team.

I also loved Tom Cullen as John Palmer and Stephanie Martini as his wife Marnie. Tom is better looking than the real life Goldfinger but he and Stephanie have great chemistry as the couple.

Jack Lowden has the arrogant swagger needed to play Noye.

Exciting, never a dull moment, funny in parts, great 80s vibe and music. This is binge-watch TV and everyone involved should be proud.

I think show creator Mr Forsyth must have been a huge fan of Euston Films in his youth as this series reminds me of the classic telly produced by that company. Think "The Sweeney" meets "Minder" meets "Fox". No bad thing I must add. I have enjoyed his previous work, Guilt being top notch (despite him being a DAB) don't worry he'll get that and it ain't offensive. I am slightly uneasy about the criminals being portrayed as Robin Hoody types all decent to old ladies and kids "Dahn va manah ". Make no mistake Noye was/is a psycho. As with Guilt the music choices are superbly off centre. Gang of Four on prime time TV and an obscure Nick Lowe track a delight to hear. Terrific show now read the book.

Just finished watching the best detective drama series on TV in years. It was a good story, well dramatised, with great acting, particularly by Hugh Bonneville and Charlotte Spencer, but all the characters were so believable. There was a wonderful atmosphere, which captured the the time and the touches of humour added to the whole production. It brought back memories for those who lived through the robbery and subsequent investigation with all its twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed this brilliantly series, which bravely promoted justice above all else. Looking forward to a follow up series that will continue the investigation.

If you just approach this as a contained show it's a very entertaining caper - good humor, a good balance of dumb and smart, and a satisfying level of stick it to the man and well organised deceit.

So as it stands all good.

I guess the tricky bit starts when the actual reality of the events are scrutinised, at which point it's apparent that this little bit of history has more than it's fair share of thugs and unscrupulous behaviours - amongst both the protagonists and the antagonists.

All the same, I don't think this show set out to be a docu drama or an accurate historical record of people and events - I think it set out to tell a fascinating tale based on real events and to spin an entertaining yarn from them - and that it does.

This show is designed to appeal to people who enjoy a good heist drama - and if you fall into that demograph I doubt you'll be disappointed. Some great performances keep The Gold well anchored and entertaining throughout.

Dialogue, well scripted drama.. scenes well poised to deliver engaging content.

Good story, Good writing.. Good work ..

Simplicity is Genius.. Each cast well suited for main and supporting roles.

Its not often a well scripted tv show on uk tv, Good stuff.

Dialogue, well scripted drama.. scenes well poised to deliver engaging content.

Good story, Good writing.. Good work ..

Simplicity is Genius.. Each cast well suited for main and supporting roles.

Its not often a well scripted tv show on uk tv, Good stuff.

Dialogue, well scripted drama.. scenes well poised to deliver engaging content.

Good story, Good writing.. Good work ..

Simplicity is Genius.. Each cast well suited for main and supporting roles.

Its not often a well scripted tv show on uk tv, Good stuff.

Many stories of grand thefts follow the planning of the event; the heist itself provides the climax. But the Brinks Mat robbery (the largest theft of gold ever seen in the UK at the time) was not well-planned; instead, a group of petty (but not particularly attractive) criminals got lucky when aiming for a lesser haul. Nonetheless, they managed to launder most of their ill-gotten gains; though eventually, the police tracked down many of those involved. 'The Gold', a fictionalised rendition of these events, thus begins in a low key way: the crime happens right at the start, before we really care. But as the drama continues, it becomes increasingly gripping, as we come to understand the motivations and character of those involved; and it also becomes clear that for many, this is not just a game but a matter quite literally of life and death. The portrayals are somewhat stylised but never completely implausable; by the end, I was hooked. Hugh Bonnevillle is good as the plodding-but-decent policeman leading the investigation. In case you're tempted to glamourise the villains, it's worth noting that Kenneth Noye, released after sentence, later murdered a man in a road-rage incident.

...except they made it 6 episodes. I'm all for character development but it lost its way exploring the back stories of everyone, I was confused in the end who the main protagonists were and what the ultimate ending was. And now they announced a second season - let's hope this one is tighter. Even with 6 episodes, the ending seemed a little rushed, with only text on the screen providing information about prison sentences - there could have been more trial scenes at the expense of some of the non-essential Switzerland and Spain scenes.

There's nothing wrong in making a shorter series, the performances were compelling and the storyline initially was interesting enough, and I particularly liked the cultural and historical references of the times.

This is a great show, if you like police dramas, real life stories and a cracking cast!

The story was really interesting, can't believe the difference between the thieves and the level of people involved. Tells individual stories and doesn't push you to being on any side.

Most importantly the cast are superb, I'd like to see this ensemble doing something else together, felt almost like an old British version of Oceans Eleven!

Can't recommend this highly enough, don't believe the negative reviews, they must be from people working for another tv channel.

Hopefully more like this to come, also finally a BBC drama that doesn't have muffled volume.

Historical accuracy: 6 Acting: 5 Dialogue: 5 Camera work: 7 Editing: 5 Budget: 6 Story: 6 Theme: 3 Pure entertainment factor: 6 Video quality: 6 Special effects: NA Pacing: 6 Suspension of disbelief: 6 Non-cringe factor: 5 Lack of flashbacks: 10

It's fine, I guess. There is nothing great here and it for sure overstays its welcome. I would say the first few episodes kept my attention as it's an interesting criminal case I know quite a bit about. But the series soon devolves into a perplexing and unfocused storyline with dialogue you can barely hear. Initially we can at least follow the case and story. Later we just see a bunch of scenes from characters all over the world in their living rooms laughing or crying. And characters very often whine about stuff that seems quite insignificant. I would not call it good nor bad. It's sorta just mediocre in every sense as half the episodes are decent enough. The acting is really below par, even bad. The writing unfortunately is not good. There is a theme of the evil state or the old power that bullies these thieves and the honorable police officers and especially women. Yet we never see this power. There are maybe 2 small scenes with a rich arrogant guy, but he doesn't really seem evil. Instead these robbers seem evil. But the writing clearly tells us they are rebels and the powers at be are what is evil. But since we don't follow these powers it just presents as a great illusion. And it's boring to watch a TV show about just dialogue about some power we never experience.

The lead female is a feminist girlboss. She can run after suspects, do car chases, bully men around her, lie to achieve her goals, get promoted at will, is constantly outsmarting everyone and notices extremely obvious stuff no one else sees like discovering which cops are corrupt. We know this was a group project and everyone was working together on the clues. So of course when I see her flee in a car from a bunch of soldiers shooting at her and her partner I figure this didn't happen. It's added to make them look cool and add excitement. Yet in the real scene where a robber kills a cop we see nothing. We just see the cops then in the next scene he is dead and the robber is arrested. So we get a fake car chase and are not shown the biggest event of the real story? We also don't even see the gold when they rob it. We actually don't see a bunch of things as the camera is zoomed in in all scenes as this is set in the past and it's hard to find sets. Similarly we often have shots inside apartments or of just the road. It looks absolutely dull with shaky camera work, extremely dull colors, and overacting. There is nothing to look at. Even the attractive women are quite subdued and never charming. Especially, as I said, in the later episodes where everyone becomes a whiner whining about the greater evil powers that are supposedly making police leaders and millionaire robbers into sad, pathetic losers.

It's a shame that this very fascinating criminal case is not presented in a more exciting way. If only the acting had been good or budget decent then I would have something to latch onto. But once too many characters are presented it's hard to really follow any story. It's a miss for me. It devolves into overly long monologues about the evil old powers. And frankly that's a dull, dull thing.

Absolutely fantastic show. Really enjoyed watching it. Now and days it is far too often that shows have way too many subvert political themes, and unfortunately US hollywood has strayed so far from telling good stories that I must search for foreign shows for a breath of fresh air. Anyway, this BBC series provides that breathe of fresh air in this retelling of the historically accurate tale of the brinks man gold heist. Its a super interesting story and especially interesting on how far up the chain the gold heist went and the lengths that were undertaken to conceal it throughout england and the world.

I don't know how, when taking artistic liberty, they have made it less interesting than the actual events.

It's unauthentic. The language, the clothing, the character representation are all off.

This was a fascinating and revolutionary period in England which they've failed to reflect...

Thatcherism was at its peak following The Falklands War; so was resistance due to the country being in economic turmoil.

The working class was on its knees as the Tories took on the Unions.

National privatisation was underway.

The Cold War with its nuclear kiss, still gripped (If you heard an Eastern European accent you'd call the police).

"The English disease" ruled the terraces.

The MET ruled with instant retribution & zero accountability; if you think it's curupt now... yikes!

They didn't have to mess with the story as the reality, the time, was far more exciting, cruel & funny then this sanitised portrayal.

A sanitised portrayal for a pseudo audience.

The Gold is just brilliant 👏. First the script is so well written with wonderful little quips thrown out now and then. Hugh Bonne illegal, who I adored in Downton Abbey, shows his immense acting skills here. The two main villains are perfectly slimy and really make their story so believable.

The Plot, which is a true story, is truly gripping. I watched first 3 episodes tonight and only stopped as I needed some sleep. Can't wait to see how it ends tomorrow.

Do not miss this gem of a true crime story.

Thanks to the BBC for this one.

I will be sorry when it ends.

Why do I have to write so much Zzzzz.

For me, as for crime series/film, the note "Based on real events" is a sign of additional interest only if I am unaware of the outcome and the role and fate of individual characters - for the sake of suspense. I had something heard of the Brink's-Mat robbery, but as it was so long ago, I had no exact information, and I certainly did not consult Internet about it prior to watching. So, in front of me uncoiled a versatile story about recklessness, good and bad luck, greed - and the attempts of the limbs of the law to solve all this in the era of limited technological aids. The venue and characters seem realistic and the inclusion of talented British character actors (e.g. Bonneville, Cooper, Cullen) provides additional value to the course of events.

As mentioned, the real sequence of events was unfamiliar to me, so I was able to watch The Gold as a real thriller, with the end credits telling about the following fate of the wrongdoers. To those who liked this Series, I would recommend the Swedish series "Clark" - although the approach is somewhat different...