The Brinks-Mat Robbery of 1983 was one of the biggest ever to happen on British soil.
On November 26, a group of armed robbers broke into a warehouse by Heathrow, which was owned by cash handling company Brink’s-Mat. They made off with £26 million of gold, diamonds, platinum and cash: equivalent today to around £111 million.
Despite a massive manhunt, most of the gold was never found, and many of the criminals never held responsible. And now, the story of the missing bullion (and what happened to it) is being picked up again by BBC series The Gold. Series one was a massive hit, and told the story of how criminals attempted to fence their ill-gotten gains – all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities.
But that only told the story of half of the money. What happened to the other half? Well, that’s what season two is presumably going to answer: here’s what we know about it.
Who’s in the cast?
Though we’re sadly not seeing the return of Jack Lowden as criminal mastermind Kenneth Noye, or Dominic Cooper as the shady lawyer Edwyn Cooper, there are plenty of other returning faces.
Top of the list is Hugh Bonneville as police detective Brian Boyce, Charlotte Spencer as Nicki Jennings and Emun Elliott as Tony Brightwell, the policemen who are presumably still on the trail of the money.
They’ll be joined by Tom Cullen as master thief John Palmer, Stefanie Martini as his wife Marnie and Sam Spruell as Charlie Miller.
There are also a couple of new faces too, including Tom Hughes, Stephen Campbell Moore, Joshua McGuire and Tamsin Topolski.
We don’t know much about the newcomers’ roles yet, but first-look pictures of the new series have been released. Mostly, they’re teasing images of Cullen’s John Palmer in exotic locations (presumably Tenerife, where he fled after the events of the robbery) and lots of men in suits looking serious.
What’s the plot?
The plot, from what we can tell, seems set to pick up roughly where season one left off: on the trail of the Brink’s Mat gold bullion.
After the conviction of a few of the robbers involved in the theft of the gold, the police have come to the unpleasant realisation that they were only ever on the trail of half of the money. As for what happened to the rest: the BBC promises that series two will explore that, “and the criminal fortune it created.”
“As the police investigation continues,” the series teaser adds, “it becomes a tense, high-stakes journey into international money laundering and organized crime, while the police embark on dramatic manhunts as they desperately try to solve the longest and most expensive investigation in the history of the Metropolitan Police."
When’s it airing?
Though the BBC hasn’t yet given a release date, it’s likely to be coming sometime soon – so keep your eyes peeled.
