---
title: "The Gold"
year: 2023
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/the-gold"
fi1m_id: "the-gold"
imdb_id: "tt14063678"
tmdb_id: 218351
wikidata_id: "Q116763927"
fi1m_score: 80
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-12"
updated: "2026-09-12T19:26:42.596906+00:00"
region: "CL"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Gold (2023)

Created by Neil Forsyth · Crime, Drama

## Identity

The Gold

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/the-gold
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** the-gold
- **IMDb ID:** tt14063678
- **TMDB ID:** 218351
- **Wikidata ID:** Q116763927
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14063678/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/218351, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116763927

**Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 72 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* All that stolen gold, and the criminals still have to worry about cash flow

> Neil Forsyth’s crime drama finds plenty of entertainment in the business of shifting stolen gold. We recommend its first series for the plotting and ensemble, with patience required for the lectures about class.

## Synopsis

*The Gold* follows the Brink’s-Mat robbery and the business of disposing of the stolen gold. As detectives pursue the people involved, the story spreads through the criminal underworld, legitimate businesses and the homes of those caught up in the enterprise. Money brings questions of class, status and who gets to move between them. Hugh Bonneville plays DCI Brian Boyce, Charlotte Spencer plays Nicki Jennings and Edwyn Cooper plays Edwyn Cooper. The ensemble also includes Tom Cullen as John Palmer and Sean Harris as Gordon Parry.

## Review

*The Gold* makes the disposal of stolen goods an absorbing subject for a crime drama. The first series of Neil Forsyth’s drama is smart, entertaining television that occasionally pauses to explain social distinctions we have already understood. The Brink’s-Mat robbery provides the opening, but the business of selling the gold gives the story its scope. Across six episodes, the investigation spreads through the criminal underworld, legitimate businesses and domestic lives, finding plenty to occupy us after the immediate excitement of the heist.

Forsyth understands that the practical difficulties of crime can be entertaining in themselves, and he makes the laundering sufficiently legible to invite us along. We were caught up in its ingenuity, and slightly uncomfortable at how much we enjoyed it. The money has to pass through an expanding network of people and businesses, giving the plotting something concrete to follow. That attention to how the enterprise works gives a familiar genre fresh problems to solve, with enough human interest to keep the transactions from becoming an accounting exercise.

Hugh Bonneville gives DCI Brian Boyce the steadiness this busy story needs, lending the investigation weight without making it ponderous. Charlotte Spencer, as Nicki Jennings, helps keep the social commentary attached to a person, even when the script becomes insistent. The ensemble is a substantial part of the pleasure: Forsyth gives the performers sharp enough dialogue to make exposition tolerable. The attention to domestic lives also allows people to matter beyond their usefulness to the next development in the case.

Eleanor Sindall’s production design helps establish the differences in status that preoccupy Forsyth, particularly in the places where people live and work. Those surroundings make some of the script’s explanations unnecessary. Cinematographers Oli Russell, Stuart Bentley and Simon Tindall give this sprawling story a visual consistency that helps hold its different strands together. The presentation is handsome, although the more persuasive achievement is making the legitimate businesses feel part of the same story as the criminal enterprise.

Editors Mark Keady, Lindsey Woodward, Nicolas Chaudeurge and Peter Williams have a considerable organisational task in the switches between the police, the criminals and their private lives. The plotting generally remains readable, though the accumulation of connections sometimes slows the forward movement. Simon Goff’s music helps maintain momentum without becoming the main attraction. It is the writing and performance that make the business worth following, and the score sensibly leaves them room.

The clearest weakness is Forsyth’s insistence on spelling out his points about class and gender. Characters can seem briefly assigned to explain their place in society, when their circumstances have already done the job. These passages are more conspicuous because so much of the surrounding dialogue is brisk and assured. The fascination with criminal ingenuity also needs watching: the programme enjoys its villains enough that the darker implications of their business can receive less attention than their cleverness.

That affection need not disqualify a crime drama, but it does place a little more responsibility on the audience. The strongest stretches give us enough of the investigation and the domestic lives to resist treating everyone as an entertaining rogue. This remains an easy series to recommend to anyone who enjoys following a complicated criminal enterprise and can tolerate the occasional lecture. Put the telephone out of reach before the gold starts changing hands.

*Fi1m score 80, published 12 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics find The Gold a smart, entertaining crime drama, with praise clustering around its ensemble cast and the business of moving stolen gold after the robbery. The performances earn approval even from less persuaded reviewers; The Guardian singles out Jack Lowden as Kenneth Noye, alongside the production design. Several reviews admire the scope beyond the heist, tracing criminal enterprise into legitimate businesses and domestic lives, with class and wealth giving the story weight.

The reservations concern both storytelling and the treatment of the criminals. The i Paper finds the handling of class and gender too heavily signposted, while The Telegraph questions the drama’s admiration for its villains and reluctance to confront darker truths. The AV Club is markedly less persuaded than most critics, finding the writing stilted and the pacing erratic. The spread is appreciable: plotting that many find absorbing strikes the strongest dissenter as confusing and dull.

## Straight answers

**Is The Gold worth watching?**

*The Gold* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys following a complicated criminal enterprise, and we scored its first series 80. Neil Forsyth makes the business of selling stolen gold absorbing, and the ensemble, led by Hugh Bonneville and Charlotte Spencer, keeps the plotting attached to people. Some patience is needed for the passages where characters explain class distinctions the surroundings have already made plain.

**Where can I watch The Gold in Chile?**

*The Gold* is not on any streaming or rental service in Chile at the moment. It is available in 7 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is The Gold, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Gold* carries a UK 15 certificate, which places it outside the range for children and younger teenagers. It is a crime drama built around the disposal of stolen gold rather than the violence of the robbery itself, and much of its interest lies in money, business and the investigation. Older teenagers who can follow a sprawling plot should manage it; the squeamish have little to fear.

**How does The Gold compare to The Long Good Friday?**

*The Gold* is a sprawling six-episode crime drama, while [*The Long Good Friday*](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday) covers similar ground about ambition, property and respectability in a sharper, more concentrated dose. The film is the tighter of the two, and Bob Hoskins gives it a force the series does not attempt. Choose the series for the pleasure of following a criminal business across an ensemble; choose the film for a single, frightening, funny evening.

**What should I watch after The Gold?**

After *The Gold*, try [*The Long Good Friday*](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday) (1980, Fi1m 88): Property, criminal ambition and respectability collide in a sharper, more concentrated dose. Then [*High and Low*](https://film.one/film/high-and-low) (1963, Fi1m 90): Another investigation that makes wealth and social position matter to the suspense; and [*Gomorrah*](https://film.one/film/gomorrah) (2008, Fi1m 84): Follow criminal enterprise further into everyday life, with considerably less affection for gangsters.

### Reviews we read (10)

- **Evening Standard** (85/100, inferred): The Gold is a truly smart British crime drama with a classic feel, a knockout cast and razor-sharp writing that achieves a smarter, more classic tone than typical British crime stories. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/the-gold-bbc-one-review-dominic-cooper-jack-lowden-hugh-bonneville-b1057897.html)
- **Radio Times**, James Hibbs (80/100, inferred): The critic praises its originality, thematic depth on class and wealth, sprawling scope, and focus on domestic lives, calling it an ambitious evolution of the crime drama that is gripping throughout, though not perfect for everyone. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/the-gold-bbc-comment/)
- **The Independent** (80/100, inferred): The series is pure primetime fun that bubbles with vigour, delivering smart British crime drama. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-gold-review-bbc-brinks-mat-b2279854.html)
- **Vulture** (80/100, inferred): The series delivers prime genre pleasures of criminals, detectives, and their vivid underworld universe. It focuses effectively on the criminal enterprise built around fencing the stolen gold after a propulsive heist opening. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/the-gold-bbc-paramount-series-review.html)
- **The Guardian** (75/100, inferred): The series is a diverting and hugely entertaining retelling of the Brink’s-Mat robbery and its aftermath. The production design and ensemble cast, especially Jack Lowden as Kenneth Noye, provide the main pleasures. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/feb/12/the-gold-review-a-24-carat-drama-about-one-of-the-uks-most-shocking-robberies)
- **The i Paper**, Rachael Sigee (70/100, inferred): The critic finds it a measured and well-executed drama that takes its time exploring the roots of the crime through the criminal underworld and legitimate businesses. It avoids Guy Ritchie traps but has some heavy sign-posting on class and gender. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/the-gold-bbc-one-review-the-remarkable-story-of-the-brinks-mat-robbery-a-heist-that-went-too-well-2142414)
- **The Telegraph** (3/5): The stylish, well-told drama is superbly acted but undermined by its admiration for the villains and failure to confront darker truths about the crime. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/02/12/gold-bbc-one-review-sparkling-brinks-mat-drama-made-grubby-falling/)
- **The AV Club**, Saloni Gajjar (C-): The series fails to shine due to stilted storytelling, weak writing, erratic pacing, and disjointed execution that makes the fascinating true story boring and hard to follow. Standout performances from the ensemble cast provide the only real highlights amid the chaos. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-gold-review-tv-paramount-plus-british-true-crime-1850818066)
- **The Times**, Carol Midgley (★★★★☆): It is a rollicking good drama, ingeniously written, with outstanding performances from Jack Lowden and Hugh Bonneville. The complex plotting around the gold laundering stands out. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/the-gold-review-a-rollicking-good-drama-ingeniously-written-202jjcfnb)
- **Paste**, Shane Ryan (9.0): The critic calls the series an excellent, relentlessly watchable heist thriller that does justice to its unbelievable true story while crafting an intricately plotted and highly entertaining drama. The strong ensemble cast and the show's keen understanding of pace and character are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/paramount-plus/the-gold-review)

## Details

- **Created by:** Neil Forsyth
- **Creator:** Neil Forsyth
- **Director:** Patrick Harkins, Lawrence Gough, Aneil Karia
- **Writer:** Neil Forsyth
- **Cinematography:** Oli Russell, Simon Tindall, Stuart Bentley
- **Editor:** Lindsey Woodward, Nicolas Chaudeurge, Peter Williams, Mark Keady
- **Music:** Simon Goff
- **Production design:** Eleanor Sindall
- **Costume design:** Grace Snell
- **Producer:** Charlie Leech
- **Cast:** Hugh Bonneville as DCI Brian Boyce; Dominic Cooper as Edwyn Cooper; Tom Cullen as John Palmer; Charlotte Spencer as Nicki Jennings; Sean Harris as Gordon Parry; Emun Elliott as Tony Brightwell; Stefanie Martini as Marnie Palmer; Sean Gilder as DI Neville Carter
- **Release (Chile):** 12 February 2023
- **Genres:** Crime, Drama
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gShXixufXqY

## Where to watch in Chile

Not streaming, renting or buying in Chile at the last check.

Also available in: AE, AT, AU, CA, GB, IN, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Long Good Friday* (1980), Fi1m 88: Property, criminal ambition and respectability collide in a sharper, more concentrated dose. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-long-good-friday.md)
- *High and Low* (1963), Fi1m 90: Another investigation that makes wealth and social position matter to the suspense. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/high-and-low.md)
- *Gomorrah* (2008), Fi1m 84: Follow criminal enterprise further into everyday life, with considerably less affection for gangsters. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/gomorrah.md)
- *Spiral* (2005): Sprawling police investigations with equal interest in institutions and compromised people.
- *A Very English Scandal* (2018), Fi1m 84: For more dry wit about class, status and the uses of influence. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/a-very-english-scandal.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/the-gold