{"id":207113,"date":"2025-06-23T07:25:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T07:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/207113\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T07:25:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T07:25:18","slug":"how-accurate-is-the-gold-series-2-we-separate-fact-from-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/207113\/","title":{"rendered":"How accurate is The Gold series 2? We separate fact from fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gold\u2019s second series has been a fascinating depiction of the aftermath of the Brink\u2019s-Mat robbery as detective Brian Boyce (played with upright integrity by Hugh Bonneville) attempted to seize the missing gold and laundered money and bring the perpetrators to justice \u2014 most notably John \u201cGoldfinger\u201d Palmer (played with wolfish charm by Tom Cullen). <\/p>\n

Each episode starts with a disclaimer that, while inspired by real events, \u201csome characters, elements and chronologies have been created or changed for dramatic purposes\u201d. <\/p>\n

The series writer, Neil Forsyth, who also co-wrote a book, The Gold: The Real Story Behind Brink\u2019s Mat, said: \u201cI don\u2019t think it is a more invented story. There are fewer people convicted for the activities we show in this series, so there\u2019s automatically less coverage and you have to be a bit more careful in certain ways how you tell the story. Some people co-operated with the authorities and received anonymity as a result. It\u2019s underpinned by a huge amount of research.\u201d <\/p>\n

Here, we try to clear up some of the questions thrown up by the series. <\/p>\n

Is Charlie Miller, the criminal played by Sam Spruell, a real person? <\/p>\n

There is no Charlie Miller, but according to Forsyth, \u201cHe\u2019s a composite character who very much represents south London criminals involved in the crime and the activities they undertook afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/p>\n

Charlie Miller, played by Sam Spruell, is a composite of several London criminals<\/p>\n

BBC\/TANNADICE PICTURES\/CRISTINA R\u00cdOS BORD\u00d3N<\/p>\n

There seem to be shades of John Fleming, an original Brink\u2019s-Mat robber who lived it up in Spain for two years, before fleeing to the Americas and being arrested in Costa Rica by Tony Lundy. He was deported to Britain for trial, but his case was thrown out of court in 25 seconds due to insufficient evidence. He has since died.<\/p>\n

Did Miller really stash one and a half tonnes of gold in a Cornish tin mine, and use a decommissioned ambulance to retrieve it?<\/p>\n

Partly true. Forsyth found a story in the Evening Standard while researching. He explains: \u201cThe Cornwall police led an extensive search involving a helicopter after credible reports of a significant amount of the Brink\u2019s-Mat gold being hidden down one of the mines. There were criminal links with one of the robbers to the southwest of England.\u201d However, there is no record of the gold being craftily whisked away in an ambulance, just before the police arrived, by a grinning Miller.<\/p>\n

Did Mrs Thatcher really demand Met action after seeing John Palmer above the Queen in The Sunday Times Rich List?<\/p>\n

That never happened, although it\u2019s true that in 1996, he was ranked on The Sunday Times Rich List in 1996 at No 51, equal to Queen Elizabeth II. The list estimated his fortune at \u00a3300 million from his Tenerife timeshare business and other interests. Around the same time Scotland Yard\u2019s organised crime squad were interviewing him over allegations that his timeshare empire was a fraud involving as many as 20,000 victims.<\/p>\n

\u2022 I don\u2019t care if bits are made up \u2014 The Gold II is an absolute banger<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Was Palmer lured to the Ritz and secretly filmed with a camera hidden in a bunch of flowers?<\/p>\n

Not quite. Actually it was Roger Cook, fearless investigator of The Cook Report fame, who should get the credit. In 1994 he created a sting \u2014 similar to that depicted in the episode, involving a Burma warlord needing drug money cleaned \u2014 that lured Palmer to the Ritz. Palmer was then secretly recorded in one of its hotel rooms \u201coffering to launder at least \u00a33 million\u201d. Cook then ambushed Palmer downstairs as he left, challenging him about his laundering. \u201cAbout what?!\u201d Palmer scoffed, trying to laugh it all off but looking increasingly rattled. It\u2019s an astonishing moment \u2014 watch it on YouTube.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Did Palmer have a ruinous cocaine habit? And did he father a lovechild? <\/p>\n

The portrayal of Palmer didn\u2019t go as far as it might have done. According to the author Tom Morgan, who co-wrote Goldfinger and Me with Palmer\u2019s ex-wife Marnie, the real Palmer \u201cdeveloped a cruel side \u2026 a cocaine problem and held a gun to Marnie\u2019s head on one occasion\u201d. He is known to have had affairs, resulting in extramarital children, something he joked about in the Cook Report undercover footage. <\/p>\n

\"John<\/p>\n

John Palmer leaving court after paying \u00a31 million bail in cash in 1997<\/p>\n

NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD<\/p>\n

So what happened to Palmer after the trial, and who killed him?<\/p>\n

After defending himself in court in 2001 (he\u2019d sacked his legal team), he was found guilty \u201cof masterminding the largest timeshare fraud on record\u201d and jailed for eight years, serving half. He declared himself bankrupt and, according to Goldfinger and Me, opened a jewellery shop in London and a pawn shop in Essex. He split from Marnie. In May 2015 he was charged in Spain with fraud, firearms possession and money-laundering linked to his timeshare business. He was facing 15 years in prison and speculation arose that he would turn supergrass. On June 24, 2015, he was shot dead in his home in South Weald<\/a>, Essex, aged 64.<\/p>\n

Police said his shooting had \u201call the hallmarks of a professional hit\u201d. Detective Superintendent Steve Jennings, who was in charge of the case for Essex police, said in 2023: \u201cThe timing of the trial and the benefit to others of John not being at the trial makes it the strongest possibility for the killing.\u201d The shooter has never been found.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/p>\n

John with his wife Marnie Palmer in Tenerife, 1985<\/p>\n

NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD<\/p>\n

What about the two Cambridge alumni involved in the money laundering. Were they real?<\/p>\n

Neither Douglas Baxter, the bumptious lawyer (played by Joshua McGuire), nor Logan Campbell (played by Tom Hughes), a shady businessman in the British Virgin Islands, are real names. Both, however, were inspired by specific individuals who were done for money laundering in the Virgin Islands. They knew each other from the Isle of Man rather than Cambridge.<\/p>\n

\"Chief<\/p>\n

The real Brian Boyce carrying exhibits into Lambeth Magistrates Court where proceedings started against eight people<\/p>\n

PA IMAGES\/ALAMY\/BBC<\/p>\n

What about Brian Boyce and his team \u2014 what became of them?<\/p>\n

Brian Boyce is absolutely real and has aided Forsyth with research. As Bonneville has said, \u201cBoyce was incorruptible \u2026 a man of principle, and integrity.\u201d His underling, Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer), is fictional, while Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott), is based on a real officer. After leaving the police Brightwell went on to work in the private security sector. <\/p>\n

\"Still<\/p>\n

Tony Brightwell (Emun Elliott) was based on a real cop but Nicki Jennings (Charlotte Spencer) is fictional<\/p>\n

BBC\/TANNADICE PICTURES\/DES WILLIE<\/p>\n

The maverick copper Lundy (Stephen Campbell Moore) was real and worked on the Brink\u2019s-Mat case. He was known for his unconventional approach and really did claim, as he does in the series, to be the subject of a smear campaign. He retired in the late 1980s and reportedly now lives in Spain.<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/p>\n

Kenneth Noye (Jack Lowden) did escape and was finally arrested in Cadiz<\/p>\n

BBC\/TANNADICE PICTURES\/CRISTINA R\u00cdOS BORD\u00d3N<\/p>\n

Did Kenneth Noye flee the UK on Palmer\u2019s private jet and go on the run in Spain? <\/p>\n

Noye and Palmer had known each other since being linked over a VAT gold fraud in the 1970s, long before they were linked to the Brink\u2019s-Mat robbery. In 1996 Noye was a wanted man having disappeared the day after the M25 road rage murder of Stephen Cameron. Soon after, The Times reported that police were questioning Palmer about Noye\u2019s disappearance. Palmer told police that \u201che could not help them\u201d. <\/p>\n

Five years later, it was revealed that Palmer had arranged for his private helicopter to help Noye. It had landed by Palmer\u2019s Georgian mansion near Bristol. Noye, carrying a bag of cash and wearing a flat cap as disguise, had climbed aboard and it took off for a golf course at Palmer\u2019s chateau in Normandy, before flying on to Spain the next day. Noye laid low in a villa near Cadiz for two years until he was recognised and arrested in 1998. He was then extradited and found guilty of murder. He was released from prison in 2019. He now reportedly lives with his wife in the town of Looe, Cornwall.<\/p>\n

\"Mugshot<\/p>\n

Kenneth Noye was arrested for the road rage murder and sentenced in 2000<\/p>\n

KENT POLICE\/PA:PRESS ASSOCIATION<\/p>\n

What happened to the gold in the end?<\/p>\n

Forsyth says that the late Brink\u2019s-Mat robber Micky McAvoy (portrayed in series one), told him that the gold was all smelted down, with the money in its different forms now all over the world. \u201cIf you live in London or any major British city, there will be property in that city that was ultimately bought with Brink\u2019s-Mat money. It\u2019s out there and it\u2019ll never be kind of detected at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s Brink\u2019s-Mat \u2014 it\u2019s never over.\u2019 But will there be a series three? <\/p>\n

Despite Boyce offering a pointed last line to the drama, Forsyth has said this will be the final series. \u201cBetween a book and 12 episodes,\u201d he says, \u201cI think I\u2019ve given it a good shake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Love TV? Discover the best Apple TV+ shows<\/a>, the best Netflix TV shows<\/a> and the best Prime Video TV shows<\/a> plus the best TV shows of 2024 so far<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to try our hidden gem TV shows<\/a> collection, check our critics\u2019 choices to what to watch this week<\/a> and browse our comprehensive TV guide<\/a>. You can also browse our expert-curated collections of the best TV shows<\/a> and the best movies<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Gold\u2019s second series has been a fascinating depiction of the aftermath of the Brink\u2019s-Mat robbery as detective…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":207114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3937],"tags":[77,382,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-207113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114731491378610942","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/207114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}