Hugh Bonneville, Jack Lowden and Dominic Cooper will star in a BBC series inspired by the true story of the infamous Brink’s-Mat robbery.

The Gold will follow the decades-long chain of events that followed what has been described as “the crime of the century” and air across six episodes on BBC One and Paramount+ globally.

In November 1983, six armed men broke into the Brink’s-Mat security depot near London’s Heathrow Airport and inadvertently stumbled across gold bullion worth £26 million.

The disposal of the bullion was among the largest international money laundering operations of the time and left a string of killings in its wake.

Much of the three tonnes of stolen gold has never been recovered and four of the suspects were not convicted.

Inspired by research and interviews with some of those involved in the events, show bosses describe The Gold as “a pulsating dramatisation which takes a journey into a 1980s world awash with cheap money and loosened morals”.

EE British Academy Film Awards 2020 – Arrivals – London
Jack Lowden (Matt Crossick/PA)

The cast also includes Charlotte Spencer from The Duke, Tom Cullen from Black Mirror, Guilt actor Emun Elliott and Sean Harris from Southcliffe and Mission: Impossible.

The Gold is a co-production between Tannadice Pictures, a joint venture set up by Guilt writer Neil Forsyth and Objective Fiction, and VIS, Paramount’s international studio division.

Forsyth has also penned the new series, which will be directed by Aneil Karia, who won the Oscar for best live action short film recently for The Long Goodbye, along with Lawrence Gough.

BBC 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.

UK premiere of Stratton – London
Dominic Cooper (Ian West/PA)

“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.”

Ben Farrell, executive producer, said “Tannadice Pictures are excited to be working on their debut drama with such an incredible ensemble cast alongside the BBC and Paramount+ to tell, for the first time, the full, immersive, thrilling story of the Brink’s-Mat gold crime.”

Kate Laffey, co-managing director of VIS, said, “The Gold is a captivating story of one of the most remarkable events in British Criminal history, and we look forward to bringing this story to life for Paramount+ and BBC audiences around the world.”