The series about the heist of the century with one of the contenders for the ninth James Bond role

BarcelonaIn 1983, six men dressed in security uniforms entered the Brink's-Mat warehouse near Heathrow Airport in London, looking for cash. They didn't take any banknotes because they found an unexpectedly more lucrative haul: gold bars worth £26 million. It was a notorious robbery, considered one of the biggest of the century and the most significant in UK history. That event is now being remembered thanks to the series The GoldThe series, which premieres on December 9th on Filmin and was also screened at the latest edition of Serielizados Fest, consists of two seasons. It doesn't focus on the robbery itself, but rather on everything that followed. Specifically, the complex network that had to be developed to move and launder a massive amount of gold. "It was simultaneously the peak and the end of traditional crime in Britain. It was the last great old-school robbery: perpetrated by South London thieves who targeted a weak security guard and blackmailed him, but at the same time, they were old-school thieves who no longer fit into modern society because... why do it?" explains Neil Forsyth, the series' screenwriter, who has also written a book about the case. "One of the things that surprised me most is how far the story reached. It started in a warehouse near the airport and spread all over the world. There are very few places in the world where the Brink's-Mat money didn't end up, or where some of the robbers weren't hiding. It's truly fascinating when you investigate it," he explains to the press. Forsyth has conducted intensive research on the robbery, using newspaper archives from the time but also interviewing many of those involved in the case.

"Many of the people involved in the heist wanted to break free from the roles and lives that British society had imposed on them. It's interesting because in the early eighties, under Margaret Thatcher's government, the prevailing belief was that the UK wasn't a class-based society and that you could achieve anything you wanted. I think history demonstrates the fallacy of this idea, and many of the characters embark on an Icarus-like journey, rising above their social class, but ultimately falling and returning to where they started," explains the screenwriter regarding the story's more social aspects.

A future James Bond in the cast?

The casting of The Gold It features several familiar faces from British film and television. Hugh Bonneville, very popular thanks to his role as Lord Grantham in Downton AbbeyBrian Boyce plays the police officer in charge of leading the robbery investigation, while Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!) is Edwyn Cooper, a shady lawyer who is part of the network that moved the gold.

The other well-known actor in the series is Jack Lowden, now popular in Slow horses. In The Gold He plays Kenneth Noye, a builder whom thieves turn to when they don't know what to do with the gold. "He's a great actor. I've known him for many years because we're both Scottish, and I immediately thought of him for this role. For me, it's the best performance he's given on television because he has such a wide range. I'm not surprised by his success, and I think he should be the new James Bond. A Scottish Bond, like [Sean]." The screenwriter isn't the only one who wants his compatriot to take on the role of the legendary spy in Her Majesty's Service; Lowden's name has been circulating for some time. "I started the rumors," Forsyth says, laughing.