The Gold episode one review: BBC One, 9pm, Sunday, February 12

Telling the true story of the Brink’s-Mat robbery, the programme follows various criminals, businessmen and cops as they deal with the fallout of what was once dubbed the ‘crime of the Century’.

And it does it with an unglamorous and restrained style that lets reality seep into every shot. From the jarring opening scene, in which a group of armed thugs rudely interrupt a nice cup of tea in the office, it’s clear that the series wants to ‘tell it like it is’ – or was.

For those who don’t know, six armed men broke into the Brink’s-Mat security depot near Heathrow Airport on November 26, 1983, thinking that they were going to nick £1million worth of pesetas. But instead they made off with £26m in gold bullion.

There’s a strong ensemble cast in this dramatisation with many narrative threads to follow. But one of the stand-out performances so far belongs to Charlotte Spencer as Nikki Jennings, a determined and no-nonsense police officer who seems unfazed by the pleas of her shifty suspects or the occasional bit of ’80s sexism.

Hugh Bonneville is also in fine form as the more experienced officer Brian Boyce, a man who draws a clear line between law abiding citzens and those criminals he sees as stupid and greedy. His first interrogation just drips with his character’s contempt and weariness.

Jack Lowden is great as Kenneth Noye, the ‘fence’ who confidently asserts that that he can sell the gold, and seems to act as the polar opposite in his worldview to Brian Boyce. Some viewers have reported irritation at his character’s attempts to justify his actions, but I think it’s a good bit of drama to show that he is not operating in the same moral universe as those trying to bring him down.

Another stand-out performance belongs to Dominic Cooper as the lawyer Edwyn Cooper. He plays the character as successful but smarmy, well-off but resentful, and intelligent but clearly tempted to do something very stupid. There’s a kind of darkness behind his gaze and it’s pretty powerful to see.

The other character that stood out to me is Micky McAvoy, played by Adam Nagaitis. He didn’t strike me as a particularly bad guy, just someone desperate who’s bitten off far more than he can chew.

It’s only the first episode, of course, so the series seems rather meandering with its multitude of characters dotted around at the moment. This means the show’s bigger stars like Sean Harris don’t get much screen time here either.

But overall it’s an intriguing start with patient but gripping writing from Neil Forsyth and effectively gritty direction from Aneil Karia and Lawrence Gough.

The Gold airs every Sunday on BBC One (9pm) but people who want to watch the whole series immediately can see it on the iPlayer now.

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