What happened to Edwyn Cooper from The Gold?

While multiple cast members have been invented for the series, including Charlotte Spencer's detective Nikki Jennings, many are based on the real-life figures involved in the crime.

One of these is Dominic Cooper’s solicitor Edwyn Cooper, who helped to launder the proceeds from the Brink's-Mat robbery.

Fans who've reached the ending of BBC One crime drama may be wondering what happened to Edwyn Cooper and where he is now.

Read on for everything you need to know about what happened to the real-life individual.

Where is Edwyn Cooper of the Brink's-Mat robbery now?

After being arrested for his role in laundering the proceeds from the Brink's-Mat robbery, Cooper agrees to co-operate with the police and give them information of his side of the operation, in order to receive a more lenient sentence and better conditions.

Cooper explains to the police how £13 million was processed and invested into front companies. However, when Gordon Parry threatens Cooper's partner Sienna Rose, he withdraws his co-operation, in a bid to ensure his own and Rose's safety. He decides to plead not guilty and profess that any information he gave the police was given under duress.

The officer leading the investigation, Brian Boyce, tells Cooper he will be put on an open wing at Wormwood Scrubs, although he later admits this won't be the case - a murder would be "unhelpful".

Officers Tony Brightwell and Nicky Jennings convince Boyce to give Cooper one last night in the station before being sent to prison, and also tell him to give him his phone. Cooper is phoned by Parry, who checks he isn't co-operating with the police. However, the phone is tapped and it allows Brightwell and Jennings to track Parry down.

This is the last we see of Cooper - he is noticeably absent during a closing segment which shows the sentences given out to those involved in the robbery and the handling of the gold and money.

Was Edwyn Cooper a real person?

Along with some other characters featured throughout the series, such as Charlotte Spencer's Nicky Jennings, Edwyn Cooper is not directly based on a real individual. Like Jennings, he appears to have been based on an amalgam of multiple individuals involved in laundering the proceeds from the robbery, explaining his absence from the list of those convicted.

Star Dominic Cooper has described him as "a composite character inspired by the white collar criminals who worked with the robbers and their intermediaries".

The real-life figure Cooper does most appear to resemble is Michael Relton. Like Cooper, Relton was a solicitor convicted of helping to launder proceeds from the robbery, for which he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

It was reported that, like Cooper, Relton initially co-operated with the police, but withdrew that co-operation after he received threats.

What happened to Michael Relton?

As noted above, Relton was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in laundering the proceeds from the Brink's-Mat robbery.

Little is known about his life after he was released from prison. In 2021, The Sun reported that he is "believed to be living in hiding in the US".

You can read more about where the real-life figures from The Gold are now right here.

The Gold is available in full now on BBC iPlayer.

The Gold: The Real Story Behind Brink’s-Mat: Britain’s Biggest Heist by Neil Forsyth and Thomas Turner is available to purchase now.

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