Where are the real-life figures in The Gold now?

Instead, they stumbled upon £26 million in gold bullion in what became Britain's biggest gold heist ever.

Fans may be wondering what has happened to the cast of characters depicted in the series, including Dominic Cooper's lawyer Edwyn Cooper, Charlotte Spencer's officer Nicki Jennings, Hugh Bonneville’s Brian Boyce and Jack Lowden’s Kenneth Noye.

Well fortnately, RadioTimes.com has put together a guide on where the central real-life figures in The Gold are now. Read on for everything you need to know.

Is Brian Boyce still alive?

Yes, Boyce is still alive. He spoke with Bonneville and the series' writer Neil Forsyth to aid in their research for the project.

Where is Brian Boyce now?

Following the events of The Gold, the real-life Brian Boyce went on to become involved in trying to achieve justice in another major national story, the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

In 1999, it was reported that Boyce had offered his services to the Lawrence family free of charge, after he had already retired from the police. He reportedly helped barrister Michael Mansfield, QC, and solicitor Imran Khan to gather evidence.

In 2012, he told the Evening Standard: "I think it's extremely important that all of those who killed Stephen Lawrence should be put before a jury in order that they can come to their conclusions. It's extremely important for us as a nation, which is now very much a mixed-race nation, that we take on the best traditions of British justice."

Where is Kenneth Noye now?

Following his conviction for handling stolen gold bullion, Noye was sentenced to 14 years in jail and served eight of them, leaving prison in 1994.

Two years later in 1996, Noye stabbed 21-year-old Stephen Cameron on a slip road off the M25 during a road rage incident. He subsequently fled to Spain and was located by police two years later in August 1998 following a manhunt. He was arrested that month and was extradited to the UK in May 1999.

He was given a life sentence for the murder in 2000. Following multiple failed appeals against his conviction over the years, Noye was moved to a low security prison in 2018 and was released in June 2019, having served 20 years.

The Ministry of Justice said at the time: "Like all life sentence prisoners released by the independent Parole Board, Kenneth Noye will be on licence for the remainder of his life, subject to strict conditions and faces a return to prison should he fail to comply."

Lowden told Esquire of his research for the role: "I’m just the actor, hired to play the character off the page, so I very purposely didn’t do much digging on him and had no desire to meet up with him. I’ve played a lot of real people before, some dead and some who are still around, but part of me doesn’t want to [meet him]. My job as an actor is to perform the part that’s there."

Where is Michael Relton now?

Dominic Cooper's character Edwyn Cooper appears to have been loosely based on real-life figure Michael Relton, who was a solicitor convicted of helping to launder proceeds from the robbery.

According to The Sun, Relton is now living in the US.

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

Where is Tony Brightwell now?

Following the investigation, Tony Brightwell, as played in the series by Emun Elliott, stayed in the police for some time, before moving into the private sector, working for security firms such as Bishop Investigations and ISC Global.

He is now 74 years old.

Where is John Palmer now?

Following his acquittal in relation to his connection with the Brink's-Mat robbery, Palmer went on to live back in Tenerife and became known as Goldfinger.

In 2001, he was sentenced to eight years in jail for timeshare fraud, but served only four of these. In 2005 he was declared bankrupt with debts of £3.9 million and in 2007 he was once again arrested in relation to fraud allegations, going on to spend two years in a Spanish jail without charge, before being released on bail in 2009.

In 2015, Palmer was murdered in Essex, by being shot in the chest. Police said his shooting had "all the hallmarks of a professional hit", but to this day his murder remains unsolved.

Where is Micky McAvoy now?

Following the events of the series, in which we saw Adam Nagaitis's McAvoy marry his second wife Kathy in prison, the real-life McAvoy went on to live in Spain following his release, along with Kathy.

Kathy passed away in 2022 and McAvoy himself died earlier this year at this age of 71.

The Gold is available in full on BBC iPlayer now.

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

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