BBC's The Gold viewers question if Charlie Miller existed
BBC's The Gold viewers question if Charlie Miller existed
The second season of the BBC's The Gold is currently airing
The second season of BBC's The Gold is currently airing, and viewers are once again curious about the line between fact and fiction. Each episode begins with a disclaimer stating: "The following is inspired by real events and the many theories that have surround the gold.
"Some characters, elements and chronologies have been created or changed for dramatic purposes."
The new series kicks off with South London gangster Charlie Miller, portrayed by Sam Spruell, concealing the gold in an abandoned tin mine in Cornwall. He later enlists the help of shady lawyer Douglas Baxter, played by Joshua McGuire, to launder the proceeds from the remaining half of the Brink's-Mat loot, reports the Express.
Here's an examination of whether Charlie Miller is based on a real person.
Sam Spruell reprises his role as Charlie Miller in The Gold season 2
(Image: BBC )
Is Charlie Miller from BBC's The Gold a real person?
No, Charlie Miller is a fictional character created for the series.
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Actor Sam Spruell sheds light on the character, explaining: "Charlie Miller is an amalgam of various alleged southeast London criminals involved in the Brink's-Mat robbery, he is no one specific.
"You see Charlie really at the end of the first series as he's one of the Brink's-Mat robbers.
"He ends up at the beginning of the second series in possession of half the gold.
"Throughout the first series the police thought they were dealing with all the gold but actually there is another half that Charlie Miller kept for himself."
The Gold's Charlie Miller who had the other half of the Brink's-Mat loot
(Image: BBC )
In the first season, Charlie enjoyed a carefree life under the sun with his initial share of the proceeds but had to return to the UK for the rest after his money ran dry.
Spruell remarked about his character: "Through his criminal network in South London, of which Charlie has been a part of for years, he discovers the presence of Baxter who is cleaning small amounts of money for establishments like pubs and other places like that in south London."
He pointed out: "Charlie sees this guy with his Cambridge education as the right man to clean a very large amount of money that he is going to make from getting rid of this gold."
Charlie Miller was depicted as hiding the gold down an old tin mine in Cornwall
(Image: BBC )
Spruell continued: "Baxter is the initial point man for that but in the end, it takes someone with Logan Campbell's clout to put that back into the financial situation in terms of investments in all kinds of stuff, whether it be fossil fuels, a new business venture or housing companies, for example."
Discussing Charlie's journey in the second season, Spruell conveyed that Charlie harboured "aspirations" to transform into a "more legitimate businessman".
Regarding the curious use of a Cornish tin mine as a hiding place for the Brink's-Mat gold in the series, Neil Forsyth, the show's maker, revealed that the idea stemmed from a hypothesis put forward in a feature by the Evening Standard in the 1980s.
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The Gold season 2 can currently be streamed on the BBC iPlayer
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