The Gold does glitter as second series proves better than first

The Gold (BBC1, Sun/Mon, 9pm) was writer Neil Forsyth's dramatic retelling of the Brinks-Mat bullion robbery in the early Eighties, and the police attempts to catch the robbers.

- Philip Cunnington on The Gold series 2

A complex story, involving dozens of south London villains, no-nonsense coppers and posh people brought low by greed, it was a gripping drama and - by all accounts - a faithful retelling of what actually happened.

At the end - spoiler alert - it was revealed that only half of the £23m of gold bullion, cash and diamonds stolen from the Brinks-Mat warehouse on the edge of Heathrow Airport had been recovered. A sum equivalent to around £44m today.

No one really knows what happened to the other half of the loot, which is what series two is concerned with - although according to a caption at the beginning of Sunday's first episode, what we see is based on theories surrounding the whereabouts of the gold.

And it's that mystery that frees Forsyth up to make The Gold series 2 a cut above its predecessor.

Not having to be slavishly attached to what is known, he is free to create a crime caper full of lovely locations, menacing Russian thugs and dialogue which sparks off the screen.