The BBC has axed gangster Kenneth Noye from the second series of The Gold, the hit drama about the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery.
The decision follows fierce criticism that the first series glorified the violent killer.
The company came under fire for portraying Noye – who murdered a 21-year-old boy during a road rage incident thirteen years after the robbery – as a ‘handsome class warrior’.
Scottish heartthrob actor Jack Lowden played Noye and received critical acclaim for his performance.
A source close to the show said: ‘Work on the second series of The Gold has started and it was a big surprise not to see Jack back.
‘But then it turned out that the entire character had been deleted.
‘There is a view that Noye was totally glamorous and this overshadowed the rest of the story.
The BBC has suspended gangster Kenneth Noye from the second series of The Gold – the hit drama about the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery
The decision follows fierce criticism that the first series glorified the violent killer
‘Family members of his victims were also very upset about it and the BBC clearly did not want to risk more of those accusations.
“Jack has created the show in a big way, but there’s just too much politics involved to bring him back into it.
‘But viewers will be really surprised – it seems like a very strange decision. Instead, it will focus on the rest of the gang and its aftermath.”
Gary Cameron, the uncle of Stephen Cameron, who was killed by Noye in a traffic attack on the M25 in 1996, thirteen years after the Brink’s Mat robbery, slammed the BBC for portraying Noye as “kind of a good guy when he is’. a cold-blooded murderer’.
A friend of Noye, who was released from prison in 2019 after serving 19 years for Cameron’s murder, claimed the gangster was “delighted” with Lowden’s portrayal, and that people are now approaching him on the street and ask to shake his hand.
The Gold followed the story of the Brink’s-Mat heist, which remains the largest heist ever committed in Britain, with the gang making off with more than £26 million – the equivalent of more than £93 million today – in gold, cash, and diamonds.
It also starred Hugh Bonneville as DCI Brian Boyce, the Met detective who led the investigation, and Dominic Cooper as Edwyn Cooper, a lawyer who helped launder the gang’s loot.
Despite the initial success of the robbery, many of those involved were brought to justice.
Noye was charged with handling stolen gold and conspiracy to evade VAT and was jailed for fourteen years in 1986. Filming for the second series started this month. The film is expected to be shown at the end of this year.