The Great Train Robbery

- Season 1

(2013)

Following a vicious attack on a wages van at Heathrow airport in November 1962 the gang concerned are disappointed that the haul is less than expected and their leader, Bruce Reynolds, despite his wife's request that he eschews crime, is greedy for a bigger heist. This comes about when an anonymous Ulsterman alerts the gang to the Glasgow to Euston mail train, said to be carrying a million pounds. Recruiting more villains Reynolds begins his meticulous plan to halt the train with false signals at a lonely Buckinghamshire crossing and, on August 8 1963, a night later ...

Four days after the robbery Home Secretary Brooke puts Flying Squad Chief Superintendent Tommy Butler in charge of the case. Though a dour loner and not a popular colleague he assembles an efficient team including Inspector Frank Williams, who knows Reynolds of old and places him high on his suspect list, and Sergeant Jack Slipper. The discovery of a suitcase containing stolen notes leads to the first arrest whilst a tip-off takes Butler to the farmhouse HQ and a mass of forensic evidence. This begins to yield results despite Butler's superiors' Wanted poster campaign...