THE Hatton Garden robbery is one of the most infamous heists of the century and the ITV series about the dramatic events is FINALLY here.
The events of April 2015 were dramatised in the series way back in 2017 but have only just been given the green light after legal issues caused it to be delayed – Here’s what we know….
Stuart Wood / ITV
Why was Hatton Garden delayed?
Since being announced two years ago, the ITV drama has twice been pulled from schedules.
The four-part series was initially meant to air in December 2017 when it was pulled as Perkins was about to stand trial for an unrelated robbery.
Pope explained: “He was charged with another robbery, completely unconnected to Hatton Garden.
“And the trial was due, and if there had been a four-hour drama saying, ‘Terry Perkins is a burglar,’ then he wouldn’t have been able to have a fair trial. So, we had to pull it.”
It was postponed to the following year but had to be pulled again when Seed was finally caught and tried.
Pope explains: ” Just as we were about to transmit again, they caught the elusive Basil. So, again we had to spike it.”
But now show writer and producer Jeff Pope says the legal issues which have delayed airing for the last year-and-a-half are finally “done and dusted.”
What time is Hatton Garden on TV?
The first episode of Hatton Garden airs on ITV NEXT MONDAY (May, 20).
While eager viewers will be desperate for a season filled with plenty of dramatic episodes, Hatton Garden will only consist of four.
The show will air nightly in four parts until Thursday 23rd May at 9pm.
For those who can’t wait until Monday, you can watch the trailer released in April. It features clips of the cast playing out the heist in the safe deposit facility in London’s Hatton Garden.
After it has aired it will be available on the ITV Hub.
PA:Press Association
What is Hatton Garden about?
Hatton Garden will be a drama about the real life Hatton Garden robbery.
It will cover the events of April 2015 when four elderly men ransacked an underground safe deposit facility in London’s Hatton Garden.
They used high-duty drills to get into the vault, going through the wall that was two metres thick and cracked into 73 boxes in the vault.
Each box contained a wealth of jewels and precious metals including diamonds, sapphires and gold.
Eventually, the men, who were all experienced thieves, were all caught and all plead guilty to the crime.
Four accomplices were also tried for the crime, with only one walking free cleared of their involvement.
It’s not known officially what the total value of what they stole was, but some reports estimate it could be up to a staggering £200million.
Getty – Contributor
Who is in the cast of Hatton Garden?
This mini-series has an all-star cast:
Timothy stars as ringleader Terry Perkins, a 67-year-old diabetic career criminal doing one last job before his retirement. One of Britain’s best known actors, Spall, 62, is most famous for his starring role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Kenneth Cranham plays the second ringleader of the heist, Brian Reader who had previously assisted with a string of high profile robberies. The Scottish actor is best known for his work as Channer Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel in Valkyrie.
David Hayman plays criminal mastermind Daniel Jones. The 71-year-old actor is most famous for his role as Pavel in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Earlier this year, he appeared as the dodgy brother of DI Fred Thursday — portrayed by Roger Allam — in ITV Morse prequel Endeavour.
Scotsman Alex Norton plays cockney crook John Kenneth Collins, the gang’s 75-year-old driver and lookout. Norton appeared on our screens in January as Eric Baird in the BBC2 comedy Two Doors Down, and starred as DCI Matt Burke in the STV detective drama series Taggart.
Brian F O’Byrne plays the young Michael Seed, an alarm specialist who was believed to be the ringleader of the heist.
Writer Jeff was delighted to discover that actor Brian F O’Byrne was a spitting image of Seed.
He said: “In the light of Seed’s trial we looked to see if there was anything we needed to change that came out and we were delighted to discover that the answer to that was no.
“But we were even more delighted to discover how physically similar Brian F O’Byrne was to Michael Seed, which makes us look like geniuses. That was just pure guess work.”
Geoff Bell plays Carl Wood, another member of the notorious gang. One of Bell’s best known roles is as Tommy Hatcher in Green Street. He is also known for roles in Wild Target, Kingsman: The Secret Service and RocknRolla.
