'Masterpiece' BBC period drama based on shocking true story streaming for free

The two-part drama Great Train Robbery, which first aired in 2013 on BBC One over the festive period, tells the incredible story behind the most infamous heist in British history. The first part is shown from the point of view of the robbers, led by mastermind Bruce Reynolds (played by Luke Evans), alongside other criminals such as Jack Roth (Charlie Wilson) and Buster Edwards (Neil Maskell).

The second part stars Harry Potter and Bridget Jones actor Jim Broadbent as robber-hunter Detective Chief Sergeant Tommy Butler, who made it his life's mission to catch Reynolds. The BBC series follows a group of London-born criminals who stole £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to the nation's capital in 1963. That would be worth more than £50 million in today's money.

The series has been praised by viewers who have written on IMDb: "The current film, a made-for-television miniseries in 2013, is probably the best screen adaptation of the heist. It presents the events in two parts. The first is from the point of view of the criminals, called A Robber's Tale, and the second from the view of the investigators, called A Copper's Tale."

"Both segments are equally compelling with outstanding actors showing us how the crime is viewed from different sides of the railroad tracks, so to speak. Two sets of casts are used for each segment, until the very end of the second segment, in which characters from both segments begin interacting."

Another added: "The second instalment is just as fascinating when you are given the opportunity to see the trail of clues the gang left behind them in the old farmhouse, even after 'apparently' cleaning up!"

A third shared: "With a large cast consisting of some of the best of British male acting talent (female characters hardly get a look-in), painstakingly accurate set design, not to mention the actual train itself, the component parts were all there and waiting to be assembled into place."

Someone else, who said they were born a couple of months after the great train robbery and so had a huge interest in the tale, called the show an "authentic masterpiece".

The Great Train Robbery can now be watched on the streaming service, U.