Talk:Mrs Biggs/deleted article

*Mrs Biggs*
Mrs Biggs
Written by	Jeff Pope
Directed by	Paul Whittington
Starring	Sheridan Smith; Daniel Mays; Leo Gregory; Adrian Scarborough
Composer	Bryony Marks
Country of origin	United Kingdom Australia co-production
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Executive producer	Jeff Pope
Producers	Kwadjo Dajan; Tony Wright (Australia)
Cinematography	Fabian Wagner
Production company	ITV Studios
Original release
Network	ITV; Seven Network (Australia)
Release	5 September 2012 –; present

Untitled

Mrs Biggs is a 2012 ITV 1 drama based around the life of the wife of the Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, Charmian Powell. Mrs Biggs is played by actress Sheridan Smith and Ronnie Biggs played by Daniel Mays. It has been written in co-operation with Ronnie's real life ex wife Charmian Brent. Some of the names in the series were changed however due to legal reasons on the show.

Plot

Episode 1: Ronnie Biggs (Daniel Mays) and Charmian Powell (Sheridan Smith) meet on a train. They arrange to meet again some time later and do so but Charmian nearly misses. They soon begin a relationship. Two months down the line, Charmian's father Bernard (Adrian Scarborough) orders Charmian to call the relationship but in love with Ronnie doesn't accept. They soon decide to run away together but Ronnie insists they need money to do this so asks her to rob her current employer. Charmian agrees for their new life and robs her employer of £200 but feels guilty as they have given her so much. However she continues and goes to start a new life with Ronnie. When they run away Ronnie proposes which she accepts though does not get married. While at a hotel the police find their whereabouts so they plan to run again with Ronnie's friends. However as they are running Charmian trips. She tells Ronnie to go on but he stays to care for her wound but they are soon caught and arrested. She is searched for drugs and then questioned for conspiracy to rob. The police officer tells her as she is under 21 Ronnie has illegally abducted her. She then gives Ronnie a false alibi. Ronnie is sentenced for 2 and a half years and Charmian is given probation for 2 years having to reside in her father and mother (Caroline Goodall). The scene then skips to January 1960 where Ronnie is released. They announce to her father that they would like to get married as she is pregnant much to her father's dismay. There Ronnie announces that he will go straight and narrow. They then get married where Charmian becomes Mrs Biggs. Ronnie is in a carpeting job when Charmian is having a baby. They have a son called Nicholas. Charmian's mother and sister visits them in their home while Charmian's father is in church. Ronnie is now on good terms with Charmian. However the landlord's of their home want to sell up costing them £4000 and with Charmian pregnant again this causes Ronnie to get the money. He visits a friend Bruce asking him for £400 for a deposit but his friend says his money is tied and is instead offered a job on a big project The Great Train Robbery but denies it. It is now skipped to April 1963 where they have their second son Chris born. Bruce comes to visit them with his wife Frances. Ronnie tells Charmain that it is all in his past with Bruce. Bruce tells him he has a good, steady life going and congratulates him. Bruce and a friend of Ronnie's Peter a retired train driver meet causing Bruce to offer him the job again leaving Ronnie the consideration as he needs money he would get £40,000 for the job. Later that night at a pub with Peter, Ronnie asks Peter what he would do with the £40,000 who tells him of his struggles in life leading to him accepting the role as the driver. Ronnie wins on a horse with £500 for the deposit for the house. Ronnie tells Charmian to buy a new washing machine with it as he has decided to pull into the robbery. They soon discus plans on the robbery. They plan to steal the gold on it's highest day. They soon get ready for the robbery as there is more gold on this train. However at the same time Ronnie's brother Jack has died causing Charmian to phone different police stations across the country and eventually to Wiltshire where the robbery is taking place attracting attention to Ronnie.

Episode 2: The hijack goes ahead where Pete takes to the wheel but is overturned and the driver is made to drive the train. Pete unhappy about his overturning states that he is disappointed as it wasn't his fault as he just needed to get the pressure up above twenty one to start to steer the train. The robbers tells Ronnie that there is over one million pounds to share out. They then tell him happy birthday and start laughing. After seeing the robbery on the news Charmian soon realizes it was with Ronnie's involvement the robbery took place. Ronnie invites her upstairs where he reveals his share of £147,000 by pouring out the money from a bag. Charmian asks him how he could do this risking their entire future but Ronnie just says that he is low-key and he will never be caught. Charmian tells him of his brother's death. Ronnie then starts to burn the stamped notes trying to not get caught. Ronnie hides the money in an attic and starts to buy expensive gifts for Charmian. The woman at the shop tells Ronnie that she is looking for money from the robbery but soon tells him his money looks legitimate to her. Charmian decides to go back to her father's to repay the money they stole from her employee to give back to the employer but her father rejects saying that he has no wish to see her or her children. The scene skips to September 1963. The police barge in when Charmian answers the door where they tell her they will wait till Ronnie comes home to question him on the robbery. The police take her to vaccinate the children as they do not want her to contact Ronnie. She pours money she had in her handbag down the toilet flushing it behind her. They let the children go to sleep while they wait and observe for Ronnie. When Ronnie comes back from work they wait behind the door where they attack him from behind and arrest him for robbery and conspiracy to rob. He asks to say goodbye to his children but is quickly rejected. The next day the press soon gather round their door trying to capture images of Charmian and the children but Charmian shuts the door on them. She visits Ronnie in jail where she is helped out by a few people with the child. A friend of Bruce's Ruby (Claire Rushbrook) soon invites her Charmian to her house where Charmian finds out that the police have found fingertips and evidence proving against Ronnie. In the middle of the night a man visits Charmian with a gun asking her to 'protect' her threatening her in the mean time. He states he won't charge her to much even now she supposedly can afford it. Charmian then goes to visit Ronnie who tells her that he will take care of the man. Charmian is visited by the man late at night while walking where Ronnie's friends attack him. It is seen that the driver of the train has had severe injuries since the robbery after he was hit with an iron bar. Ronnie soon goes in court where he lies to the court that he was on a job to burn down an old farm. The court tells him that he has committed perjury and the robbery and is sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Ronnie is seen sowing mail bags in a police station while Charmian is at home reading a letter from her mother saying never to visit the house again.

Episode 3: As Ronnie is in prison Charmian is having driving lessons where she has sex with the instructor and Ruby's son Alan. Later that day a man called Paul, a friend of Ronnie's comes to visit Charmian telling her that he has only just come out of jail and Ronnie has planned to escape. He tells her they will need some money to get him out and gives her detailed plans that Ronnie has written. The next day Alan tries it again with Charmian though she tells him that the sex was a mistake and a betrayal of Ronnie. She then tells him she is pregnant with his child and tells him that abortion is illegal she will have to have their child as if she filed for abortion, Ronnie would face humiliation inside. She then decides to go to a back street clinic where she pays the woman inside for the abortion. She then carries out the abortion where she has severe pain for the night. Alan leaves soon after she arrives after Charmian gets annoyed with him. Later that night she gives birth to the baby in the toilet and flushes it behind her. The next morning Ruby visits telling her about her father's business in house clearances but after Charmian rejects an offer to invest Ruby threatens her with telling Ronnie on her betrayal. She meets Paul who tells her he needs more money for the escape. The scene skips to the 8th of July 1965 where Charmian has booked train tickets to Brighton ready for the escape. Ronnie outside in the prison yard gets ready to escape where outside men drag them over the wall while there is a distraction in the yard. They then drive off with five of them escaping from the prison with a few random prisoners escaping with them. In Paris in December 1965 Charmian goes to Paris where she meets with now escaped Ronnie. Ronnie and Charmian go for a drink where he tells her he has had some plastic surgery done after the escape. Charmian tries to tell Ronnie about the abortion but Ronnie interrupts telling her that he doesn't want to know. Ronnie then tells her about a plan to start again with new identities with her and the boys in a new place. She visits her mother before she leaves asking to say goodbye but nobody replies. After arriving in Darwin, Australia in 1966 she gets checked by customs where the custom officer sees £9000 in cash in her jewellery case though she is let through out of sympathy however Ronnie doesn't arrive leaving Charmian stay at the airport for hours. They eventually spend the night in the airport toilets. After spending a few days in a hotel Ronnie pretends to be a policeman coming up to their room. They then pack their things into a car where they make up the names of the King's. They drive through the Australian Outback where they eventually stop to sleep. The next day they arrive at their new home more upmarket but without any furniture. They call themselves Terry and Sharon where he gets Charmian a job at a guest house by the guest house owner Annie. In November of the same year the house is now fully furnished when Eric (Leo Gregory) arrives, another escapee of the prison break. Charmian is now pregnant and they start to talk about things when Charmian storms in a rage about Eric's wife Julie telling her mother about their location. Charmian admits she is frightened of loosing Ronnie again. She then gives birth to another son born in Australia where Ronnie tells her Annie has offered them a share in her buisness where Ronnie tells Charmian he's accepted. He also tells her that Bruce has been arrested in Mexico and sent to prison. Charmian tells him it won't be long till he gets caught as the scene fades.

Cast

Sheridan Smith as Charmian Biggs
Daniel Mays as Ronnie Biggs
Jay Simpson as Bruce Reynolds
Claire Rushbrook as Ruby
Jack Lowden as Alan
Tom Brooke as Mike Haynes
Leo Gregory as Eric Flower
Freya Stafford as Julie Flower
Denise Roberts as Annie
Adrian Scarborough as Charmian's Father (Bernard Powell)
Caroline Goodall as Charmian's Mother (Muriel Powell)
Florence Bell as Charmian's Sister (Gillian Powell)
Phill Cornwell as Jack Slipper
Robin Hooper as Mr Kerslake
Luke Newberry as Gordon
Iain McKee as Charlie Wilson
Matthew Cullum as Buster Edwards
Jon Foster as Goody
Ron Cook as Peter

Untitled

Plot

Cast

References