HEIST OF THE CENTURY
Hatton Garden returns on ITV tonight – what time does it start and what happened in episode 3?
The drama was initially cancelled due to legal issues
HATTON Garden finishes with the exhilarating series' final episode tonight on ITV and fans are completely hooked.
The drama, which is based on the infamous heist in 2015, was initially cancelled twice in 24 months and it was all down to legal reasons. Here is what you may not know.
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Why was Hatton Garden delayed?
Since being announced two years ago, ITV drama Hatton Garden has twice been pulled from the schedules.
The four-part series was initially meant to air in December 2017 when it was pulled as Terry Perkins was about to stand trial for an unrelated robbery.
Show writer and producer, Jeff 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 caught and tried.
He added: "Just as we were about to transmit again, they caught the elusive Basil. So, again we had to spike it."
But now Pope says the legal issues, which have delayed the shows debut, are finally "done and dusted".
What time is episode four airing and what happened in episode three?
The fourth episode of fact-based drama Hatton Garden airs on ITV on May 23 at 9pm.
The mini-series commenced on Monday, May 20, and runs for just four episodes over consecutive nights.
If you've missed any of you can watch again on the .
In episode three, the Met Police Flying Squad discover the burglary after the long Easter weekend.
The gang are also being pursued by Brian Reader, who was the original ringleader who pulled out after the first unsuccessful attempt.
The elderly gang divide up their bounty.
The episode ends with the cops tracing the car of one of the heist members parked outside a house - they finally have a location.
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What is Hatton Garden about?
Hatton Garden is based on the real life Hatton Garden robbery in April 2015.
It shows how 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 pleaded 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.
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What are fans saying about the show?
Fans are absolutely obsessed with the show, with many having taken to social media in order to profess their elation.
One person wrote on Twitter: "I can't believe it's been two years since ITV first teased us with the release of Hatton Garden and now it's finally here; I can't wait to see if it's been worth the way".
Another user followed suit, saying: "Can we appreciate ITV for a second - I mean they've finally given us Hatton Garden. And I know it's not all their fault since there were legal matters stopping them from putting it out, but finally! This is gonna be my new favourite show".
Another fan of the series couldn't believe how much effort these men put in their plan to succeed with the heist.
The Twitter user wrote: "I'm actually shocked that someone can be so stupid yet so smart in putting together this heist. They succeeded halfway but fell short in the end when they all got arrested. Not quite the happy ending you expect. Lol".
Who is in the cast of Hatton Garden?
This mini-series has an all-star cast:
Timothy Spall
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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
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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 Dr Philip Channard in Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel in Valkyrie.
David Hayman
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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.
In 2019, he appeared as the dodgy brother of DI Fred Thursday — portrayed by Roger Allam — in ITV Morse prequel Endeavour.
He also starred in the Trial and Retribution series as cop Michael Walker.
Alex Norton
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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
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Brian F O'Byrne plays 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
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Geoff Bell plays Carl Wood, another member of the notorious gang who was jailed for six years.
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.
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