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emotional reunion, but Ron asks her to divorce him so that he can marry
Raimunda. When Biggs’s extradition is refused, Charmian plans for life in Rio and takes her sons to meet their father for the first time in nearly five years. Biggs asks Charmian to live with him and Raimunda in Rio; she refuses and travels to England to see her family for the first time in over a decade. Her father is delighted when she tells him she and Ron are to divorce, but she tells her family that her life is now in Australia where she won’t just be ‘Mrs Biggs, the wife of the Great Train Robber’.
615:, in a prison break organised by underworld friends. In December 1965 Charmian meets him in Paris. Determined to reunite the family, they take on new names and in June 1966 Charmian and her two boys fly to Darwin, Australia. They reunite with Ronnie again, and after another name change the family settle in Adelaide. Charmian becomes pregnant and a third son is born. They receive news from England that Bruce Reynolds has been arrested in Mexico.
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journalist in Rio to sell his life story. The journalist tips off the police, and Biggs is thrown into prison in
Brasilia, facing extradition. He discovers that Raimunda is pregnant, and realizes that if the baby is his, the Brazilian authorities might not deport him. Charmian flies out to Rio for an
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job and
Charmian realises he has been involved in the Great Train Robbery. This is confirmed when he shows her his share; £147,000. Charmian lives in fear of discovery and they disperse the money among trusted friends. In September 1963 Ronnie is arrested and Charmian is besieged by the press. She is
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on a train. As Ronnie is a carpenter and petty criminal, Charmian's father, a headmaster, does not approve and forbids her to see him. In love, Charmian leaves home, steals from her employer and goes on the run with Ronnie and his best friend Mike. When captured, Biggs is imprisoned and
Charmian is
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With the Packer money, Charmian buys a new house for herself and the boys. She misses Ron, and he is lonely, working as a roofer in a dingy Rio suburb. Tragedy strikes when their eldest son, Nicky, is killed in a car crash and
Charmian has to smuggle out a letter to Biggs. Charmian studies for a
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Biggs's picture appears in an
Australian magazine. After another change of name, with the robbery money now all gone, they move to Melbourne and both get jobs. A London ‘grass’ lets slip that Ronnie Biggs is hiding ‘somewhere in Australia’ and Biggs's picture appears on the evening news in
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Charmian Biggs acted as a consultant on the series and flew to
Britain from Australia in February 2012, just before filming began. She also visited Ronnie, who was ill; the couple had divorced in 1976 but remain on good terms. Some of the names in the series were changed for legal reasons.
33:
251:, planner of one of the most famous crimes in British history, the Great Train Robbery of August 1963. The aftermath of the train robbery and Biggs subsequent escape from prison leads to a life of flight for Charmian and her children as she tries to keep the family together.
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in exchange for a sum of cash and a lawyer to represent her in court. The lawyer wins her freedom and helps her get her children back. She secretly meets Biggs before he takes a steamer to Panama and overland to Rio De
266:, in co-operation with the real Charmian Biggs. Smith's performance as Charmian received widespread critical acclaim, and she ultimately won the 2013 BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress.
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given a suspended sentence. On release, Charmian and Ronnie marry, her pregnancy forcing her father's consent. Going straight but needing money, unbeknown to
Charmian, Ronnie is drawn into
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While filming in
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Charmian herself appears in the background of one of the scenes in the public gallery of the
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degree as a mature student. Biggs engages in drink, drugs and women, eventually meeting Raimunda, a beautiful young Brazilian dancer. Biggs meets with a
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Melbourne. Biggs goes into hiding; Charmian is arrested and the children are taken into care. Charmian agrees to sell her story to the
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demanding money from her for protection. At the trial Ronnie is given 30 years' imprisonment and Charmian is disowned by her parents.
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With no chance of remission for Ronnie, Charmian has an affair with Ruby Wright's son, Alan. She becomes pregnant and has a
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The series was filmed in London, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Manchester, Adelaide and Melbourne.
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drawn into the disappeared Bruce Reynolds's circle of friends. They deal brutally with an
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using a locomotive from the same batch of engines involved in the 1963 raid.
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A region 2, two disc set of the series was released on 15 October 2012.
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as Ronnie Biggs. For his performance, Mays gained a nomination for the
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National Television Award for Outstanding Female Dramatic Performance
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National Television Awards for Outstanding Male Dramatic Performance
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Scenes of the Great Train Robbery were recreated on the
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as Charmian Biggs. The wife of the Great Train Robber
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881:Television series set in the 1960s
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876:Television series by ITV Studios
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391:Matthew Cullum as Buster Edwards
896:Television shows set in England
861:British crime television series
284:BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress
891:Television shows set in Brazil
793:Page 24 of the ITV press pack.
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16:2012 British television series
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802:Page 25 of the ITV press pack
403:George Oliver as Polish Henry
784:Page 4 of the ITV press pack
388:Iain McKee as Charlie Wilson
262:. The series was written by
258:; Ronnie Biggs is played by
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286:and nominations for the
37:First episode title card
429:East Lancashire Railway
148:Tony Wright (Australia)
871:ITV television dramas
733:on 14 September 2012
609:back-street abortion
173:Production companies
652:Packer organization
528:Great Train Robbery
394:Jon Foster as Goody
168:43-46 minutes (2-4)
166:63-66 minutes (1,5)
470:Viewers (millions)
467:Original air date
369:Detective Sergeant
308:Adrian Scarborough
241:Great Train Robber
237:British television
135:Executive producer
754:Missing or empty
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735:. Retrieved
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571:extortionist
566:tree-felling
519:Ronnie Biggs
461:Directed by
448:Episode list
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413:Libby Tanner
377:Robin Hooper
372:Jack Slipper
280:Ronnie Biggs
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245:Ronnie Biggs
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163:Running time
146:Kwadjo Dajan
79:Bryony Marks
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737:6 September
477:; includes
473:Sourced by
464:Written by
347:Leo Gregory
335:Jack Lowden
298:Daniel Mays
260:Daniel Mays
207:5 September
199:(Australia)
176:ITV Studios
115:of episodes
69:Daniel Mays
53:Directed by
840:Categories
713:References
677:2012-10-03
637:2012-09-26
595:2012-09-19
552:2012-09-12
505:2012-09-05
481:and ITV +1
341:Tom Brooke
235:is a 2012
221:2012-10-03
211:2012-09-05
130:Production
43:Written by
826:Mrs Biggs
670:Jeff Pope
630:Jeff Pope
588:Jeff Pope
545:Jeff Pope
497:Jeff Pope
409:as Sheree
407:Sam Healy
385:as Gordon
264:Jeff Pope
232:Mrs Biggs
143:Producers
138:Jeff Pope
104:of series
47:Jeff Pope
25:Mrs Biggs
747:cite web
655:Janeiro.
415:as Norma
400:as Peter
398:Ron Cook
361:as Annie
290:and the
75:Composer
61:Starring
675: (
635: (
593: (
550: (
503: (
219: (
215: –
209: (
204:Release
188:Network
96:English
479:ITV HD
458:Title
194:(UK);
831:IMDb
760:help
739:2012
683:5.13
643:5.22
601:5.33
558:5.24
511:5.05
475:BARB
270:Cast
829:at
705:DVD
367:as
192:ITV
113:No.
102:No.
842::
768:^
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