Ronnie Biggs’s former wife denies TV drama glorifies train robbery

Charmian Brent, whose life forms the basis of the new ITV1 show Mrs Biggs, is played by actress Sheridan Smith in the five-part drama.

It follows the couple from their first meeting on a train in 1957 to the 1963 robbery, their life on the run in Australia and Ronnie’s flight to Rio.

The show is written by Jeff Pope, the man behind the award-winning Appropriate Adult and stars Ashes To Ashes star Danny Mays as Ronnie.

Ms Brent told the Radio Times: “I don’t think it glorifies it. It’s a very honest, warts-and-all account of what occurred.”

Mr Pope, who is also executive producer of the series, added: “The programme doesn’t try to say that the robbers were really lovely fellas, and it doesn’t try to say that they didn’t assault the train driver, Jack Mills, which they did.

“It doesn’t say that we should feel that they were unfairly persecuted. So it’s not an apologia for the Great Train Robbers. It’s a love story.

“It’s about an 18-year-old girl meeting this guy who was from the wrong side of the tracks. She fell for him very hard and very quickly. Lots of things happened that were out of her control and then she was really in a situation there was no way out of.”

Ronnie Biggs left his wife and their three sons in Australia when he fled.