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- guardian.co.uk, Saturday November 11 2000 01.35 GMT
In what appears to be a case of art imitating life imitating art, the BBC is planning a fictional account of the audacious Millennium Dome diamond snatch.
The BBC's factual drama department has started work on a film of the foiled attempt to steal the Millennium Star, one of the world's most valuable stones. The crime itself drew comparisons with a sequence in a James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough.
Researchers have already contacted journalists, police and others involved in the story. While the project is in its earliest stages of development - any programme could not be shown until after a trial, and eight men have just been charged - the BBC's director general, Greg Dyke, is said to be keen. A spokeswoman said: "Discussions are at a very early stage - it is just a gleam in the eye at the moment."
Nevertheless, the tale is ripe for dramatisation, and other broadcasters are also thought to be chasing it. Central to the film would be the role of the Flying Squad, which foiled the operation. The team was led by detective superintendent Jon Shatford, and some observers say some dramatic licence might have to be taken with his part. "He's more Inspector Morse than Denis Waterman," one said.
However, John Thaw, who starred in the Sweeney as well as the later detective series, is on an exclusive contract with ITV. The obvious alternative would be Pete Postlethwaite, a current BBC favourite.
The film could also provide work for Nick Berry, the former Heartbeat actor who is on a £3m exclusive deal with the BBC, but whose latest vehicle, Harbour Lights, was a disaster. Young and suave, he would be an ideal Mr Big. Ricky Tomlinson would be the crime gang's obligatory Scouser, perhaps commandeering the mechanical digger that smashed through the dome's exterior.
PY Gerbeau, the Frenchman who runs the dome, must also have a prominent part - Gérard Depardieu could be in line.
Questions remain over a role for Pierce Brosnan, who slid down the dome's roof in the dramatic opening sequence for the latest Bond movie. But while the BBC drama budget has received a huge boost under Mr Dyke, it is unlikely to extend to the fees of Hollywood stars.
The final thing to be decided, of course, would be a title. There is surely only one option: The Domebusters.
