The Hidden Tapes, review – too little new information, too much crime glorification

Fifty-six years later, is there anything we don’t know about the infamous raid of a certain mail train bound for London from Glasgow? The Great Train Robbery: The Hidden Tapes (Channel 4) hoped so. It was built around access to previously unheard cassettes recorded by train-stopping specialist Roger Cordrey. But they told us little new, meaning the documentary was reduced to rehashing dog-eared material and proved about as thrilling as a rail replacement bus service. 

The so-called “crime of the century” made household names of Ronnie Biggs, Buster Edwards and ringleader Bruce Reynolds. Cordrey was among the less celebrated participants but his expertise proved crucial. As a Brighton florist…