For those of us who grew up on a diet of The Bill, Eastenders and The Sweeney, taking modern British crime dramas seriously can be quite a challenge.

The same actors (Craig Fairbrass), delivering the same cliched lines in the same cockney accents (“You what? Getaaattt!”) , driving through Peckham in one shot, yet appearing in Islington in the next – if you know London, London dramas aren’t escapism, they’re unconvincing. And more often than not, they don’t quite deliver the hard knocks they promise.

Thankfully, Gangs of London, while not terribly original, has a bite that matches its bark. It’s a crime thriller that delivers a high quality production combined with a convincing cast and, crucially, a script that avoids the obvious while still somehow delivering the familiar.

The opening is certainly attention-catching. Sean Wallace (Joe Cole) is an emotional, young, suave gangster who we find hanging...