Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Liam Williams

From Liam Williams, a two-time Edinburgh Festival Award Nominated comedian, comes a rich storytelling series about Liam's teenage misadventures in the Yorkshire suburbs. 
 
The first series delves into Liam's memories of his first fight, virginity loss, the best house party ever organised, and his marvellous outwitting of an entire teaching staff. This is the New Labour, post-mining, aspirational heartland, meeting 50 Cent and Generation Y ennui, represented in a bourgeois radio format - by one of Britain's most exciting comedians. 
 
Series two sees Liam anxiously awaiting A-Level results before trying to find his feet in a most alien of new environments, Cambridge University. There, he searches for hedonism, torn between the laddish drinking societies and the artsy intelligentsia of Cambridge University. 
 
Liam Williams is a critically acclaimed comedian, known for his wry poetic presentation style. He was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2013 Edinburgh Fridge Comedy Awards, and for Best Show at the 2014 awards. He has appeared as a guest stand up on Russell Howard’s Good News, and on Channel 4’s Drunk History. His successful mockumentary series on BBC Three in 2017 was called Pls Like, about a man trying to become a YouTube star. 
 
The series was recorded in Leeds and stars teens from Yorkshire as the young Liam and his mates. Ladhood received a commendation for Best Scripted Comedy at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2018. 
 
Produced by Arnab Chanda (Series 1) and Joseph Nunnery (Series 2).

Ladhood: The Complete Series 1 and 2

A BBC Radio 4 comedy

Denise Mina

Denise Mina examines the most famous - and infamous - cases in Scottish legal history, and participates in a mock trial 
 
Denise Mina is well known for her bestselling 'Tartan Noir' novels. She has twice won the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award, and her 'Paddy Meehan' series has been adapted for BBC TV. Before becoming a novelist, she studied law, and she has a particular interest in true crime. 
 
In these six episodes, she uncovers some of Scotland's most dramatic trials that continue to fascinate us years later. Also included is a bonus documentary, The Street Lawyer. 
 
The Paisley Snail - 1928. When May Donoghue pours ginger beer into her ice-cream float and a decomposed snail slithers out of the bottle, it sparks a case that will make legal history... 
 
Oscar Slater - Rich spinster Marion Gilchrist is brutally murdered in her Glasgow home in 1908. The hunt for her killer leads to Scotland's most dramatic miscarriage of justice: the Oscar Slater trial. 
 
The Douglas Cause - In this notorious 18th Century cause célèbre, two leading aristocratic families go head-to-head in a scandalous inheritance battle involving a secret elopement and stolen babies. 
 
The Moorov Doctrine - Glasgow, 1930, and a #MeToo-style case of sexual harassment in the workplace establishes one of the most important legal principles in Scottish law today. 
 
Madeleine Smith - In 1857, socialite Madeleine Smith is on trial for murder, accused of poisoning her French lover Emile L'Angelier. But did she do it, or not? 
 
Burke and Hare - Denise Mina looks at the notorious 19th Century murderers, talking to fellow authors Marisa Haetzman and Ian Rankin about the legalities of body snatching and the legacy of Burke and Hare's grim deeds. 
 
The Street Lawyer - Mina joins street lawyer Emmanuel De Abreu and sixth-formers from Glasgow's Lochend Community High School as they take on the roles of defence and prosecution to simulate a famous US murder case. 
 
 
Credits 
 
Denise Mina's Case Histories 
Presented by Denise Mina 
Legal consultant: Andrew Tickell 
Produced by Liza Greig 
Edited by Heather Kane 
Senior Producer: Lynsey Moyes 
 
With Katie Barclay, Alice Bowman, John Cairns, Clare Connelly, Owen Dudley Edwards, Lindsay Farmer, Pamela Ferguson, Michael Fry, Eleanor Gordon, Marisa Haetzman, Martin Hannan, David Hay, Andy Hughes, Helena Kennedy, Bruno Longmore, Hamish MacPherson, Nadine Martin, Mandy McIntosh, Allan Nicol, Janet Philip, Ian Rankin, Alison Rosie and Susanne Tanner 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio Scotland, 1 May - 27 December 2019 
 
The Street Lawyer 
Presented by Denise Mina 
With Emmanuel De Abreu and pupils from Lochend Community High School 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio Scotland, 2 April 2019 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Denise Mina’s Case Histories

A BBC Radio True Crime Series

Rib Davis

Eight dramatised documentaries of landmark trials that changed the law 
 
What do you do when a judge sentences your child to be beaten? 
 
If someone who has been stabbed dies after refusing a blood transfusion, is it a straight case of murder? 
 
How did a murder case end up changing the law for battered women who kill? 
 
In this gripping series, Helena Kennedy, celebrated human rights lawyer, broadcaster and civil liberties expert and playwright Rib Davis bring to life eight groundbreaking twentieth century trials. With the help of a full cast they reveal how the British legal system has been influenced by powerful, human stories that redefined the law to better reflect our modern society. 
 
A Case of Blasphemous Obscenity - Mary Whitehouse brings a libel case against the editor of Gay News, for publishing an allegedly obscene poem. 
 
A Bunch of Twigs - The parents of four 15-year-old boys, sentenced to be birched, launch an appeal against corporal punishment. 
 
The Case of The Ladies' Directory - What is moral? Publishing information on how to contact sex workers brings Fredrick Shaw to court on moral grounds. 
 
85 Burglaries and a Phone Tap - Who's listening? The trial of eight people in 1978 leads to a much more important investigation into State secrecy. 
 
I've Only Just Learnt To Cry - The tragic story of Emma Humphries, who in 1985 was tried for the murder of her boyfriend. 
 
Only a Phase - A group of young men in 1970s Belfast appeal to the British Government for gay rights. 
 
Breaking the Chain - A young Jehovah's Witness is stabbed and dies. The court must decide if it was murder or if she contributed to her own death by refusing a blood transfusion. 
 
On Self Deliverance - Murder or 'mercy'? An organisation finds itself in court after offering practical help to those wishing to commit suicide. 
 
Presented by Helena Kennedy 
Written by Rib Davis 
 
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-31 July 1998 (Series 1) and 1-22 December 1999 (Series 2) 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Unwritten Law

Chloe Hadjimatheou

Helena Merriman

Carrie Grace

Three dramatic true stories, this is investigative journalism at its very best. 
 
'Slick, efficient and professional... hugely engaging' The Spectator (on Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel) 
'Thrilling... a really great listen'The Guardian (on Tunnel 29) 
'Brilliantly produced' The Observer (on Mayday) 
 
In these three gripping series, prominent journalists investigate fascinating human stories, shining a light on history and politics and deepening our understanding of the word we live in. 
 
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel tells a shocking tale of sex, death and power, as Carrie Gracie delves into the mysterious murder that led to the toppling of charismatic Chinese politician, Bo Xilai, and the rise of his greatest rival, President Xi Jinping. The story of the killing of British businessman and fixer Neil Heywood in Chongqing in 2011 is one the authorities do not want told. Gracie was warned off making this programme, her phones were tapped and her emails hacked. But she would not be silenced. Here, she uncovers a tragedy 'with no heroes but only villains and victims', and takes us into the dark heart of Chinese politics. 
 
In Tunnel 29, Helena Merriman recounts the incredible story of Joachim Rudolph, who, in the early 1960s, joined a group digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall, and helped smuggle out 29 people. It's a story of the young people who risked everything, the spy who betrayed them, and the terrible price paid by those who were caught - and of the love that developed between the refugees who found freedom. Based on interviews with the tunnellers, thousands of documents from Stasi archives, and recordings from the tunnel, it is an astonishing tale of one of the most daring escape attempts of the 20th Century. 
 
Mayday investigates the extraordinary case of James Le Mesurier, an ex-British army officer found dead in an Istanbul street in 2019. The co-founder of the White Helmets - a civil defence force who pull survivors from bombed-out buildings in Syria - he was a hero to many, awarded an OBE for his efforts. But he also attracted deep suspicion, and accusations of being a spy, faking rescue videos - and involvement in appalling atrocities... Talking to Le Mesurier's widow, friends and colleagues, Chloe Hadjimatheou attempts to discover who he really was and how he died, and unravel a tangle of truth and lies. Also featured is a special extended version of The Canister on the Bed, exploring the events of the Douma massacre. In addition, bonus programme Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers reveals how a Western-funded NGO, responsible for extracting over a million documents from Syria allegedly containing evidence of torture and genocide, is now fighting a disinformation war. 
 
NB: Contains strong language and scenes which some listeners might find upsetting 
 
Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel 
Presented by Carrie Gracie 
Produced by Maria Byrne and Neal Razzell 
Sound mix by James Beard 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 13-17 March 2017 
 
Tunnel 29 
Written, presented and produced by Helena Merriman 
Translation and additional research: Sabine Schereck 
Editor: Richard Knight 
Joachim Rudolph's original interviews voiced by Mark Edel Hunt 
Sound Design: Eloise Whitmore 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 21 October-1 November 2019 
 
Mayday 
Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou 
Editor: Emma Rippon 
Researcher: Tom Wright 
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman 
Sound design and mix: Neil Churchill 
Additional mixing Graham Pudifoot 
Editing assistance: Robbie Wojciechowski 
Arabic translation and additional research: Vanessa Bowles and Abdul Kader Habak 
Turkish researcher: Nevin Sungur 
Narrative Consultant: John Yorke 
Original music: Nick Mundy and Bu Kolthoum 
End track: Zamilou by Bu Kolthoum 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 9-20 November 2020 
 
Mayday: The Evidence Gatherers 
Produced, written and presented by Chloe Hadjimatheou 
Editor: Emma Rippon 
Researchers: Orla O'Brien and Lara Al Gibaly 
Executive producer Maggie Latham 
Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman 
Sound design and mix: Neil Churchill 
Commissioner for Radio 4: Richard Knight 
Prof Paul McKeigue and Ivan played by Mark Fleischman 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7 April 2021 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Intrigue: 3 explosive true stories

Tunnel 29, Mayday & Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel

Vicky Baker

Chloe Moss

The rise and fall of Anna Delvey: mixing drama with documentary to tell the incredible story of one of the most infamous impostors of our time 
 
Wealthy heiress Anna Delvey was one of the international jetset. Her Instagram account was a window on a glamorous world, filled with art launches, champagne brunches, VIP parties and stays in high-end hotels. Due to come into a $67m trust fund on her 26th birthday, she planned to establish the Anna Delvey Foundation, a multi-million dollar visual-arts centre in the heart of New York, and wined and dined the city’s wealthy elite to secure investment for her project. 
 
It all sounded amazing – but it was all a lie. Anna Delvey the heiress was actually Anna Sorokin the magazine intern. Through name-dropping, networking and sheer chutzpah, this ordinary twentysomething had reinvented herself as a multimillionaire socialite – conning businesses and friends out of thousands of dollars in the process. 
 
But how did she manage to live a life of luxury for so long? How did she make anyone believe her story? And how did she get people to trust her enough to give her their money? 
 
In this gripping docudrama, journalist Vicky Baker and playwright Chloe Moss dig deeper into the scandal that shook New York, exploring how she successfully scammed high society, and what ultimately brought about her downfall. Bella Dayne, who played Helen of Troy in the BBC series Troy: Fall of a City, stars as Anna. 
 
Cast and credits 
Reporting by Vicky Baker 
Drama by Chloe Moss 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko 
 
Starring Bella Dayne as Anna 
Other parts played by Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Heather Craney, Will Kirk, Scarlett Courtney, Neil McCaul, Clive Hayward, Ian Conningham, Lucy Reynolds, Adam Courting, Greg Jones, Laura Christy, Jessica Turner, Ikky Elyas and Sinead MacInnes 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16 December 2019

Fake Heiress: The Anna Delvey scandal

A BBC investigation into how she conned New York high society

David Attenborough

Collected together for the very first time, this is the complete Series 1 and 2 of Life Stories, written and presented by Sir David Attenborough. 
 
One of the nation's most popular presenters, Sir David examines 40 marvels of the natural world from his extraordinary and pioneering experiences. 
 
What was Sir David's first pet? Which animal would he most like to be? How did he track down a giant earthworm? Why does he respect rats? And what did he do when confronted by a ten-foot-long reptile? 
 
His enthusiasm is as infectious as ever, and conveys a unique fascination on topics as diverse as the sloth, monstrous flowers, the platypus, dragons, the fire salamander, the coelacanth, the dodo, bird's-nest soup and the large blue butterfly. So listen to these stories to find out the real reason why animals sing, the story behind a 150-million-year-old feather, and what it is about snakes that really unnerves Sir David. 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

David Attenborough's Life Stories

The Complete Collection

John Scotney

Twenty-four sensational docu-dramas based on real-life historical murder cases, presented by Nick Ross 
 
In these four series, Nick Ross introduces two dozen true tales of murder from days gone by - complete with gory details. As he recounts infamous crimes from the 1900s to the 1960s, he transports us to a time when police cars had bells, and the men from the Yard wore Trilby hats. 
 
Back then, the new science of forensics was developing fast, and an expert witness could use medical evidence to identify a murderer - and convince the jury to send them to the gallows. But with a celebrated advocate like Norman Birkett representing them, the accused still had a chance - even if their prospects looked slim. 
 
Included here are three of Birkett's most famous appearances for the defence: the dramatic trial of Dr Buck Ruxton, accused of murdering and dismembering his wife and maid; the 'body in the trunk' murder, which saw Tony Mancini facing the death penalty; and the case of Edward Chaplin, accused of shooting his mistress's husband. 
 
We also hear cases where forensic evidence was key, many of them involving renowned pathologists Keith Simpson and Bernard Spilsbury. A bloodstained handkerchief, a bloody thumbprint, a yellow string bag, a distinctive army knife and a body infested with maggots all provide crucial information, and prove instrumental in trapping killers who would otherwise have got away scot-free. 
 
From flypapers laced with arsenic to wives found dead in the bath, a corpse in a burned-out car and the mysterious death of the King of Siam, these shocking stories of unnatural death will fascinate all aficionados of true crime. 
 
Narrated by Nick Ross 
 
Series 1: Written by John Scotney, produced by Produced by Mark Savage and Tim Suter 
Series 2: Written by Rib Davis and Frederick Bradnum; produced by Fiona McLean, Matt Thompson and Tessa Watt 
Series 3: Written by Rib Davis; produced by Fiona McLean and Hilary McLennan 
Series 4: Written by Rib Davis; produced by Fiona McLean and Matt Thompson 
 
Episode guide: 
 
Series 1: 
1: The Surgeon's Knife 
2: Cabin 126 
3: The Major, the Scone and the Dandelions 
4: The Body in the Trunk 
5: Sheer Plod 
6: The New Year Nightmare 
 
Series 2: 
7: The Wheels of Justice 
8: Bullets and Ballistics 
9: The Perfect Murder 
10: The Bloodstained Handkerchief 
11: Murder on the Farm 
12: The Bloody Thumbprint 
 
Series 3: 
13: The Fingerless Strangler 
14: The Body in the Chalkpit 
15: Hitchike to Murder 
16: The Wigwam Murders 
17: Death of the Lord of Life 
18: The Use of Maggots 
 
Series 4: 
19: Of Fly Papers &amp; Death 
20: Admissable Evidence 
21: Somebody's Having a Bonfire 
22: Of Bullets &amp; Life Preservers 
23: A Matter of Timing 
24: To the Hangman 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Murder Most Foul: The Complete Series 1-4

True tales of murder presented by Nick Ross

Rex Rienits

A vintage eight-part radio serial based on the true story of the infamous outlaw and his Kelly gang 
 
Ned Kelly’s name has gone down in history as Australia’s greatest folk hero. A legendary bushranger and bank robber, he is lauded by many as a Robin Hood-style rebel – and reviled by others as a cold-blooded killer. This thrilling 1963 serial by The Flying Doctor writer Rex Rienits charts his chequered career, from his first hold-up to his dramatic last stand. 
 
1870, and on a lonely road near the township of Greta, 16-year-old Ned Kelly is learning the bandit’s trade from a newly released convict. But he soon comes to the attention of the police, and after three stints behind bars, he knows they won’t let him go straight. A fateful decision to go into the horse-stealing business sees him forced to go on the run, and soon, the Kelly gang are at all-out war with the law. 
 
When he kills three policemen, Ned signs four death warrants. Proclaimed outlaws, the gang know they could be shot down like mad dogs at any time – and in June 1880, following a string of daring bank heists, it becomes clear that their days are numbered. Encased in bulletproof armour made from ploughshares, they hunker down in the remote settlement of Glenrowan to await the final, ferocious showdown… Lewis Fiander stars as Ned Kelly, with Alister Smart, Lew Luton and Mark Kelly as the other gang members and Wilfrid Thomas as the narrator. 
 
With thanks to Keith Wickham of the Radio Circle for supplying the audio recordings. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Rex Rienits 
Produced by Vernon Harris 
 
Featuring: Wilfrid Thomas, Lewis Fiander, Harry Towb, John Tate, Duncan McIntyre, David Nettheim, Shirley Cameron, John Cazabon, Ed Devereaux, Robert Hewitt, Brian Dent, Morton Smith, Don Mason, John Parker, Sean Scully, Mark Kelly, David Eadie, Kevin Manser, Trader Faulkner, Jack Cunningham, Alister Smart, Lew Luton, Humphrey Morton, Michael Collins, Margaret Roberts, Maurice Travers, Patricia Dallas, Philip Leaver, Russell Napier, Rosemary Miller, David Futcher, Daphne Rogers, Brian Anderson, J. Mark Roberts, Moya O’Sullivan, Ronald Chudley, Bruce Wightwan, Laurel Mather, Ella Milne 
 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 18 Jun-6 Aug 1963 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Last Outlaw: A Full-Cast BBC Radio Historical Drama

The story of the notorious Ned Kelly

Joanna Bourke

Eyewitness accounts from the BBC Archive are at the heart of this unique history of the latter half of the 20th Century, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith. 
 
The events of 1950-1999 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the Festival of Britain in 1951 through to dawn of a new millennium at the end of 1999. 
 
Inbetween are the eras of the Angry Young Men, the Teddy Boys and the Punk Rockers; the arrival of rock and roll and the permissive society; the advent of industrial strife in England and sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland; the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher; the miners’ strike, three day week and Winter of Discontent; the Queen’s Silver Jubilee; the IRA’s campaign of bombing and the eventual Good Friday agreement; the marriage of Prince Charles, the death of Princess Diana, the Poll Tax riots, and the British participation in wars in the Middle East and Bosnia. 
 
Events both joyful and sorrowful are illustrated with fascinating and rarely heard archive recordings, with a linking narration by the historia Joanne Bourke. Thought-provoking and moving, these are the voices of the past speaking to the present day.

Eyewitness: 1950-1999

Voices from the BBC Archives

Matt Majendie

Bloodsport is the story of the systematic doping of the 2012 and 2014 Olympics by the Russian state, its subsequent unmasking and the ongoing fall out amidst the power play of nation against nation. 
 
Journalist Matt Majendie brings listeners the whole story from 2012 to 2020, told by the people who were there. You'll hear from Paula Radcliffe and Sebastian Coe on London 2012, the expert German investigator who cracked the case wide open, and the athletes who doped. The programme also gained access to the elite Swiss lab racing to finish testing London 2012 samples, and spoke to the man who masterminded doping control at the London games. 
 
You'll also hear first-hand testimony from people who blew the whistle inside Russia (at the risk of their own lives) and from seasoned journalists who watched open mouthed as the whole thing unfolded. And the programme delves into the ongoing arms race between doper and tester, to see how the science of testing plays out in the analysis of blood and urine samples. 
 
The story isn't over. 2020 trials in French Courts found IAAF President Lamine Diack and several other defendants guilty of corruption, and there are ongoing allegations of flagrant Russian cheating (even as the Russian government denies all the evidence). Against all this is the soon to be pressing question of whether Russia will participate in the now postponed Tokyo Olympics. The credibility of the Olympic movement might hang on the decision. The clock is ticking. 
 
Produced by James Cook

Bloodsport

The inside story of doping at the 2012 and 2014 Olympics

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