Gangster

Paul Massey: 1. Made in Salford 19.04.2021 30min

From the tough streets of Salford, Paul Massey begins his rise in the criminal underworld. While in jail, he hatches a plan to bring the gangs together and take over the city.This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Paul Grant Producer: Oliver Newlan Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey Technical Production and Sound Design: Craig Boardman Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Paul Massey: 2. Code of Silence 19.04.2021 29min

Manchester is at the centre of a cultural revolution. The Hacienda. Acid house. Ecstasy. Paul Massey makes a moves on the drug scene and enforces his own style of justice on the streets.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Paul Grant Producer: Oliver Newlan Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Paul Massey: 3. Steak Night 19.04.2021 28min

Paul Massey is on a wild night out. He's being filmed by a TV crew, but the evening will change his life forever. A rival threatens to muscle in on his territory, but Massey is having none of it. And he spots a new money making venture.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Paul Grant Producer: Oliver Newlan Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Paul Massey: 4. The Serpent 19.04.2021 24min

Massey sets his sights on the top political job in Salford, but he's facing pressure on all sides. The police are out to get their man and he finds himself caught up in a violent gangland feud.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Paul Grant Producer: Oliver Newlan Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

Paul Massey: 5. The Assassination 19.04.2021 24min

An assassin lays in wait. The aftermath takes the gang war to new levels of violence, leaving a young innocent victim seriously hurt and hardened criminals shocked at the callous brutality.This podcast contains strong language and descriptions of violence.Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Paul Grant Producer: Oliver Newlan Assistant Editor: Ciaran Tracey Technical Production and sound design: Craig Boardman Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston

The Black Widow: 1. Spinning the Web 08.08.2025 30min

Linda Welford was raised in London's East End in the 1960s; a tight and tough community with a reputation for a thriving criminal underworld, ruled with an iron fist by gangsters like the Kray twins.One of nine children, Linda lived a sheltered life with her family in Stepney until she met armed robber Mickey Calvey. This was the so-called golden age of armed robbery and Mickey was making a fortune sticking up banks and Post Offices with a sawn-off shotgun.When Mickey and Linda got married, she was allowed a front seat to Mickey's 'work,' as his gang begin planning robberies around their kitchen table. Not content with just making the teas, Linda starts to make suggestions and finds she has a taste for a life of crime.Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

The Black Widow: 2. A Widow's Vow 15.08.2025 28min

Linda, Mickey and the kids are living the high life when he agrees to take on a job with a new gang - a raid on a cash collection at a London supermarket just before Christmas.As Linda waits at home, armed police are lying in wait outside the supermarket. When the police rush towards them, the rest of Mickey's team flee, leaving him alone on the crowded street clutching his weapon. He is shot dead.When Linda hears of her husband's death something inside her snaps and at his graveside she makes a vow to provide for their two young kids by carrying on his "work" as an armed robber. But before she can get started, another man comes on the scene - someone altogether more deadly and dangerous.Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

The Black Widow: 3. Cops and Robbers 22.08.2025 30min

Linda discovers Ronnie's dark side as he lets slip a shocking secret about the day Mickey died.She can't leave Ronnie, because he's too dangerous. But luckily for Linda, the police solve that problem for her - catching Ronnie red handed trying to pull off a million pound heist.With Ronnie out of the way, Linda begins her mission to become an armed robber in an underworld ruled by men.Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

The Black Widow: 4. The Two Minute Rule 29.08.2025 28min

A partial fingerprint at the scene of a violent robbery puts the flying squad on Linda's trail. While they watch, she continues to live the high life funding by a spate of terrifying armed raids.A team of officers recall the day they caught Linda red handed at yet another Post Office heist, and when Linda finds herself at the wrong end of the barrel of a gun, she knows her time is up.But her time inside takes an unexpected turn, as she finds a life for herself inside Holloway.Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

The Black Widow: 5. Spilt Milk 05.09.2025 30min

After being released from prison, Linda's living the quiet life catching up on lost time with her two kids.Trouble soon finds her again as Ronnie Cook's sentence also comes to an end. When Linda brings Ronnie home for a visit, the couple are confronted by a hitman and Linda's small kitchen is turned into a brutal murder scene.But as police begin to question Linda, they discover that the 'The Black Widow' could have her boyfriend's blood on her hands in more ways than one.Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

The Black Widow: 6. Til Death Do Us Part 12.09.2025 29min

Linda spends the next 18 years behind bars with some of the UK's most notorious female killers. She shares stories of a life inside, a shock prison wedding and returning back to reality and a life on the straight and narrow.With her criminal past behind her, Linda reflects on the effect of her crimes both on the victims, and on her two children left to grow up without their parents.Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

Trailer 10.11.2025 12min

The story of the biggest prison smuggling plot ever busted in the UK - and the love story at the heart of it. Journalist Amber Haque untangles what happens when mental health nurse Amy Hatfield meets convicted criminal Joe Whittingham. Her investigation leads into a world of blackmail and manipulation, where you never quite know who to trust or who's watching.Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Ivor Manley and Andy Fell Story and music consultant: Emma Weatherill Development by: Rob Byrne, Rhiannon Nevada and Emma Shaw Production management: Gaelan Davis-Connolly and Debbie Wadell Executive producer: Joe Kent Commissioning producer: Sam Proffitt Commissioning executive: Louise Kattenhorn and Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning editor: Richard Maddock A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

1. When Amy Met Joe 14.11.2025 33min

The last thing mental health nurse Amy expected to encounter when she took a job at Lindholme prison was someone offering romance. Then she met Joe - cheeky, brimming with charisma and a career criminal. But surely she knows better than to listen to his relentless attempts to charm her….Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Ivor Manley Executive producer: Joe KentA BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

2. The Boy From Bradford 21.11.2025 34min

Amy is risking it all for a relationship with career criminal Joe - but who is the boy from Bradford she’s falling in love with.Host Amber Haque delves deep into his past and jumps down the rabbit hole of #prisontok as she attempts to make sense of the illicit affair and who’s really in control.Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Andy Fell Executive producer: Joe KentA BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 LiveDetails of information and support with addiction is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

3. Just This Once 28.11.2025 33min

Smuggle one package of drugs into prison for her boyfriend Joe and he’ll be able to pay off his debts. That’s what Amy needs to do and then she can concentrate on planning their future together, or so she thinks. It’s not long till he’ll be released and then they can have the proper relationship she dreams of.Joe insists the smuggling is just a one-off, but will Amy do what he's asking?Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Ivor Manley Executive producer: Joe KentA BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

4. Illegal Highs 05.12.2025 35min

Highly-addictive, relatively cheap and easy to smuggle, Spice is running rampage through Britain’s prisons.And Spice is the reason Amy finds Joe zombie-like in his cell, eyes rolled back in his head.The reason, he’s in debt with other prisoners.The reason he’s asking her to smuggle something in for him. Again.Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Andy Fell Executive producer: Joe Kent A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 LiveDetails of information and support with addiction is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

5. “Love You” 12.12.2025 33min

Amy knows this is the final run - just one more package of drugs to smuggle in, one more drop-off before Joe walks free and maybe they can leave crime behind.But this time, someone is watching.Will the couple stay loyal to each other, as a wider conspiracy begins to unravel?Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Ivor Manley Executive producer: Joe Kent A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 LiveDetails of information and support with addiction is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

6. Starcrossed Lovers 19.12.2025 39min

Amy and Joe had been planning a future together, outside — but now they’re stuck behind bars, facing the consequences of their actions.In this final episode, host Amber Haque unpicks how their story ends - and finds there’s still love, but also loss.And for Amy, the question that lingers - was any of it ever real?Credits Host: Amber Haque Producer: Becca Bryers Sound design: Ivor Manley Story and music consultant: Emma Weatherill Development by: Rob Byrne, Rhiannon Nevada and Emma Shaw Production management: Gaelan Davis-Connolly and Debbie Wadell Executive producer: Joe Kent A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live Commissioning producer: Sam Proffitt Commissioning executive: Louise Kattenhorn and Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning editor: Richard MaddockA BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

Trailer 04.03.2026 3min

From the back alleys of Hong Kong to the neon-lit Chinatowns of Britain, Georgie Pai built a nationwide criminal empire through his Triad gang Wo Shing Wo. With a network of protection rackets, gambling dens and an army of loyal followers, he controlled his turf with threats, violence and machetes. Gangster steps inside the world of the Triads. A brotherhood bound by secret handshakes and elaborate rituals, where loyalty is sworn in blood. For decades, Georgie Pai’s name alone caused absolute terror amongst Britain’s Chinese community. He was deported back to Hong Kong several times, but with police unable to pin him to a single crime, it was left to a team of journalists to bring him down. Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Hayley Mortimer Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Producers: Patrick Kiteley & Matt Toulson Fixer in Hong Kong: Michelle Chan Music: Andy Simms and Reliable Source Music Journalism Assistants: Hattie Valentine & Ellie Dover Commissioning Producer: Sam Proffitt  Commissioning Executive: Lorraine Okuefuna and Louise Kattenhorn Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editor and Executive Producer: Clare Fordham

2. The Hong Kong Connection 13.03.2026 29min

From the neon-lit Chinatowns of Britain to the back streets of Hong Kong, we learn why the Triads were feared by so many. The secret societies were formed hundreds of years ago as resistance movements but morphed into organised crime. Triad membership has long been outlawed in Hong Kong, but for decades they were a powerful and insidious force. Their influence stretched across continents, with the groups involved in drugs, extortion, prostitution, armed robbery, kidnappings and loan sharking.We visit Georgie Pai’s birthplace, a rural village close to the border of mainland China. Through those who knew him and the history of the region, we uncover how he was recruited into Wo Shing Wo and track his rise to the position of Red Pole – an enforcer with an army of disciples. But all that power can come at a cost.Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Hayley Mortimer Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Producers: Patrick Kiteley & Matt Toulson Fixer in Hong Kong: Michelle Chan Music: Andy Simms and Reliable Source Music Journalism Assistants: Hattie Valentine & Ellie Dover Commissioning Producer: Sam Proffitt  Commissioning Executive: Lorraine Okuefuna and Louise KattenhornArchive: Drunken Master II: Golden Harvest, Paragon Films, Hong Kong Stuntmen Association. Directed by Chia-Liang Liu and Jackie Chan.