Gangster

BBC Radio 5 Live

A new series of Gangster tells the story of Viv Graham, a man who ran a protection empire which spanned Newcastle and beyond.Viv Graham, a 17-stone man mountain, a man feared and revered in equal measure, came to dominate Tyneside’s nightlife through brutal and uncompromising violence.His murder, in an organised hit on New Year’s Eve 1993, sparked recriminations and repercussions which echo to this day. It remains one of the country’s most notorious unsolved murders.

  • 39 minutes 32 seconds
    6. Starcrossed Lovers

    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 Maddock

    A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

    19 December 2025, 6:00 am
  • 33 minutes 56 seconds
    5. “Love You”

    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 Live

    Details of information and support with addiction is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

    12 December 2025, 6:00 am
  • 35 minutes 3 seconds
    4. Illegal Highs

    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 Live

    Details of information and support with addiction is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

    5 December 2025, 6:00 am
  • 33 minutes 9 seconds
    3. Just This Once

    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 Kent

    A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

    28 November 2025, 6:00 am
  • 34 minutes 48 seconds
    2. The Boy From Bradford

    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 Kent

    A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

    Details of information and support with addiction is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

    21 November 2025, 6:00 am
  • 33 minutes 13 seconds
    1. When Amy Met Joe

    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 Kent

    A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

    14 November 2025, 6:00 am
  • 12 minutes 1 second
    Gangster Presents... Sex, Drugs & Cell Block Parties

    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

    10 November 2025, 12:00 pm
  • 29 minutes 19 seconds
    The Black Widow: 6. Til Death Do Us Part

    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

    12 September 2025, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 54 seconds
    The Black Widow: 5. Spilt Milk

    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

    5 September 2025, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 28 seconds
    The Black Widow: 4. The Two Minute Rule

    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

    29 August 2025, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 23 seconds
    The Black Widow: 3. Cops and Robbers

    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

    22 August 2025, 5:00 am
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