Sport's Strangest Crimes

BBC Radio 5 Live

When sport collides with true crime.

  • 26 minutes 12 seconds
    4. Downfall

    After receiving his 12-month ban, Tom Williams faces pressure from the club and his team-mates as he considers blowing the whistle on the Bloodgate plot.

    We hear about secret meetings between Tom and the club’s board and horse-trading over what level of financial incentive might persuade him not to reveal the truth.

    It leads to a showdown at a board member’s house in Cobham, a decisive intervention from Tom’s girlfriend Alex and a shock resignation.

    Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton

    5 April 2025, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 2 seconds
    3. The Cover-ups

    Gripping testimony from the Harlequins dressing-room as Tom Williams persuades club doctor Wendy Chapman to help cover up his act of cheating.

    But when new footage emerges of Tom appearing to chew on a fake blood capsule, European Rugby prosecutors decide to press charges against the player, his coach and the club.

    Quins agree a cover story - but will it hold water when matters come to a head at a Bloodgate hearing in central London?

    Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton

    29 March 2025, 6:00 am
  • 24 minutes 39 seconds
    2. It’s Not Real Blood

    The story of one rugby's most notorious matches, told by those who were there.

    A European Cup quarter-final between Harlequins and Leinster was always going to be big - but nobody knew how big.

    Players from both sides including Ugo Monye and Brian O’Driscoll, commentators, coaches and referee Nigel Owens recall how events unfolded before, during and after the moment that Tom Williams staggered from the field with fake blood dripping from his mouth.

    The Leinster officials see through the plot straight away - but can they expose the wrongdoing?

    Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton

    22 March 2025, 6:00 am
  • 27 minutes 50 seconds
    1. Dandies to Dark Arts

    Ross Kemp visits the Clapham joke shop at the origin of the Bloodgate cheating scandal that brought rugby union to its knees.

    We learn how the advent of professionalism in the 1990s brought a new win-at-all-costs mentality to the sport.

    And Harlequins players Tom Williams, Ugo Monye and Nick Easter explain how new coach Dean Richards transformed the club from entertaining also-rans into ruthless winners who began to push the rules to their limits and beyond.

    Could a loophole in the laws around blood injuries boost their chances of European silverware?

    Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton

    15 March 2025, 6:00 am
  • 1 minute 23 seconds
    Introducing…Bloodgate

    Rugby union was rocked to its core by an episode that involved deception, cover-ups, recriminations and life-changing consequences for those involved. 

    Hosted by actor and award-winning documentary maker Ross Kemp, with reporting by BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones, this series uncovers new details and untold stories about the infamous ‘Bloodgate’ scandal.

    Kemp takes listeners on an intense journey into how a simple blood capsule triggered a series of events that shook the sport.

    At the heart of this story is Tom Williams, the young Harlequins player who found himself caught up in a scheme to cheat during a critical match. He opens up about his role in the cover-ups and the decision to blow the whistle on the whole operation, revealing the conspiracies, secret deals, and the aftermath. 

    The podcast not only features interviews with rugby icons like Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Ugo Monye, Nick Easter and referee Nigel Owens, who were on the pitch on that fateful day, but also esteemed journalists and investigators, who reveal how they exposed the plot and covered the messy consequences.

    10 March 2025, 11:30 am
  • 36 minutes 55 seconds
    8: Sting in the Tale

    On the other side of the world, a bugged goalpost brings tales of the match-fixing king. Having completed his confession, Moses faces up to Troy Deeney's judgement of his incredible story.

    Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.

    Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.

    A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live.

    24 September 2024, 11:01 pm
  • 25 minutes 23 seconds
    7: Dragged Back in

    Voices from the past bring new opportunities. But is Moses in or is he out? A fatal miscalculation turns Moses’ life upside down and results in a devastating showdown.

    Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.

    Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.

    A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live

    17 September 2024, 11:01 pm
  • 29 minutes 38 seconds
    6. Braveheart

    What do you do when you come up against the footballer you cannot corrupt? With the fans on his back and the players in open revolt, can Moses pull off the fix of his life?

    Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.

    Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.

    A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5 Live.

    10 September 2024, 11:01 pm
  • 23 minutes 40 seconds
    5. Feeling the Heat

    Did you hear the one about the Conference South game that got more bets than Barcelona? With the authorities looking like they’re closing in, can Moses get out first, or will the pull of match-fixing prove too strong?

    Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.

    Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor

    A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5 Live.

    3 September 2024, 11:01 pm
  • 23 minutes 54 seconds
    4. Taking over the League

    More players want in. The money keeps growing. Will Moses’ good times ever end? But as the scale of his match-fixing grows, word travels fast - up the leagues and around the country - and Moses gets a call from a voice from the past.

    Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.

    Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.

    A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live.

    27 August 2024, 11:01 pm
  • 20 minutes 49 seconds
    3. The Middleman

    £100k is sloshing around the footwell, as Moses’ car hurtles through the city at night. As Moses takes his first steps into a dark and dangerous new career, an opportunity presents itself for instant promotion. But the deeper he’s getting into organised crime, the higher the stakes become.

    Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.

    Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor

    A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live.

    20 August 2024, 11:01 pm
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