Includes Real Crime Investigation
Executioner Pierrepoint reveals for the first time ever on TV the exact number of people Albert executed and talks of a previously unknown visit to the grave of Ruth Ellis who he hanged in 1955 for the murder of her boyfriend. Just what was going through his mind after so many years in this macabre profession?
For many years, East End criminal brothers John and Ronnie Knight lived a life of crime while maintaining a facade of respectability. Ronnie ran several clubs in Soho, and was married at one time to actress Barbara Windsor, while his younger brother was a successful businessman who masterminded the pair’s biggest scam, culminating in the 6 million pounds Security Express robbery in 1983. The brothers talk frankly about their criminal careers. The show features archive news footage and photography, plus interviews with flying-squad investigators and the Knights’ family and friends, to create a rounded portrait.
Louis Mountbatten was not only Prince Phillip’s unclehe was an Admiral of the Fleet, a statesman, Viceroy of the British Indian Empire, Governor-General of the Independent India and a First Sea Lord. But in the summer of 1979, on a sailing holiday in the Republic of Ireland, he became the victim of an IRA assassination. This documentary explores the events surrounding the bomb explosion, which took the life of not just Mountbatten, but his 14 year old grandson Nicholas Knatchbull, a 15 year old cabin boy and 83 year old Baroness Brabourne.
Murder in Romea re-enactment of the one of the most significant murder trials in history. Directed by Dave Stewart, and based on a genuine trial record, it’s set in Rome in 81BC. Sextus Roscius is accused of murdering his father, and found guilty he’ll face an agonising death. However, the stakes are just as high for Cicero, the lawyer defending him. If he wins the case, he could be killed. Inside the biggest and best courtroom in history. Roman trials were the ultimate in ancient entertainment. This is a gripping dramatisation of the best of them.
CSI based documentary serieswhich uncovered the tragic history of Britain’s young murderers, including the horrific cases of Jamie Bulger & Mary Bell. On 25 May 1968, the day before her 11th birthday, Mary Bell strangled four-year-old Martin Brown in a derelict house. On 31 July 1968, the pair took part in the death, again by strangling, of three-year-old Brian Howe, on wasteland in the same Scotswood area. As the girls were so young and their testimonies contradicted each other, the precise details of what happened has never been entirely clear.
Each turning point in history has behind it a story and a set of principal characters whose dilemmas and conflicts form its dramatic coreand whose unique personalities influenced the outcome of events. History’s Turning Points provides a fascinating and intriguing new perspective on the significant moments that have changed the world. The Rise of the Mob – In 1920 the American government cracks down on drinking and bans the sale and consumption of alcohol. But instead of making America a better place, prohibition funds the creation of an even greater evil – the Mafia. Chicago becomes a city torn by rival gangs led by the notorious Al Capone and his arch enemy Bugs Moran. On St. Valentine’s Day Al Capone’s men massacre members of Moran’s gang in a blood bath at a disused garage.
Trace the rise and fall of one of the most famous Mafia familiesand get up close with crime legends Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano and John Gotti. For much of the century, they were the most powerful force in American organized crime. But internal strife and the tireless work of law enforcement have brought this once dominant organization to its knees. The Gambino crime family ruled New York’s streets for years. Today, there are only 200 members left of a force that used to number a thousand. This documentary journeys into the dark side of American history for this eye opening look at the Gambinos.
After thousands of years of debate and question this series explores many of the greatest tales of Scripture. Filmed on location throughout the Holy Land and utilizing modern scientific techniques and newly found archaeological discoveries Mysteries of the Bible reveals surprising facts and theories behind the legendary figures and fabled stories of the Bible. Episode Cain and Abel A Murder Mystery – Their story is one of the most chilling in the Bible: a tale of cold blooded murder between the world’s first brothers. But while Genesis records the identity of Abel’s killerthe world’s first death remains, in essence, a mystery. What compelled Cain to kill his only brother? And what of the strange paradoxes in the scripture: Cain’s fear of strangers in an unpopulated world and the sudden appearance of a future wife?
Historian Hallie Rubenhold reveals the story behind the 18th century’s most infamous book Harris’s Listsa catalogue describing the talents and attributes of London’s prostitutes. Created by a pimp, a prostitute and a poet, the Lists became an instant bestseller – even though they contained lurid and often disturbing descriptions of the lives of the common courtesans. Rubenhold uses the details found within the Lists to produce a vivid depiction of the steamy underside of Georgian life.
Organized Crime – A World History travels the globe to get an insider’s view of some of the most activedangerous and diabolical criminal syndicates in existence. Episode 3 Russia – The Russian Mob, Red Mafia, Redfellas or Bratva (brotherhood), is a name given to a broad group of organized criminals of various ethnicity which appeared in the former Soviet Union territories after its disintegration in 1991. Most Russians celebrated the end of communism and the end of it’s planned economy, but the shift to free enterprise had an unintended side effect. Vast new opportunities for the Russian Mafia. The Russians may be new kids in the game but they are just as skilled as their Sicilian cousins and have a history that goes back to Imperial Russia and The Thieves World.
Fred Dineage reflects on the time he spent with the Krays in the 80sghostwriting their autobiographies, and meets some of the gangsters contemporaries, including Mad Frankie Fraser. In this extraordinary documentary Fredfor the first time, reveals the truth about his time with the Twins and their famously brutal lives. The book was written over four years in the mid 80s and when it was published nearly ruined Fred’s career. In this documentary Fred revisits some of the known Kray associates who he interviewed for his book in 25 years ago. And reveals the influence that their war torn East End upbringing had on them and their constant battle against authority, the desire for fame and the association with the famous in their heyday as well as their long lives in prison.
A new season of four programmesToffs and Crims , explores the affinity between the upper echelons of society and the criminal underclass. Episode 1 The Princess and the Gangster – Focuses on Princess Margaret’s association with one of London’s most notorious and violent criminals, John Bindon. A chance meeting in Mustique started a chain of events that included rumours of compromising photographs, secret meetings at Kensington Palace and a High Court murder trial.
This is a modern detective story and it’s the story of a clue the world once knew but then forgot about or covered up. That clue is the key to the most notorious mystery in the history of crime. For more than 30 years it lay neglected a dusty sheet of paper buried in an old book shop. But now it’s the start of a trail that leads straight to the forgotten prime suspect in the white chapel murders of 1888. The victorian police had a vital cluebut it has been left until now for a suffolk police constable to discover. The story of Jack the ripper, has always been the stuff of melodrama, shrouded in fog and folklore, the ripper story is infested with bogus theories and suspects. Cutting through the fiction, this documentary attempts to focus on the forensic facts.
A new season of four programmesToffs and Crims , explores the affinity between the upper echelons of society and the criminal underclass. Episode 2 The Gangster and the Pervert Peer – Toffs and Crims explores the affinity between the upper echelons of society and the criminal underclass, looks at how political influence was at the heart of the notorious Kray twins’ success. They rose from small time racketeers to become the most powerful criminal organisation that London had ever seen, and The Gangster and the Pervert Peer unpicks how they built their empire. For a while fear, violence and extortion played a major part, another secret to their success was a relationship with a prominent Tory peer.
Exclusive rough cut of first in depth documentary on WikiLeaks and the people behind it! Reporters Jesper Huor and Bosse Lindquistof Swedish televitions, SVT, have traveled to key countries where WikiLeaks operates, interviewing top members, such as Assange, new Spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson, as well as people like Daniel Domscheit-Berg who now is starting his own version, Openleaks.org, and other top members of the whistleblowing organization, some of who have since left the embattled internet site. The documentary chronicles the history of WikiLeaks, starting with its early leaks of Scientology documents and ending with its release of American diplomatic cables in 2010. Where is the secretive organization heading? Stronger than ever, or broken by the US? Who is Assange, champion of freedom, spy or rapist? What are his objectives? What are the consequences for the Internet?
Wayward women tells the tale of some of history’s most fascinating females and combines strong story telling from celebrities and academics with the unique atmosphere and ambience of a burlesque venue. This series focuses on women from Yorkshire and the North East of England. It is a great short introduction to women you may not have heard of before. It is not an in depth programbut it is intended to spark your interest so that you will explore more on your own. Historians and psychologists add fact to the rumours. Each story is accompanied by artistic re-enactments, archive stills and burlesque artists.Commentors include Germaine Greer, Carol McGiffin, Scott Henshall, Michelle Heaton, Jayne Middlemiss and Simon Donald. Episode 6 Killers & Corruptors features Mary Ann Cotton (Durham’s Passionate Poisoner), Mary Wilson (Widow of Windy Nook), Louie Calvert (Leed’s Footwear Fetishist), Isabella Crozier (Mad at Heart), and Emily Swann (Husband Killer).
