Explore every episode of the podcast Strange But True Crime

Nathan Newby steps outside St James’s Hospital in Leeds for a vape and finds himself face-to-face with a man carrying a bomb. Nobody else knows what’s happening, and Nathan realises that keeping him talking may be the only way to stop an attack.

The man is Mohamed Farouk, an NHS worker who has built a pressure cooker bomb and planned an attack on the hospital where he worked. As patients and staff remain inside, Nathan spends more than two hours trying to move Farouk away from the building, understand what he intends to do and persuade him to change his mind.

BBC Yorkshire’s Home Affairs correspondent Emma Glasby tells the story of the St James’s Hospital plot, the investigation into Farouk and the extraordinary actions that later earned Nathan Newby the George Medal.

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Emma Glasbey Producer: Luke de Costa Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Researcher: Bethan Davies Video Producer: Fede Marilotti Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Rima Ahmed explores bizarre true crime, including audacious heists, drug smuggling, elaborate frauds, scams, catfishing, identity theft and cybercrime, alongside BBC reporters who have covered the cases first-hand.

Liverpool councilor Christine Banks starts receiving anonymous poison pen letters at her home. They’re abusive, deeply personal and relentless. At one point, as many as five arrive in a day. And Christine has a strong suspicion about who is sending them.

She soon discovers she isn’t the only target. Other people connected to Liverpool politics have received remarkably similar letters, and one name keeps coming up: former councillor and prominent community campaigner Gerard Woodhouse.

BBC journalist Marc Waddington joins Rima to trace the poison pen campaign, the clues that pointed towards its author and the fingerprint that finally gave police their breakthrough. How did a respected local figure become the man behind a campaign of anonymous abuse?

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Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Marc Waddington Producer: Luke de Costa Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Researcher: Bethan Davies Video Producer: Fede Marilotti Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Essex drugs boss, Ben Ransome, is a wanted man. Before police can arrest him he flees the UK and disappears.

Ransome continues to sell drugs from his new hideout in Thailand whilst reinventing himself as a prizefighter.

Police chip away at his network of trusted drugs couriers in the UK. But who will be first to deliver a knockout blow?

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Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Lewis Adams Producer: Luke de Costa Executive producer: Luke Eldridge Researcher: Bethan Davies Video Producer: Fede Marilotti Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

A mum says severe anxiety has made everyday life a struggle and left her needing financial support. But an anonymous tip-off raises questions about whether the life she has described matches the one she is actually living.

Investigators start digging into Catherine Wieland’s benefit claim, using bank records, social media and covert surveillance to compare what she’s said with what they can prove. The deeper they look, the harder those two versions of her life are to reconcile.

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Lucy Hunt Producer: Luke de Costa Executive producer: Luke Eldridge Researcher: Bethan Davies Video Producer: Fede Marilotti Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

A Warwickshire couple leave their home and beloved pets in the care of a trusted house sitter while they go on holiday. But when they return, a few strange details suggest something is very wrong. Their home looks tidy, yet small clues begin to raise unsettling questions about what happened while they were away. As they look closer, suspicions grow around the woman they trusted with their keys.

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Shannen Headley Producer: Luke de Costa Executive producer: Luke Eldridge Researcher: Bethan Davies Video Producer: Fede Marilotti Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Model and former reality TV star Matt Peacock discovers his photos are being used to create fake dating profiles and catfish women.

What begins as an unsettling case of online identity theft soon becomes far more serious. Women come forward with stories of intimate messages, explicit photos and relationships with a man they believed was Matt.

Fake profiles appear as quickly as Matt can have them removed. So, he teams up with private investigator Rebecca Jane to uncover the person behind the deception. Their investigation leads to a dramatic sting operation and a confrontation with the man who has been impersonating Matt.

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Katherine Bainbridge Producer: Luke de Costa Executive producer: Luke Eldridge Researcher: Bethan Davies Video Producer: Fede Marilotti Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Tanya Nasir’s stellar CV lands her a prestigious job on the neonatal unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital. But is she really who she says she is?

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Colette Hume Producer: Luke de Costa Executive producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes & Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Recorded at the 2026 Crossed Wires Festival, Rima Ahmed takes you inside a BBC investigation to catch a catfish.

Ray McDonald is a prolific scammer with a cruel knack for love bombing women and stealing thousands of pounds from them. He’s been jailed numerous times but as soon as he’s out, he’s back on dating apps and looking for his next victim to con.

How do you stop a professional love bomber, like Ray McDonald?

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Guest: Philippa Goymer Producer: Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Peter Brooks is a high-flying plastic surgeon and burns specialist. But he has major beef with his fellow plastic surgeon, Graeme Perks. To make matters worse, he’s facing an employment tribunal and Perks is a key witness against him.

Brooks’s career, his life, everything is on the line and he sees no way out. So he plots to take out his rival by burning their house to the ground - whilst they’re inside!

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Guest: Liam Barnes Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Rita thinks Amberley Care Home will be a temporary place to rest and recover before returning home. But the 83-year-old is being targeted by the very people trusted to look after her.

When care home manager Jamiel Slaney-Summers discovers Rita has no will, she sees an opportunity. With the help of care home owners Graham and Lyn Walker, a fake will is drawn up - one that will help them seize Rita’s house, savings, and estate. But they haven’t counted on Verna, Rita’s fiercely loyal cousin. She knows something is wrong and she is determined to put a stop to it.

For tickets to our live show in Sheffield go to crossedwires.live/fringe

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Guest: Josh Sandiford Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Sophie Zaherali’s XL Bully, named Ghost, escapes her home during a medical emergency. He is is tracked down by armed police and destroyed in the street. Sophie believes the police didn’t need to destroy her beloved family pet and takes her fight online. But who is to blame?

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Guest: Chloe Aslett Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

A vexed farmer wages war on a major supermarket, threatening innocent families with a deadly game of Russian roulette. He hides shrapnel in jars of baby food and places the jars back on supermarket shelves. Detectives race against time to intercept the contaminated food and unmask the culprit.

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Guest: Luke de Costa Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Dive into a world of bizarre true crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers. Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these true crime cases.

Young hackers infiltrate the social media accounts of the world’s biggest celebrities and spark internet-wide chaos. This is the story of the 2020 Twitter hack.

Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Guest: Joe Tidy Producer: Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies

Rima has some exciting news! For tickets, go to crossedwires.live/fringe.

Get in touch with the show at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

A criminal gang in Cardiff set up an elaborate scheme to import cannabis from the United States.

When their insider is arrested, the gang leader has to scramble to keep his illegal operation alive.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Matt Murray. Produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Stephen Woodward builds a million-pound business selling access to illegally streamed TV channels.

He’s digitally savvy, however, it’s not long before he starts leaving the police clues about his cyber crimes.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Michelle Mills and her ex-Royal Marine lover, Geraint Berry, want to continue their romantic affair. The lovers plot how to remove Michelle’s husband, Christopher, from the picture and cover their tracks. Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Meleri Williams Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Online Producer: Lee Macaulay Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Gary Hardy, Ronald Knowles and Steven Houston are approaching pension age, but they refuse to settle into their retirement years. Instead, they combine their skills and hatch a deadly plan to make and supply deadly weapons to British gangs. But after a life of crime, is this one job too many for the old boys?

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Jeremy Ball Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Online Producer: Lee Macaulay Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Herbert Smith, the ‘Handcuff King’, and his girlfriend, Lottie Roberts, are circus performers who secretly buy and sell babies for profit in Edwardian Britain. But they’ll need more than a disappearing act to fight the families who come after them.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Richard Tisdale Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Online Producer: Lee Macaulay Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

HMP Kirkham Prison governor Kerri Pegg and drug dealing gang boss Anthony Saunderson strike up a dangerous relationship.

If they're found out, it will have life changing consequences for Pegg.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Mat Trewern. Produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Former zoo worker Bradley Tomes hatches a plan to steal and sell Humboldt penguins Patrick and Penny from South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Criminal mastermind, James ‘Jimmy’ Sheen, steals a world famous golden toilet worth £4.8m from Blenheim Palace. But who’s going to take it off his hands?

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed Reporter: Clodagh Stenson Produced by Luke de Costa Researcher: Bethan Davies Social Media: Fede Marilotti Online Producer: Lee Macaulay Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin

Gary Youds senses that cannabis drug legalisation is imminent and opens up a cannabis café in Liverpool. The law change doesn’t happen, so police shut it down.

Gary goes to jail, however, he continues to fight for the right to keep his cannabis café open.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Mattha Busby. Produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Jaswant Chail wants to bring down ‘the empire’ and his first act is to harm a British Royal.

Inspired by Star Wars and encouraged by his ‘girlfriend’, he puts his deadly plan into action.

Get in touch at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Maria Zaccaro. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

This programme contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

NHS surgeon Neil Hopper was hailed as a hero when he returned to work after having both his legs amputated, however, he hides a dark secret.

His secret? The damage to his legs was self-inflicted.

Get in touch via email: behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Tamsin Melville. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Details of information and support with body image are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

James Parker, from Blackpool in Lancashire stumbles upon a glitch on a cryptocurrency website that generates ‘free’ money.

He makes himself a millionaire, at a cost.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Jane Downs. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Farmer Walter Renwick finds himself in the eye of a social media storm after the famous Sycamore Gap tree is felled.

The tree had stood along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland until September 2023.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Jane Downs. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Mark Christopher lured followers into his 'anti-establishment cult’ by promising to save them money. The movement quickly took a sinister turn.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Lewis Adams. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Researcher: Bethan Davies. Social Media: Fede Marilotti. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

A group of workmen dig up roads and pavements to re-connect derelict buildings to the UK power grid.

Local residents soon suspect that all is not as it seems and what‘s discovered is greater than they could have imagined.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Jonny Humphries. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Lee Macaulay. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

A man living in the quiet town of Fakenham, Norfolk is warned a hitman has been hired to kill him.

He discovers a story of obsession and revenge.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Robby West. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

For information and support for issues covered in this episode, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline.

People living in Newport, Pembrokeshire, start spying on some interesting, wealthy but slightly suspicious visitors. Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Matt Murray. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

£3m of Ming Dynasty treasures vanish from Geneva’s Museum of Far Eastern Art.

After what was a peculiar heist, suspicion falls on the Ahearne brothers who are being watched by police in the UK and Switzerland.

An undercover cop meeting is set in an attempt to recover the stolen artefacts, before they're gone for good.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Thomas Mackintosh. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Arthur Knight claimed he was an Irish orphan during a police interview in a hospital in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Police were tipped off that the patient could actually be American fugitive Nicholas Rossi, who was wanted in Utah to face rape charges.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Steven Godden. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

To watch on BBC iPlayer - search for: Big Cases ‘Unmasking a Fugitive’.

The McDonagh’s from Port Talbot in South Wales go out for a steak dinner in Swansea and leave without paying. The restaurant posts to social media to try and track the family down, only to find that this wasn't their first 'dine-and-dash' meal. Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Meleri Williams. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

'Army medic' Tanya Nasir’s CV lands her a prestigious job on the neonatal unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, Wales, but all is not as it seems. Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Colette Hume. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editor: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Two Welsh metal detectorists make an astonishing discovery in a farmer’s field and try to secretly sell the treasure before the authorities track them down. Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Nicola Goodwin. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editor: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Patrick O’Hara lives a comfortable life with his partner in Newcastle. But a routine visit from a suspicious community nurse is about to put him on life support. Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Peter Harris. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Carolyn Woods starts fresh in the quaint town of Tetbury, Gloucestershire. She falls for the charming Mark Conway, an ‘MI6 spy’.

He says he’s not normal. After moving in to his apartment in Bath she finds out what that really means.

Wanna get in touch? Email us at behaveyourself@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Reporter: Martin Jones. Written and produced by Luke de Costa. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge. Commissioning Editors: Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.

Dive into a world of bizarre crimes with brazen criminals that will leave you scratching your head for answers.

Rima Ahmed explores audacious heists, secret drugs bunkers and stolen identities with reporters who have lived and breathed these criminal cases.

Presenter: Rima Ahmed. Written by Luke de Costa. Produced by Luke de Costa and Luke Eldridge. Online Producer: Rachael Smith. Commissioning Editors : Gareth Hydes and Alistair Miskin.