Gangster

BBC Radio 5 Live
  • 4.8 (46)
  • TRUE CRIME
  • WEEKLY SERIES

New Series: Gangster Presents: Sex, Drugs & Cell Block Parties. A secret and dangerous affair. An out-of-control addiction. It ends with the smashing of the UK's biggest prison smuggling gang, but it all begins with a love story... 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.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    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

    12 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    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

    33 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    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

    35 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    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

    33 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    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

    35 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    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

    34 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    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

    40 min
See All Season 11 (7)

Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
46 Ratings

About

New Series: Gangster Presents: Sex, Drugs & Cell Block Parties. A secret and dangerous affair. An out-of-control addiction. It ends with the smashing of the UK's biggest prison smuggling gang, but it all begins with a love story... 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.

Information

  • Creator
    BBC Radio 5 Live
  • Episodes
    77
  • Seasons
    11
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2025
  • Show Website
    Gangster

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