Bloomin' Legends with Johnny Vaughan & Gavin Woods

Global Player Originals
Global Player Originals

Join mates Johnny Vaughan and Gavin Woods as they uncover the jaw-dropping stories of history’s boldest icons and unsung heroes. From outrageous escapades to ingenious breakthroughs, every episode is packed with legendary tales you didn’t learn in school (but wish you had). With sharp wit and a shared sense of curiosity, Johnny and Gav turn history into a rollercoaster of laughs and surprises. Whether it’s daring escapes, bizarre inventions, or the quirky habits of history’s game-changers, you’ll be hooked on their unique take on the past. Perfect for history buffs, comedy lovers, and anyone who enjoys a cracking good story, Bloomin’ Legends is your new favourite podcast for unforgettable adventures through time. Get in touch with @BloominLegends on tik tok & Instagram. For advertising opportunities on this podcast, email: GlobalStudiosSales@global.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global Production, produced by Ben Fairclough.

  1. 5m ago

    The Extra Legendary Bit: A Beach Bar Brawl and a Christmas Plumber

    A night out turns into a beachside evacuation. Thirty Royal Marines charge into the dark wearing boots, body armour and ballistic helmets, armed with whatever they could find in the galley, including a two-handled boiling pot. The Extra Legendary Bit is the bonus episode where Johnny Vaughan and Gavin “The Woodman” Woods leave the history books behind and dive into the unhinged, moving and brilliant stories sent in by you, the listeners. What You’ll Hear in This Episode: The Royal Navy Run Ashore That Got Out of Hand – Gareth remembers his late dad Sean: a teenage Navy recruit, a police-car-light heist in Pensacola, and the Caribbean night a beach bar bust-up required a full Marine rescue mission.Can a D******d Still Be a Legend? – Mary asks the big question: can one heroic act outweigh years of being difficult? Johnny answers with a surprisingly profound passage from Tolstoy about why human beings are like rivers.Uncle Dave, the Christmas Plumber – Jason nominates the man who has spent 40 years keeping elderly customers warm, fixing boilers for free and quietly being a bloomin legend. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

  2. 4d ago

    Lachhiman Gurung: The Gurkha Who Took On 200 Men Alone

    He was 4 foot 11, weighed eight stone, came from a mountain village with no electricity, no roads, and no running water… and then held off 200 Japanese soldiers in a Burmese jungle trench after a grenade blew his hand off. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin “The Woodman” Woods take on take on Lachhiman Gurung, the Gurkha rifleman who became one of the most decorated soldiers of the Second World War. Four days after VE Day, while Britain was celebrating in the streets, Gurung was still fighting in the Burmese jungle. Half blind, badly wounded, and down to one usable hand, he spent four hours holding off wave after wave of Japanese attackers with a bolt-action rifle, a kukri, and pure bloody-minded courage. What You’ll Hear in This Episode: The trench stand - the astonishing night Gurung threw back grenades, lost his right hand, and still refused to give an inch“Come and fight a Gurkha” – the battle cry he reportedly shouted into the dark as 200 enemy troops closed inThe quiet hero – how one of the bravest men of the war went home, farmed in silence, and barely spoke about what he’d done...bloomin legend. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

    Lachhiman Gurung: The Gurkha Who Took On 200 Men Alone

  3. Aug 2

    The Extra Legendary Bit: A Train Thief and a Secret Millionaire

    His grandfather was told to move a train up the line. The driver had wandered off, so he thought, how hard can it be? Twenty miles later, he found out. The Extra Legendary Bit is the bonus episode where Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods leave the history books behind and dive into the gloriously unhinged stories sent in by you, the listeners. What You'll Hear in This Episode: The Man Who Accidentally Stole a Train – A 1960s signal technician gets an empty locomotive rolling with zero training and absolutely no idea how to stop it. Land Rovers give chase. His response when they finally catch up is magnificent. The Tightest Man Who Ever Bought a House – Uncle Ray never spent a penny in his life. Same flat for 40 years. Fiver in every birthday card. Then the solicitor's letter arrived. The Ford Focus of Justice – Someone parks across Dave's driveway. Dave parks directly behind them and puts the football on. Three hours later, he delivers one line that ends the whole situation. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

  4. Jul 29

    Casanova: The World’s Greatest Lover Was a Prison-Breaking Spy

    He was a lawyer by 17, a priest who once fainted in the pulpit from a hangover, a professional violinist, a government spy, a prison escape artist, a con man, a duellist, and the man whose name became shorthand for the world’s greatest seducer. He blagged his way through 18th-century Europe, convinced a Venetian senator he had mystical powers, escaped from an “inescapable” prison through the roof, invented the French state lottery, and somehow still found time to get exiled from half the continent. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin “The Woodman” Woods take on Giacomo Casanova, the Venetian adventurer whose real life was far wilder than his reputation. What You’ll Hear in This Episode: The man behind the name - how Casanova became synonymous with seduction, even though his real life was much madder than just his love affairsThe prison break – Casanova’s legendary escape from Venice’s supposedly inescapable Leads prison by climbing out through the roof and strolling out dressed as a noblemanThe great European blag – how he convinced a senator he had magical powers, worked as a spy, and charmed his way into courts and palaces across the continentCasanova’s seduction formula – Johnny breaks down the four-act game plan that made him history’s most famous romantic operator 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

    Casanova: The World’s Greatest Lover Was a Prison-Breaking Spy

  5. Jul 26

    The Extra Legendary Bit: Drunken Sailors, Top Trumps & Plum Schnapps

    He jumped into freezing Portsmouth water after a few sherbets, swam to HMS Warrior, climbed to the very top of the mast, and tied his trousers up there like a denim flag. He got caught in his pants by security dogs and thawed out under a heater in the guard room. Somehow, that still wasn't the maddest part of the story. The Extra Legendary Bit is the bonus episode where Johnny Vaughan and Gavin “The Woodman” Woods leave the history books behind and dive into the gloriously unhinged stories sent in by you, the listeners. What You’ll Hear in This Episode: The Man Who Boarded HMS Warrior In His Underpants – Andy “Wing Commander” Wing takes a drunken strength bet far too seriously, scales a historic warship in the dead of night, and leaves his jeans fluttering from the mast for months. Johnny Fish vs a Flaming Rope – Inspired by his mate’s heroics, one listener casually mentions attempts at parachute-less jumps and plans to abseil down a rope he’s set on fire. The Kosovo Chunder Challenge – A hungover RAF medic, a puking Finnish soldier, a helicopter ride over Kosovo, and one very attractive army officer combine to create a truly heroic act of British self-control. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough and Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

  6. Jul 22

    Neil Armstrong: What He Actually Said on the Moon

    He learned to fly before he could drive. At 20, a cable strung across a Korean hillside ripped three feet off his wing at 350 miles an hour, and he nursed the plane to the sea before ejecting with half a second to spare. A decade later, he stopped a spacecraft spinning at one revolution per second using nothing but his nerve. Then NASA gave him a $678 pay rise and told him to go and land on the Moon. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods take on Neil Armstrong, the quiet kid from Ohio who became a naval aviator, a test pilot in a job with a one-in-four survival rate, the first civilian astronaut, and the first human being to set foot on another world. All while being described as the calmest man alive. What You'll Hear in This Episode: Flying before driving - How a kid from small-town Ohio got his pilot's license at 16, before he was even allowed behind a steering wheel The Gemini 8 death spin – How Armstrong saved himself and David Scott from a spacecraft rotating once every second, and why NASA knew he was their man 40 seconds of fuel - The terrifying final moments of the Apollo 11 landing, when Armstrong took manual control to dodge a boulder field 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough and Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

    Neil Armstrong: What He Actually Said on the Moon

  7. Jul 19

    The Extra Legendary Bit: Himalayan Cowboys & South African in Disguise

    He rode a horse through the Himalayas in a dinner jacket, got dragged 30 yards along a mountain path, stood up, brushed himself off, and told everyone he was fine. He wasn't fine. He was heavily medicated and privately terrified. The Extra Legendary Bit is the bonus episode where Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods leave the history books behind and dive into the gloriously unhinged stories sent in by you, the listeners. What You'll Hear in This Episode: 🐴 James Bond in the Himalayas - He turned up for a Tibetan horse trek in a dinner jacket. The horsemen gave him the wildest stallion and stuck him at the front. It went exactly as badly as you'd expect. 🥃 The Welsh Smuggler Who Forgot His Own English – A WWI veteran smuggles booze across the Irish Sea in WWII. When caught, he pretends he can't speak English and uses the interpreter's translation time to think up better lies. 🍺 Beer In, Ear Out, Australian Forever – A South African pours beer in his ear as a party trick, gets an infection, and accidentally lets the doctor think he's Australian. He has to keep up the accent at every appointment from then on. 📩 Send it to bloominlegends@global.com — we're celebrating dads all month. 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download from your app store or visit www.globalplayer.com This is a Global Original Podcast, produced by Ben Fairclough and Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

  8. Jul 15

    Butch Cassidy: He Blew Up a Bridge & Vanished Forever

    His first crime was stealing a pair of jeans and some pie. He left an IOU, got taken to court, and the jury let him off. Within a decade, he'd blown up a railroad bridge, robbed trains and banks across six states, and racked up the equivalent of $13.5 million, all while being described as charming, clever, and the least likely member of his gang to pull the trigger. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods tackle Butch Cassidy, the Mormon butcher's boy from Utah who assembled the Wild Bunch, pulled off the longest string of successful bank and train robberies in US history, fled to Argentina with the Sundance Kid, and may or may not have died in a Bolivian shootout. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough and Cassie Merritt New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

    Butch Cassidy: He Blew Up a Bridge & Vanished Forever
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About

Join mates Johnny Vaughan and Gavin Woods as they uncover the jaw-dropping stories of history’s boldest icons and unsung heroes. From outrageous escapades to ingenious breakthroughs, every episode is packed with legendary tales you didn’t learn in school (but wish you had). With sharp wit and a shared sense of curiosity, Johnny and Gav turn history into a rollercoaster of laughs and surprises. Whether it’s daring escapes, bizarre inventions, or the quirky habits of history’s game-changers, you’ll be hooked on their unique take on the past. Perfect for history buffs, comedy lovers, and anyone who enjoys a cracking good story, Bloomin’ Legends is your new favourite podcast for unforgettable adventures through time. Get in touch with @BloominLegends on tik tok & Instagram. For advertising opportunities on this podcast, email: GlobalStudiosSales@global.com Bloomin' Legends is a Global Production, produced by Ben Fairclough.

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