Strange But True Crime
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.
Episodes
Live at Crossed Wires Festival 2026
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, li
The Burn Plot
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 i
The Care Home Conspiracy
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
What Happened to Ghost?
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?For tickets to our live show in Sheffield go to crossedwires.live/fringe.Get in touch with us behaveyourself@bbc.co.ukPresente
Spoonful of Shards
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.For tickets to our live show in Sheffield go to crossedwires.live/fringeGet in touch with us behaveyoursel
The Great Twitter Hack
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.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: Joe Tidy
Producer: Luke de Costa
Researcher: Bethan Davies
Social Media: Fede Marilotti
Exec
An announcement
Rima has some exciting news!
For tickets, go to crossedwires.live/fringe.Get in touch with the show at behaveyourself@bbc.co.ukPresenter: 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.
Sorry, We Missed You
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Matt Murray.
Produced by Luke de Costa.
Researcher: Bethan Davies.
Social Media: Fede Marilotti.
Online Producer: Rachael Smith.
E
The Stream Thief
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Produced by Luke de Costa.
Researcher: Bethan Davies.
Social Media: Fede Marilotti.
Online Producer: Rachael Smith.
Executive Pr
It's All Gravy, Baby
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed
Reporter: Meleri Williams
Produced by Luke de Costa
Researcher: Bethan Davies
Social Media: Fede Marilotti
Online Producer: Lee Macaul
No Crime for Old Men
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed
Reporter: Jeremy Ball
Produc
Baby Barter
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed
Reporter: Richard Tisdale
Produced by Luke de Costa
Researcher: Bethan Davies
Social Media
My Criminal Romance
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.
Execut
Bonus: Pick up a penguin
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 Alist
Poo Dunnit?
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.ukPresenter: 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
The Cannabis Martyr
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.
Soc
Crossbow at the Castle
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 Smit
Body of Proof
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 Prod
The Bitcoin Bandit
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.
Execut
Act of Tree-son
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Jane Downs.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Researcher: Bethan Davies.
Social Media: Fede Marilotti.
Online P
Death Pledge
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 E
Danger, High Voltage
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Jonny Humphries.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Producer: Lee Macaulay.
Exe
The Sausage Factory Hitman
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.ukPresenter: 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
Strangers on the Beach
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.ukPresenter: 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.
The Swiss Art Heist
£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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Rep
Unmasking a Fugitive
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Steven Godden.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Prod
The Great British Takeoff
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Meleri Williams.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Pro
Missing in Action
'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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Colette Hume.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Producer: Rachael Smith.
Executive producer: Luke Eldridge.
Commissioning Editor: Gareth H
The Treasure Traitors
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Nicola Goodwin.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Producer: Rachael Smith.
Executive producer: Luke Eldridge.
Commissioning Editor: Gareth Hyd
Dr Nope
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Peter Harris.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Producer: Rachael Smith.
Executive Producer: Luke Eldridge.
Commissioning Editors: Garet
The Man with the Golden Hun
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.ukPresenter: Rima Ahmed.
Reporter: Martin Jones.
Written and produced by Luke de Costa.
Online Producer: Rachael
Trailer
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 Edit
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