Extraordinary Lives
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
S2 Ep17: Former Gangster Who Worked For The Krays Opens Up On His Life
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we sat down with Chris Lambrianou, former gangster, who worked with the Kray twins and was involved in the murder of notorious East En...
S2 Ep16: London "Celebrity Gangster" Dave Courtney Tells His Life Story
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Courtney has many titles - he has been a doorman in London's finest nightclubs, he became known as "celebrity gangster" after carrying out securi...
S2 Ep15: Ex Guantanamo Prisoner: Torture And Abuse Inside The World's Most Notorious Jail
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ruhal Ahmed was detained without trial by the US government in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He told us about the abuse and torture he experience...
S2 Ep14: Drug Mule: How I Survived Venezuela's Deadliest Prison
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Natalie Welsh was caught at Venezuelan airport in 2001 smuggling £300,000 worth of cocaine out of the country - together with her four-year-old daugh...
S2 Ep13: Art Forger: I Can Fake Any Famous Painting
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Art Forger Max Brandrett has spent most of his life forging famous paintings. He shared stories about his childhood, explained how he got into forgery...
S2 Ep12: Porn Star On The Secrets And Struggles Of The Adult Industry
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Danny D, the UK's leading male porn star, told us about finding his way into the adult industry, his first shoots, living with more than average sized...
S2 Ep11: Cult Survivor: Born & Raised In An International Cult
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Natacha Tormey told us about her life growing up inside 'The Children of God' cult (now known under the name ‘The Family International’). She expl...
S2 Ep10: $10,000 A Day Dominatrix On The Most Popular Kinks
31 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
$10,000 a day dominatrix Eva Oh talks us through her life as a high-end dominatrix. Eva Oh describes her journey - from working in brothels as a ma...
S2 Ep9: I Was Innocent But Spent 22 Years On Death Row
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Yarris survived 22 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. He'll take us through the circumstances that led to him being sentenced, his ...
S2 Ep8: Grooming Gang Survivor: I Was Sexually Assaulted By 70 Men
03 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: this episode contains content you may find distressing. Kate Elysia is a survivor of gang grooming. Kate was just 18 and at college in Telfo...
S2 Ep7: London Gangster: Being Shot In The Face And Most Violent Crimes
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former gangster Marvin Herbert talks us through his journey to becoming one of London's most notorious criminals. Marvin describes how he started his...
S2 Ep6: I Was Forced To Marry My Cousin & Suffered Female Genital Mutilation Aged 6
19 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Shamsa Sharawe was born in Somalia, where she was subjected to female genital mutilation aged 6. Scared by this experience, Shamsa was then brought to...
S2 Ep5: Corrupt Royal Guard: Exposing Prince Andrew
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Paul Page is a former royal protection officer, who provided security to members of the Royal Family. He explains what the Royals were like and why Pr...
S2 Ep4: How I Escaped North Korea Twice: Surviving Sex Slavery, Prison & Starvation
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We meet Jihyun Park, an incredibly brave woman who escaped North Korea twice. Jihyun takes us through what life was really like in North Korea, how s...
S2 Ep3: I Drank Turtle Blood & Ate Sharks To Survive: My Life Shipwrecked At Sea
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Douglas Robertson and his family were shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean after their boat was attacked by a school of killer whales. They survived for 3...
S2 Ep2: Undercover Football Hooligan: Inside England's Most Dangerous Club
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former police officer James Bannon sat down this us to share his story of infiltrating a British football hooligan firm. James spent two and a half ...
S2 Ep1: SAS Soldier: What It Takes
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Billy Billingham is a decorated military leader who served in the SAS for over 20 years. The SAS is famous for its gruelling selection process and are...
S2: Series 2 Coming Soon
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Extraordinary Lives returns with more incredible stories from around the world.
S1 Ep15: I Killed A Stranger On A Night Out
28 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, Jacob Dunne killed someone he’d never met before with a single punch. It was a normal night out that quickly got out of hand and cost a ...
S1 Ep14: I Hacked The US Government Aged 16
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mustafa Al-Assam was once part of the notorious Anonymous organisation, hacking into the world’s biggest websites and databases. He then started his...
S1 Ep13: I Get Paid To Break Into Banks
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jenny Radcliffe is a professional con artist - a burglar for hire, who’s paid to break into homes and business and put security measures to the test...
S1 Ep12: How I Escaped Max Security Thai Prison
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David McMillan is a former international drug smuggler who was once on Interpol’s top 10 most wanted list. In his second stint in jail, in Thailand,...
S1 Ep11: I Thought I Was In The Truman Show
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since Jonny Benjamin was a child, something wasn’t quite right. Growing up, he could hear the devil in his head and started thinking he was in The T...
S1 Ep10: Cold War Spy: Life In The Soviet Union
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the Cold War, David Butler was one of a few people allowed to freely roam between East and West Germany. On paper, his role was to facilitate messa...
S1 Ep9: Private Investigator On Madeleine McCann, Jimmy Savile And Uncaught Killers
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jimmy Saville was one of Britain’s best-loved presenters till soon after his death when decades of sexual abuse were revealed. Mark Williams-Thomas ...
S1 Ep8: Paedophile Hunter: Why I Had To Stop
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mike is a paedophile hunter. When we first met Mike in 2020, he would pose as 12-year-old children to try and entrap men online. Mike’s vigilante wo...
S1 Ep7: My Parents Abandoned Me Because Of My Face: My Life With Treacher Collins Syndrome
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Jono Lancaster was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome. It’s a rare condition that means his face looks a little different to others. The condition ...
S1 Ep6: Kidnapped By The Taliban: Working In The Most Dangerous Places On Earth And Surviving Three Months In Captivity
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, Sean Langan was captured by the Taliban whilst making a television documentary. He spent 12 weeks being held hostage in one of the most dange...
S1 Ep5: Former Drug Officer: Working Undercover, Corruption In Police Forces and Why We Need To Legalise All Drugs
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Neil Woods spent fourteen years undercover infiltrating the UK’s biggest drugs gangs. He penetrated dangerous organisations across the country, livi...
S1 Ep4: Streamer With Tourette's: Stalkers, Online Fame and How Gaming Helped Her Deal With Tics
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sweet Anita is one of the UK’s biggest Twitch streamers with 1.9m followers. Anita has Tourette’s syndrome but wasn’t diagnosed until she was 27...
S1 Ep3: Terrorist Turned Spy: How I Went From Al-Qaeda Bomb Maker To British Spy
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we sit down with Aimen Dean - a former terrorist turned British spy. Aimen joined Al-Qaeda in the late 90s but soon had a change of h...
S1 Ep2: Drug Smuggler: Trade Secrets And Time At Europe's Most Dangerous Prison
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is Extraordinary Lives: The Minutes With Podcast. In this episode, we talked to former international drug smuggler, Chet Sandhu. Chet smugg...
S1 Ep1: British Sniper: Breaking The World Record For Longest Kill And Battling PTSD
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Craig Harrison was a highly-trained British Army sniper, who’s best-known for once holding the world record for the longest kill. Craig was used to ...
S1: Extraordinary Lives: The MINUTES WITH Podcast trailer
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Extraordinary Lives is a new podcast from the team behind LADbible’s Minutes With. In this series, we’ll be speaking to remarkable people - who e...