British Villains

British Villains

In 1963, a multimillion-dollar heist forever changed England’s history. The thieves called the job the train, the papers called it the Great Train Robbery, and the police called it the crime of the century. Since then, there have been books, articles, movies, plays, even tours of the site where the robbery took place. But how the villains pulled it off—now that’s a story that’s never been told. At least not the way host William Green tells it, because he has access to perhaps the last surviving man who may or may not have been involved: His dad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

June 30, 2022 1 min

In the U.S. you have gangsters. In England, we have “villains.” And in the summer of 1963, over in South London, there were whispers that something big was in the works … something that would leave a defining mark on not only British crime history, but on the history of the country itself.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
London is a bombed out city and poor neighborhoods have been left flatten and desolate, but we meet some young street hooligans determined that the limitations of war will not get in the way of their future success. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
July 13, 2022 25 mins
During the war, everyone was on the hustle, a little bit of this and a little of that was the preferred plan for surviving the streets of South London, but as he 1950s beckoned and the city recovered from the war, not everyone was ready to leave their hustle of crime behind.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
July 20, 2022 32 mins

While mixing with the who’s who of London’s West End, Bruce Reynolds begins to assemble the crew who will one day rob a train. But first, there’s the little matter of an airport, an armored car, two modified Jaguars, a large box of cash, and some watches.  




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
July 27, 2022 27 mins

Turns out that stopping a speeding train might not be as easy as Bruce Reynolds first thought. Bruce reluctantly agrees to recruit some small-time villains who happened to have some experience robbing from trains - introducing the South Coast Raiders, and one pair of cheap, black, leather gloves. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
August 3, 2022 21 mins

To pull off the crime of the century, you need one hell of a plan. And to pull off one hell of a plan, you need a crew of villains who can follow it to a tee. 



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
August 10, 2022 27 mins

They’ve got an airtight plan, the tools, the uniforms, the muscle, they’ve even brought their own train driver. Now, it’s time to see if they have what it really takes to do what no other British crew has done before - steal the Queen’s train and its contents. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Ho...

Mark as Played
August 17, 2022 33 mins

They did it. They pulled off The Crime of the Century now they just have to get away with it. Again and again and again and every day for the rest of their lives.  

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
August 24, 2022 30 mins

Scotland Yard dispatches its finest detective, Tommy Butler, and his infamous Flying Squad to hunt down the crew. This career-defining opportunity would mean that Butler would stop at nothing to bring the crew to justice - no matter whether they were guilty or not. Arrest first, prove later. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Mark as Played
August 31, 2022 27 mins

In between all the prison breaks, botched plastic surgeries, international kidnappings — not to mention all that missing money — life on the run was not a life worth living, not to mention it came with a hefty price tag and everyone was running out of cash.  

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Host...

Mark as Played
September 7, 2022 42 mins

The Great Train Robbery with its harsh sentences and daring prison breaks changed Britain in unforeseen ways. As the story unfolds over decades many of the robbers became respectable household names, while others stepped back into a life of crime and ended up back inside, or worse. Does crime pay? We unpack this question from the viewpoint of the children of villains. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastn...

Mark as Played
September 14, 2022 35 mins

After the train, the life of a villain became a lot more treacherous. In this exclusive interview with actor and ex villain Tamer Hassan, we get his take on what happened over the next few decades that led to this increase in violence. He'll share some deeply personal stories about his former street hustling and time spent in prison. Warning — you’re not going to be able to unhear this. 



Mark as Played
September 21, 2022 31 mins

In part two of our interview with actor and ex villain Tamer Hassan, we hear how Tamer got his start as a London villain and then worked his way up the criminal ranks — then he’ll talk about how difficult it was to walk away from it all and start over. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Hosted on ...

Mark as Played
September 28, 2022 44 mins

In the London crime circles of the 50s, 60s and 70s no one was more influential than Freddie Foreman. As a freelance enforcer, he worked with all of them — from gentleman robbers like Bruce Reynolds  to the dark violence of The Krays. We spent an afternoon in his guv’nor’s flat reminiscing about the old days, and about how true villainy doesn’t completely disappear with age. 

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartp...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.