Lucky Boy

Lucky Boy

Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He spent most afternoons in her bedroom and thought he was the luckiest boy in the world. But when she walked out of his life everything started to unravel. Lucky Boy is a four-part series in which Chloe Hadjimatheou asks who gets to be a perpetrator and a victim. Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to come out about the damage it’s caused him. But his story is not straight forward. Thank you for listening to Lucky Boy. You can listen to more of our investigations on Tortoise Investigates. Follow the feed to be the first to hear when we release brand-new investigations. To get all our investigations early and ad-free, subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Reported and produced by: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Gary Marshall Sound design: Hannah Varrall Podcast artwork: Lola Williams Executive producer: Basia Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

August 1, 2025 2 mins

Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He spent most afternoons in her bedroom and thought he was the luckiest boy in the world. But when she walked out of his life everything started to unravel. 


Lucky Boy is a four-part series in which Chloe Hadjimatheou asks who gets to be a perpetrator an...

Mark as Played

Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to come out about the damage it’s caused him. But his story is not straight forward. 


Thank you for listening to Lucky Boy.


You can listen to more of our investigations on Tortoise Investigates.

Follow the feed to be the first to hear when we release...

Mark as Played
August 1, 2025 44 mins

Gareth is convinced that his memories are true and that there are plenty of witnesses who can corroborate his story, so why will no one help him? 


Thank you for listening to Lucky Boy.


You can listen to more of our investigations on Tortoise Investigates.

Follow the feed to be the first to hear when we release brand-new investigations.

To get all our investigations early and ad-free, subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcas...

Mark as Played
August 1, 2025 41 mins

Chloe hears from a former teacher who seems to support what Gareth believes - that there was a cover-up. And it’s still going on today.


Thank you for listening to Lucky Boy.


You can listen to more of our investigations on Tortoise Investigates.

Follow the feed to be the first to hear when we release brand-new investigations.

To get all our investigations early and ad-free, subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

If ...

Mark as Played
August 1, 2025 52 mins

Sally Anne Bowen doesn’t want to speak about her relationship with Gareth, but it turns out there is a way of hearing her version of events. And after months of searching, Chloe gets a message from another ‘lucky boy’. 


Thank you for listening to Lucky Boy.


You can listen to more of our investigations on Tortoise Investigates.

Follow the feed to be the first to hear when we release brand-new investigations.

To get all our ...

Mark as Played
August 4, 2025 3 mins

When Lucky Boy launched back in March, there was an important detail that didn't make it into the podcast, for legal reasons: the team had discovered that they weren’t the only people who had been investigating the allegations made by Gareth - the Metropolitan Police had been too. 


Now, reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou has an update.


Thank you for listening to Lucky Boy.


You can listen to more of our i...

Mark as Played

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