Cold Cases: Case 7: Spring-heeled Jack
Uncanny
BBC
4.7 • 3.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Danny Robins and the team unpack a terrifying mystery that has remained unsolved for almost 200 years - Spring-heeled Jack.
The demonic character stalked the streets of Victorian England at night, reportedly slashing his victims with sharp claws, breathing blue-white fire, and evading the police by making impossible leaps over rooftops.
But was he a real person, a supernatural entity, or the product of mass hysteria?
Presented by Danny Robins Experts: Evelyn Hollow and Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe Story sections by Tom Neenan Research by Nancy Bottomley and John West Filming and editing by Robb Leech Editing and sound design by Charlie Brandon-King Theme music by Katherine Priddy Theme co-produced by Jennifer Ann Keller Incidental music by Evelyn Sykes Commissioning executive: Paula McDonnell Commissioning editor: Rhian Roberts Produced by Simon Barnard and Victoria Lloyd
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | The 8th of August, 1963, a gang of thieves hold up a British Royal Mail train on its way from Glasgow to London. |
| 0:16.0 | More than two million pounds was stolen, and Ronnie Biggs was the most famous face of the great train robbery. |
| 0:22.8 | Daniel Mays reveals the true story of Ronnie Biggs. |
| 0:26.4 | A train robbery, a prison escape and 36 years on the run. |
| 0:30.6 | Gangster presents the story of Ronnie Biggs. |
| 0:33.7 | Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.0 | Hello, thank you for all of your comments, questions and theories on all of our cold cases so far. |
| 0:44.2 | We're going to be updating on all the investigations later in the series. |
| 0:47.7 | But right now, we've got a deeply dark mystery from Victorian times. |
| 0:51.8 | A mysterious assailant who brings fear to the streets of London. |
| 0:55.5 | He moves with terrifying, seemingly supernatural speed and escapes the police by leaping over |
| 1:01.9 | rooftops, which earns him a chilling nickname, Spring Hill Jack. |
| 1:06.3 | He leaves behind a trail of destruction. |
| 1:08.6 | Londoners are afraid to open their door after dark. But is he a real |
| 1:12.9 | person or something paranormal? It is time to get investigating. I'm Danny Robbins and this |
| 1:19.0 | is uncanny cold cases. |
| 1:21.2 | What has past comes again in the cold where we lay. |
| 1:33.3 | Secret still remain. |
| 1:50.0 | Welcome back today. We are unboxing a mystery that has remained unsolved for almost 200 years. |
| 2:02.0 | It's an incredible story, |
| 2:07.9 | like something for a nightmare brought to life, but backed up by multiple witnesses who went on record in the media of the time. Dozens of people claimed to have seen Spring Healed Jack, |
... |
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