The Black Widow: 4. The Two Minute Rule

Gangster

BBC

True Crime, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A partial fingerprint at the scene of a violent robbery puts the flying squad on Linda's trail. While they watch, she continues to live the high life funding by a spate of terrifying armed raids.

A team of officers recall the day they caught Linda red handed at yet another Post Office heist, and when Linda finds herself at the wrong end of the barrel of a gun, she knows her time is up.

But her time inside takes an unexpected turn, as she finds a life for herself inside Holloway.

Credits Presenter: Livvy Haydock Series Producer: Kate West Producers: Patrick Kiteley and Matthew Bone Journalism Assistants: Tim Fernley and Ellie Dover Drama Writer: Paul Jones Sound Design: Richard Hannaford Assistant Commissioner: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioning Editor: Richard Maddock Editors and Executive Producers: Carl Johnston and Clare Fordham

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Rory Stewart and I grew up wanting to be a hero and I'm still fascinated by the ideas of heroism.
0:09.0	In my new series, I'm taking in the long sweep of history from Achilles to Zelensky and asking, what is a hero?
0:16.0	Simply doing your job, being a decent human being.
0:20.0	A true hero is someone who just kind of shines by
0:23.1	their own light and that light is to be recognised by others. The long history of heroism with me,
0:28.6	Rory Stewart. Listen on BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music, radio podcasts. You're about listen to Gangster, the story of the Black Widow.
0:41.7	Episodes will be released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.
0:45.8	But if you're in the UK, you can listen to the full series right now, first on BBC Sounds.
0:53.4	A quick warning.
0:54.9	This episode contains strong language and some descriptions of violence.
1:04.4	I was quite scared when it actually come to it.
1:08.6	I just was momentarily thinking, what am I doing? Am I crazy?
1:13.6	One went round to go into the back and the other one stood at the front and he sort of was going, nobody
1:22.6	move, nobody would get hurt. We just want the money. We don't want no heroes.
1:28.6	And everybody sort of just standing there.
1:31.7	And nobody sort of did anything at all.
1:36.1	And that was it.
1:37.1	And we was literally in, out and gone in two minutes.
1:41.6	Ah, yes, the two-minute rule.
1:44.8	As described by Linda Calvie, as she recalls her very first heist, a post office in Essex.
1:53.3	Ask any seasoned armed robber about the two-minute rule, and they'll tell you that's the time you've got before the old bill turn up and I was sort of just
2:06.1	supposed to be the silent one that's just watching everybody what kind of gun were you holding
	...

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