Summary
Livvy Haydock travels from the streets of post-war Birmingham to the sun-kissed beaches of Tenerife - following the rise and fall of one of Britain’s richest, and most wanted, serious organised criminals.
It’s a story of violence, mystery, murder and police corruption - of how an illiterate lad from a broken home went on to become as rich as the Queen - leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
Palmer owned a Learjet, a yacht, helicopters, a collection of fast cars and a chateau in France. A wheeler-dealer jeweller who started by selling paraffin from the back of a lorry and was catapulted to the top of the criminal world after the Brink’s-Mat heist in 1983 - the largest armed robbery in British history. He smelted millions of pounds worth of the gold, earning himself the moniker ‘Goldfinger.’ He then went on to mastermind a multi-million-pound timeshare fraud on Tenerife, scamming thousands of innocent victims who lost their life savings.
In a series of exclusive interviews, Livvy hears from his associates and his victims - many of whom have never spoken before. And she meets the detectives who were tasked with bringing him to justice.
This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.
Presenter: Livvy Haydock
Series producer: Mick Tucker
Producer: Patrick Kiteley
Technical production and sound design: Nicky Edwards and Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Production Manager: Sarah Payton
Commissioning editors: Richard Maddock and Dylan Haskins
Editor and executive producer: Carl Johnston
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to tell you why I love podcasting. |
| 0:04.5 | I'm Sasha Johansson, I'm an Assistant Commissioner for the BBC and I work on making podcasts. |
| 0:11.1 | My real passion is discovering unbelievable unheard stories and working with the biggest |
| 0:16.9 | stars who can really bring those stories to life. |
| 0:20.1 | I love the whole process of making podcasts from the spark of an idea to hearing the final |
| 0:26.0 | edit. |
| 0:27.0 | There's nothing like it. |
| 0:28.0 | What makes BBC podcast special is that we're working for you, so whatever we commission |
| 0:32.6 | has to reflect the things that you care about and love, wherever you are in the UK. |
| 0:37.0 | So if you like this BBC podcast, there's so much more to discover. |
| 0:40.6 | Have a listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:42.5 | A quick warning. |
| 0:44.1 | This podcast contains strong language and some descriptions of violence. |
| 0:48.5 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:53.5 | How was it living next to Mr Palmer's house? |
| 0:56.5 | I mean, we had a bomb go off in their garage, but it was quite frightening. |
| 1:03.5 | This is the explosive story of John Goldfinger Palmer. |
| 1:10.5 | A wheeled dealer turned multi-million pound time shaft board stuff. |
| 1:16.5 | John Palmer was without any shadow of a doubt, a serious and organised criminal. |
| 1:22.0 | He was up there, closely aligned with major league armed brothers. |
| 1:26.4 | He was a super criminal. |
| 1:28.4 | They're battling on Matthews. |
... |
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