Mon, Nov 7, 2022
Andrew and Phil explore some truly shocking allegations about one of the most celebrated figures of the 20th Century, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and reveal new evidence and insights into what could be one of the greatest scandals in the history of the British royal family. Andrew's book on Mountbatten and his wife Edwina created a sensation when it was published in 2019. Packed with new accounts of the highs and lows of a remarkable life it included the many rumours and allegations that had long circulated about the famous Lord, and critically it also included named witnesses testifying that they had been abused by him. The book - along with Andrew's campaign to gain full access to the papers of the Mountbatten family - propelled the story onto the front pages of the British press for the first time. Much of Andrew's work involves a long-running British abuse scandal, the Kincora Boy's Home affair. Having made a groundbreaking TV investigation of this story in the 1990s, breaking Britain's Official Secret's Act on behalf of the BBC, Phil brings a unique perspective of his own to this dark but fascinating subject.
Mon, Nov 14, 2022
King Charles is on the throne with Camilla by his side, and The Crown has returned to Netflix amid a storm of controversy about dramatising recent history. Phil knows more than most about Diana's life and marriage. Having run a large TV production team that produced an unusually well-sourced biography of the Princess, widely praised for its intelligence and objectivity, he's spent over two decades learning about this subject, and de-constructing the real story of briefing and counter briefing that lies behind much of what we think we know about her and her life. Andrew, who is no slouch when it comes to royal scandals and the dark arts of royal biography, interrogates Phil and puts his theories to the test.
Mon, Nov 21, 2022
In the second part of our royal special, Andrew and Phil and joined by a very special guest: Patrick Jephson. Patrick was Diana's only ever Private Secretary, effectively her Chief of Staff and lead advisor. He has been widely credited with helping shape the most successful years of her public life. His deep contacts to multiple members of the royal family and court make him one of the best-informed royal commentators in the world. And, as we discover, he doesn't think the 'Diana Wars' are anything like over.
Mon, Nov 28, 2022
The revelation that spies working for the Soviet Union, recruited at Cambridge University in the 1930s, had deeply penetrated the British intelligence and diplomatic systems causes shockwaves throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s as more and more either defected or were exposed. The fascinating figure of Guy Burgess was at the heart of the scandal, and his secret flight to Moscow in 1951 stunned the world, shaking confidence in Britain in its Cold War ally, the USA. Andrew wrote a much acclaimed biography of Burgess and this week he talks Phil through his remarkable story, and that of the other key spies. And they discuss whether Burgess was the most important of them all. They're joined by one of Britain's greatest ever writers on intelligence, Nigel West. Nigel met with Anthony Blunt, one of the most important Cambridge spies, and gained access to previously secret Soviet files.
Mon, Dec 5, 2022
Most of us think of the fabled summer of 1940 in terms of spitfires, the London Blitz and Churchill promising to fight on the beaches. But Andrew and Phil take a different view. And they want to bust a few long-cherished myths and reveal some scandals. Here, the hosts explore two scandals that occur BEFORE the Battle of Britain even began, and yet may have had just as great an impact on the course of the second world war. Set amid a fevered few fevered weeks of intrigue, defeatism, treason and fear, this is the story of two momentous but little understood events. Firstly the British attack on the French fleet. Some say this was was an act of brutal necessity, but others regard it as a betrayal, even a war crime. And secondly the fate of the Duke of Windsor, a former British King who is uncomfortably close to Hitler's Germany. Together these linked stories make for a fresh and fascinating re-examination of 'The Finest Hour'.
Mon, Dec 12, 2022
Andrew and Phil are joined by the Times royal correspondent Valentine Low to discuss all things Harry, Meghan, Wills, Kate... and Netflix. Valentine's recent book COURTIERS includes details of what the self-styled 'Sussex Survivors Squad' say they experienced working for the Duke and Duchess. What does he think of their recent allegations about their treatment by the family and the wider British nation? And how much of their problems are due to racial prejudice in Britain's papers, palaces and public life? Andrew is on hand to compare their story to that of a previous generation of royal exiles: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Mon, Dec 19, 2022
Andrew and Phil update some of the highlights of the podcast so far, especially the continuing debate between The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and last week's guest, Valentine Low. Some viewers and listeners who enjoyed the earlier episodes - with their spiky criticisms of royal spin and establishment power - have said that our scandal mongers have been too much swayed by the Palace when it comes to Meghan and Harry. Surely not.... And talking of the establishment, spin and cover ups... the boys then interview writer Dan Smith about his groundbreaking book The Peer and the Gangster, an extraordinary account of a 1960s scandal involving the notorious Krays twins that could and should have rocked the British conservative government of the time AND the opposition Labour party...but was brushed firmly under the carpet. It' s a jaw dropping tale of duplicity and deceit in the highest of places. Finally, with their Christmas stocking out, our two Scandal Mongers look forward to the gifts they're expecting to share with you next year.
Tue, Jan 10, 2023
With special guest Ailsa Anderson, former Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II. Everyone is talking about Prince Harry's new book SPARE and its fierce attacks on his enemies, especially the shadowy figures in the palace who he claims have been spinning and briefing against him and Meghan. So Andrew and Phil decided to speak to one of these mysterious people, and she paints a very different picture of what a royal press officer does than the one coming out of California. So who's telling the truth and who's bending it? And why? And would Andrew ever lend Phil his lip gloss?
Mon, Jan 23, 2023
Andy Webb is the investigative journalist and filmmaker who revealed the truth behind the infamous BBC Panorama interview with Princess Diana, and generated the greatest scandal in the history of the BBC. He tells Andrew and Phil (himself an ex Panorama producer) how he did it, and why... and where this extraordinary story is going next.
Mon, Jan 30, 2023
As LGBTG+ history month begins, Andrew and Phil are joined by Mok O'Keefe, better known as The Gay Aristo, to learn about the life and times of one of the most scandalous men in British history. Perhaps the best well known theatrical celebrity of his time, Wilde dominated the British and Irish literary scene but ended his days almost penniless in a cheap Parisian hotel, abandoned by his family and scorned by many of his famous friends. How much was the the victim of an age which cruelly mistreated and misunderstood gay men and women, and how much was he the author of his own misfortune?
Wed, Feb 8, 2023
It's the favourite era for cosy costume dramas, but the reality of life in Georgian and Regency Britain was more dramatic, colourful and downright scandalous than anything Hollywood could produce. Andrew and Phil discuss the real life events behind one of the greatest scandals of the age - the open, unmarried-with-a-child, relationship between Emma Hamilton and Britain's greatest war hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson. Tim Clayton - with whom Phil wrote a book about this era - then joins to discuss the great caricaturist James Gillray, whose brilliant, often explicit imagery helps define this period.