Linda, Mickey and the kids are living the high life when he agrees to take on a job with a new gang - a raid on a cash collection at a London supermarket just before Christmas.

As Linda waits at home, armed police are lying in wait outside the supermarket. When the police rush towards them, the rest of Mickey's team flee, leaving him alone on the crowded street clutching his weapon. He is shot dead.

When Linda hears of her husband's death something inside her snaps and at his graveside she makes a vow to provide for their two young kids by carrying on his "work" as an armed robber. But before she can get started, another man comes on the scene - someone altogether more deadly and dangerous.

Credits

Linda Welford was raised in London's East End in the 1960s; a tight and tough community with a reputation for a thriving criminal underworld, ruled with an iron fist by gangsters like the Kray twins.

One of nine children, Linda lived a sheltered life with her family in Stepney until she met armed robber Mickey Calvey. This was the so-called golden age of armed robbery and Mickey was making a fortune sticking up banks and Post Offices with a sawn-off shotgun.

When Mickey and Linda got married, she was allowed a front seat to Mickey's 'work,' as his gang begin planning robberies around their kitchen table. Not content with just making the teas, Linda starts to make suggestions and finds she has a taste for a life of crime.

Credits

Livvy Haydock explores the extraordinary life of Linda Calvey, the woman they call "the Black Widow." She rose through the ranks of London’s criminal underworld to become the UK’s most notorious female gangster.

We follow her journey from humble beginnings in East London to time served in the infamous H Wing, alongside killers like Myra Hindley and Rose West.

It’s a story of love, loyalty, betrayal and murder, of a woman who fell for a bank robber and ended up leading a gang of her own.

Linda was a young mum living in the East End when her husband Mickey was shot dead by police during a robbery. After his death, she stepped into his world. What followed was a descent into armed robberies and organised crime, culminating in a killing that would result in a life sentence in prison.

She was nicknamed the Black Widow by a police officer, as all her husbands and lovers ended up either dead or behind bars.

Now 76, Linda tells her story in her own words. And for the first time her children, Melanie and Neil, speak out about the lasting consequences of her criminal past.

We also hear from detectives in the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad, aka The Sweeney, the men and women who were tasked with bringing criminals like Linda to justice.

This podcast includes strong language and descriptions of violence.

Credits

Livvy Haydock examines the recent deaths of Eddie Lyons Jr. and Ross Monaghan, who were shot dead outside Monaghan’s Bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol, on 31 May 2025. Spanish police believe the killing was a targeted gangland hit linked to the decades-long conflict between the Daniels and Lyons crime families in Glasgow.

Livvy tracks down eyewitnesses to the double shooting, retraces the getaway route used by the killer and speaks to detectives who give their expert insight into how the murders were carried out. We investigate how the violent feud between the Lyons and Daniel crime families has travelled so far and ask; who is actually pulling the strings?

For a who's who, please visit this BBC article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4Czgw23hf0tqsb855CcPKPJ/who-s-who-in-the-story-of-the-daniels-and-the-lyons

Presenter Livvy Haydock

After months of undercover work, the police in London start moving in their targets and claim their first victory against the hooligan mobs. But the celebrations are short lived. A new piece of science raises doubts over the evidence gathered as part of the police operations. Trials begin to collapse. The police and prosecutors are rattled and start scrutinising other cases yet to go to court. Dozens of cases are eventually dropped and fans previously jailed, have their convictions quashed. After 17 months working undercover among Arsenal’s firms, David is left holding his breath. Meanwhile, for Jim and Andy, the undercover officers in Birmingham, a chance encounter almost blows their cover and sees them running for their lives.

But with the police and politicians breathing down their necks, hooligans across the country are left looking over their shoulders. Is it time to walk away from the fighting and the firms once and for all?

Presenter: Tony Bellew

With the police under pressure to get a grip on the hooligan epidemic, an ambitious young copper comes up with a plan. To infiltrate the firms and go undercover. Covert police operations in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds soon get underway. Michael Layton is a former detective with West Midlands Police. In the mid-80s, he set up an undercover unit which infiltrated the Zulu Warriors, a firm who followed Birmingham City FC. Michael describes how Operation Red Card gathered evidence against the top targets, the danger his undercover officers faced and the constant threat of exposure and reprisals.

For the coppers recruited, it was a terrifying, head-ache inducing, chain-smoking and dangerous life. Two of the officers who risked their lives and infiltrated the Zulu Warriors and another who worked among Arsenal's mobs, tell their stories for the first time.

Presenter: Tony Bellew

With firms doing battle up and down the country, it was only a matter of time before innocent people got hurt. Even some players were attacked as the hooligans went looking for their weekly adrenaline rush. Ordinary football fans were also caught up in the violence. Darts, bottles, fireworks, even sharpened coins would be thrown on the terraces.

This episode also hears from the families of those who died at the hands of thugs. 21 year old Wolves fan Gerald Comerford went to watch his team and never came home. His family describe the devastation of losing their brother. Tony Bellew also hears about the racism that was rife on the terraces. Black players were regularly subjected to vile, racist abuse, often coming from their own fans. Former Chelsea player, Paul Canoville describes the abuse he endured during his early career.

Presenter: Tony Bellew

In the aftermath of the Heysel tragedy, Margaret Thatcher declared war on the hooligans. It was a watershed moment for English football. Tough new laws were called for - and the incident led to English clubs being banned from Europe for 5 years. But there was more trouble on the horizon. The mobs had found a loophole. Friendlies. And in August 1986, that led to a full blown riot on a ferry in the middle of the North Sea.

Some of those onboard the ferry that night tell their side of the story. When the law caught up with those involved, it came down hard.

Presenter: Tony Bellew

1985 saw some of the biggest and bloodiest hooligan riots in British football history. In March, Luton hosted Millwall in an FA Cup tie. Millwall’s notorious mobs rioted before, during and after the game. The Kenilworth Road ground was ripped to pieces, and the town was trashed. Police officer Andy Clarke was left fearing for his life as pieces of concrete and plastic seats were used as missiles.

Just two months later, Leeds and Birmingham’s mobs clashed at St Andrews. Hundreds were injured, and a 15-year-old football fan later lost his life.

But then came one of the darkest nights in football history. On 29 May 1985, 39 people were killed at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels during the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. The tragedy led to English clubs being banned from European football for five years.

Presenter: Tony Bellew

What turns a fan into a fighter? When faced with a choice, do you turn and run, or stand and fight?

We meet the men who found themselves drawn into a world of running battles and riots during the 1970s and 80s. For some, joining a firm and fighting gave them a new identity. For others, it was the first time they truly felt they belonged.

From a young age, Bill Gardner, also known as Mr West Ham, found a home and a family he never had on the terraces of Upton Park, one he would fight for. For adopted Brummie Cockney Al, the early firms in Birmingham took him under their wing, but it was not long before he was up to his neck in it. In Manchester, a childhood plagued by bullying and racism led Fireman Sam to become part of United's hooligan mob, and for Chelsea fan Mark Alleway, being a football hooligan became an addiction.

But not everyone was signing up. Most fans just wanted to go to the game in peace, but trouble was never far away. Football writer Amy Lawrence and DJ Trevor Nelson recall how getting out unscathed on matchdays was not always easy.

The police and politicians soon realised they had a serious problem on their hands. But despite their best efforts, the mobs ruled the terraces. And for a while, it was chaos.

Presenter: Tony Bellew