REAL

The journey for justice is rarely smooth, but this journey has been full of turbulence. In this episode, we look at the arrests, allegations and developments in this case from the last 25 years and how the investigation momentarily went from a murder investigation to looking for evidence of a vile necrophilic attack.....

If you have any information on this case please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

To support the show, you can join Patreon for £2 per month, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the nation wakes up to the shocking news that a man has died after being found in the swimming pool of a national TV star, we examine the witness statements to try to get a clear picture of what led to the death of Stuart. But the witness statements do not add up.... who is telling the truth? Who is lying? And why?

If you have any information on this case please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

To support the show, you can join Patreon for £2 per month, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

*It's been 25 Years since Stuart Lubbock was found raped and murdered in the swimming pool of TV presenter Michael Barrymore - this series, has been re-recorded and includes additional reporting from the first series released in 2022*.

Imagine going to a nightclub, meeting a national celebrity and being invited back to their house for a party... cool right?

Well... not if that party would mean the end of your life.

This is a tragic true story, that has many twists and turns and feels like the script of a Hollywood Blockbuster, but it's real life.

In the first episode, we tell the story of the last 12 hours of Stuart Lubbock's life and what happened that night, at the home of one of the UK's biggest television stars, Michael Barrymore.

If you have any information on this case please contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

#stuartlubbock #michaelbarrymore #justice4stuart

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In her first podcast interview, Tara Proffitt tells her heartbreaking and incredible story.

When Tara was a child, she knew her Mum was carrying a secret. Her gut instinct told her it was the same one that she was carrying... and one day her mother told Tara everything and her worst fears were confirmed - they had both been abused by a man who was supposed to love and protect them.

But on the 12th of May 2015, Tara received a phone call that would turn her life upside down... and from that moment on, she took on a extraordinary fight for justice.

This is REAL.

To pre-order 'The Reckoning' by Tara Proffitt and Ann Cusack, see here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reckoning-Tara-Proffitt/dp/1917439814

To follow Tara on social media, you can find her here:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tara_proffitt18/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tara.hayes.927

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast, please see the below organisations that offer support, advice and information:

https://www.thesurvivorstrust.org/ - For people who have been the victim of sexual abuse (UK)

https://www.rainn.org/ - Sexual Abuse Support USA

https://www.nasasv.org.au/support-directory - Sexual Abuse Support Australia

https://www.rcni.ie/useful-links/ - Sexual Abuse Support Ireland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When schoolteacher and former singer Trudi Burgess began a relationship with gardener Robert Easom, it seemed like a chance at happiness after the devastating loss of her husband. But behind closed doors, Robert slowly began to manipulate Trudi.

Over the course of eight years, Trudi would endure a relentless pattern of coercive control, intimidation, and escalating violence.

On 17 February 2025, everything reached a horrifying breaking point. When Trudi finally found the courage to say she was leaving, the man she trusted flew into a violent rage. Within minutes, an assault would leave her with a catastrophic injury that would change her life forever.

But Trudi is now sharing her story to help others and inspiring people across the world.

This is REAL.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-care-for-our-mum-trudi

If you'd like to support the show, you can do so here via my Patreon, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

If you need help or support with domestic abuse please get in touch with the following organisations:

https://havendas.org.uk/ - UK

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ - UK

https://mankind.org.uk/ - Support for male victims 

https://safelives.org.uk/ - UK

https://www.victimsupportni.com/help-for-victims/domestic-violence/ - Northern Ireland

https://mapni.co.uk/ - Northern Ireland for men 

https://sdvs.ie/ - Ireland

https://www.mensaid.ie/ - Ireland for men 

https://www.lifewire.org/ - USA

https://www.thehotline.org/resources/men-can-be-victims-of-abuse-too/ - USA for men 

https://www.rizeup.com.au/ - Australia

https://mensline.org.au/family-violence/ - Australia 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In July 2010, a 50-year-old nurse who lived and worked in London, was subjected to an extraordinary act of violence that left her dead and the multiple people who witnessed it traumatised. But many people don't know her story, because it has received little media coverage.

Today, to mark International Women's Day, we're going to look at the case of Donna Drepaul, a woman who was killed by a jealous man and highlight the on-going epidemic of violence against women and girls, which the UK government have no labelled a 'National Emergency'.

This is REAL.

If you'd like to support the show, you can do so here via my Patreon, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

Here is the link to the femicide census report, titled '2000 Women'

https://www.femicidecensus.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2000-Women-full-report.pdf

https://www.femicidecensus.org/about/

https://x.com/CountDeadWomen

If you need help or support with domestic abuse please get in touch with the following organisations:

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ - UK

https://safelives.org.uk/ - UK

https://www.victimsupportni.com/help-for-victims/domestic-violence/ - Northern Ireland

https://sdvs.ie/ - Ireland

https://www.lifewire.org/ - USA

https://www.rizeup.com.au/ - Australia

https://mensline.org.au/family-violence/ - Australia 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In June 2016, Dawn Rhodes arrived at her family home where her soon to be ex-husband Robert was waiting to hand over their child. But something happened that left their child and Robert with injuries and Dawn, dead.

Robert and their child said Dawn had attacked them in a jealous rage and at a trial Robert was found not-guilty of murder, instead, killing Dawn in a heroic act of self-defence.

Until their child had a conversation with a therapist years later, that changed everything.

This is REAL.

If you'd like to support the show, you can do so here via my Patreon, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

If you need help or support with domestic abuse please get in touch with the following organisations:

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ - UK

https://mankind.org.uk/ - Support for male victims 

https://safelives.org.uk/ - UK

https://www.victimsupportni.com/help-for-victims/domestic-violence/ - Northern Ireland

https://mapni.co.uk/ - Northern Ireland for men 

https://sdvs.ie/ - Ireland

https://www.mensaid.ie/ - Ireland for men 

https://www.lifewire.org/ - USA

https://www.thehotline.org/resources/men-can-be-victims-of-abuse-too/ - USA for men 

https://www.rizeup.com.au/ - Australia

https://mensline.org.au/family-violence/ - Australia 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In August 2010, 30-year-old Izabela from seemingly vanished into thin air in Derby, England. Her friends and family tried to get hold of her, but they were met with silence. Her girlfriend, Anna Podedworna, didn't report her missing and told everyone that Izabela had run away.

But Izabela's daughter, who was living with with relative's in Poland, always knew deep down that her mother would never have left her. And as she entered adulthood, she enlisted the help of a local journalist to help find her - and what they discovered, was the stuff of nightmares.

This is REAL.

To support this podcast on Patreon for £2 a month (with ad-free early access, extra content and monthly live zooms and giveaways) please see here, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

For information on the missing people cases mentioned at the end of the episode see the links below:

Fatima Mohamed- Ali - https://locate.international/missing-people/fatima-mohamed-ali

Paul Fudge - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1kpw7zzvwvo

Jack O'Sullivan - https://www.findjackosullivan.co.uk/

Reference for advice on leaving an abusive relationship: 

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/i-am-planning-to-leave-my-abuser/

If you need help or support with domestic abuse please get in touch with the following organisations:

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ - UK

https://mankind.org.uk/ - Support for male victims 

https://safelives.org.uk/ - UK

https://www.victimsupportni.com/help-for-victims/domestic-violence/ - Northern Ireland

https://mapni.co.uk/ - Northern Ireland for men 

https://sdvs.ie/ - Ireland

https://www.mensaid.ie/ - Ireland for men 

https://www.lifewire.org/ - USA

https://www.thehotline.org/resources/men-can-be-victims-of-abuse-too/ - USA for men 

https://www.rizeup.com.au/ - Australia

https://mensline.org.au/family-violence/ - Australia 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In March 2023, 59-year-old Jane Collinson was looking forward to so many exciting things in her life. She was planning her 60th birthday party, her daughters wedding and she was about to buy her dream home with her new husband.

But one mans actions ended all of that. In this episode, we focus on the continuing issue of violence against women and girls. In the UK a woman is killed by a man every 3 days, and Jane was one of them.

This is REAL.

If you'd like to support the show, you can do so here via my Patreon, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

https://www.femicidecensus.org/about/

https://x.com/CountDeadWomen

To watch 999: What Happened Next? go to www.channel4.com

If you need help or support with domestic abuse please get in touch with the following organisations:

https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/ - UK

https://mankind.org.uk/ - Support for male victims 

https://safelives.org.uk/ - UK

https://www.victimsupportni.com/help-for-victims/domestic-violence/ - Northern Ireland

https://mapni.co.uk/ - Northern Ireland for men 

https://sdvs.ie/ - Ireland

https://www.mensaid.ie/ - Ireland for men 

https://www.lifewire.org/ - USA

https://www.thehotline.org/resources/men-can-be-victims-of-abuse-too/ - USA for men 

https://www.rizeup.com.au/ - Australia

https://mensline.org.au/family-violence/ - Australia 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In March 2021, Gloucestershire Police received a strange phone call - the person on the line was calling to get help for a woman who was being kept against her will.

When the police arrived, they discovered Amanda Wixon, a mother of ten, had been keeping a woman as a slave.... for 25 years.

This is REAL.

If you'd like to support the show, you can do so here, thank you:

https://patreon.com/REALtruecrimepodcast

For help and support with modern slavery and trafficking please see these organisations that can help and support you:

United Kingdom – Anti-Slavery International - https://www.antislavery.org/

• Freedom United - https://www.freedomunited.org/
• Polaris Project - https://polarisproject.org/

Ireland – Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) – https://www.mrci.ie/

Northern Ireland – Migrant Help (Northern Ireland) – https://www.migranthelpuk.org/

Australia – Anti-Slavery Australia – https://antislavery.org.au/

New Zealand – Traffick JAM (Abolition Movement) – https://traffickjam.nz/

United States – The A21 Campaign – https://www.a21.org/

Information and Tickets to CrimeCon Birmingham can be purchased here:

https://www.crimecon.co.uk/birmingham-20269813937e - REAL10 will get you 10% off the ticket price

True Crime Fest Information and Tickets are here:

https://www.truecrimefest.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.