Most of Britain’s beloved sports have been hiding an epidemic: a systemically tolerated culture of child abuse, with predators lurking behind trusted titles and shiny medals. Tony Castle, a prominent karate coach with a murky past and multiple convictions, exemplifies the horrifying gap between reputation and reality and how systemic failures let him and hundreds more remain in plain sight for decades. In this chilling investigation, Emma Webb exposes how predators exploited the very structures meant to safeguard children. Castle’s story is just one of over 500 convicted perpetrators in British sport. In early 2010, police were given a clear warning that was ignored by an ineffective system for 8 months. You will discover how the lack of a statutory safeguarding framework, voluntary codes, and ‘unfit for purpose’ police databases create a dangerous environment where predatory risk was not taken seriously. We explore how sport’s obsession with reputation enables ongoing abuse, and why the current legal and regulatory gaps are a threat to every child in the sector. But it also highlights a vital opportunity to build a future where a watertight monitoring system is hardwired into every level of child sport through statutory regulation. It’s a call to action—challenging the dark status quo and demanding protection for the children of now and tomorrow.

SUPPORT - Full Extended Support and Episode Links Can Be Found In Extended Shownotes at https://thedisruptivesurvivor.substack.com

https://www.bravemovement.org/help — UK and International Support - Follow the link and Select your Country for specific support details

For Child and Youth Support: Childline: 0800 1111

Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ Call free on 116 123.

Survivors Trust: 08088 010 818 https://thesurvivorstrust.org/act-on-iicsa/

National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC): Freephone: 0808 801 0331 . Email: [email protected]. Website: http://napac.org.uk/

NSPCC: Freephone: 0808 800 5000. Email: [email protected]. Website: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/

To report a criminal offence:
In an emergency, always call 999.
Non-urgent: call local police on 101.
Crimestoppers (anonymous): Freephone 0800 555 111. Website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/

Website: neverhistoric.com

Book: Historic: The True Legacy of Childhood Sport — available now on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Historic-Legacy-Childhood-Sport-Parent-ebook/dp/B0FPGRB9MW

© Emma Webb 2026. All rights reserved.

Show notes episode one Tarnished Medals - Bob Bellew

Episode Description

Bob Bellew was one of the most highly regarded gymnastics coaches in Britain. He taught at schools across London for more than forty years. He served on committees planning the London 2012 Olympic Games. He was named Male Community Coach by Sport England in partnership with British Gymnastics. He was awarded the Order of the Smile.

He was also a primary school teacher He had dual institutional access — the education system and the sports system.

In April 2013, Bellew admitted eight of seventeen charges against him, involving six victims, the youngest aged six. His offending spanned forty years — from 1970 to 2010. He was sentenced to fifteen months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. He walked free from court. He did not serve a single day in prison.

The investigating detective publicly condemned the sentence. The Solicitor General challenged it as unduly lenient. The Court of Appeal upheld it. And his Order of the Smile has never been revoked.

This episode is his legacy.

Survivor Support

If anything in this episode has affected you, support is available:

The Brave Movement — international support and healing toolkit (enter your country for local resources) — https://www.bravemovement.org/help

NAPAC (National Association for People Abused in Childhood) — 0808 801 0331 (free, confidential) — https://napac.org.uk

The Survivors Trust — 0808 801 0818 — https://www.thesurvivorstrust.org

Childline — 0800 1111 — https://www.childline.org.uk

NSPCC Helpline — 0808 800 5000 — https://www.nspcc.org.uk

The CPTSD Foundation — trauma-informed support and education for complex trauma survivors — https://cptsdfoundation.org

Police — 101 (non-emergency) to report abuse in a sporting context

You are not alone. You are believed. And it is never too late to speak.

Eating Disorder Support: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/get-help-for-myself/i-need-support-now/helplines/

To report a criminal offence:
In an emergency, always call 999.
Non-urgent: call local police on 101.
Crimestoppers (anonymous): Freephone 0800 555 111. Website: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/

Website: neverhistoric.com

Book: Historic: The True Legacy of Childhood Sport — available now on Amazon in 15 Countries https://www.amazon.co.uk/Historic-Legacy-Childhood-Sport-Parent-ebook/dp/B0FPGRB9MW

© Emma Webb 2026. All rights reserved.

TARNISHED MEDALS — TRAILER SHOW NOTES

Tarnished Medals is a true crime podcast rooted in social justice, exploring the darkest truths of child abuse embedded in sport. Who perpetrates it. Who funds it. Who hides and minimises it. And why it is allowed to continue when it so blatantly flies in the face of the rights of the child that are front and centre in just about every single other child-related sector.

Each episode profiles one convicted child sex predator in British sport — the sport or sports, the conviction or convictions, the sentencing, and the institutions that so often looked the other way. It examines the safeguarding failures that allowed the abuse to continue, and the system that consistently minimises these crimes while silencing those who survived them.

About Emma Webb

Emma Webb is the pen name of the host — one of the youngest known survivors of abuse in the sector, and the youngest known survivor of what has been called one of the worst child abuse stories in British sport. She is a conscious parent, nurse, journalist, screenwriter, survivor advocate, and the author of Historic: The True Legacy of Childhood Sport — the 2025  internationally bestselling memoir in multiple categories. Foreword by Professor Melanie Lang and Hester Viney. Available internationally on Amazon.

Emma is the founder of the PICS Database (Predators In Child Sport) and a legal and advocacy initiative pursuing institutional accountability for child sexual abuse in British sport.

Content Warning

This podcast contains harrowing accounts of child sexual abuse, including multiple child rapes and indecent assault, drawn from public court records and news reports. The words of survivors, judges, and perpetrators are reported as they appear in the public domain. Some content is deliberately detailed — because the cultural habit of softening these accounts is part of how this abuse has continued unchecked for more than five decades.

 Listener discretion is strongly advised.

On Language

The terms 'victims' and 'survivors' are used interchangeably, or sometimes together. Vocabulary preferences are uniquely personal and important to every victim/survivor. Please substitute whichever term you prefer.

The term 'paedophile' is not used as a catch-all — child sexual abuse is perpetrated by many types of predators, driven by complex motivations including power, control, and a desire to dominate. All, by coincidence, also key words often linked to sport.

SUPPORT

• Support Resources: https://www.bravemovement.org/help
• NAPAC: http://napac.org.uk/ (0800 801 0331)
• Childline: 0800 1111
• Samaritans: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ (116 123)
• NSPCC: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/ (0808 800 5000)
• Crimestoppers: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online/ (0800 555 111)
• Emma's Book Available On Amazon - Book website : neverhistoric.com
• © Emma Webb 2026. All rights reserved.