Everyone is talking about the new Tom Bower book on Meghan and Harry - and Phil is no exception. But how much of it is real, and how much is simply ‘deranged gossip’, as one critic called it. As a former royal biographer, Phil explains how damaging personal royal stories like these come out…and why!

Then this week’s guest is Simon Dinsdale a very entertaining ex police detective who took his experience solving high profile murder cases and turned it into a new life writing crime novels. Simon talks very well about how policing has changed during his lifetime. Sometimes for good…but also sometimes for bad. 

Simon Dinsdale, the author of the Christian Dane crime novels

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s own new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

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THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on Youtube...

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Phil is joined this week by historian Caroline Sharples to discuss her brand new book on the facts of Hitler’s death - but also what she calls ‘the emotional history’ of an event that was hoped for by many, feared by some, and pre-planned by many people, including Hitler himself.

So just how did the world learn of this historic event - and how was it proved to the satisfaction of global opinion. Hint - it involves the tyrant’s teeth!

You can buy Carolne's book here...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Death-Adolf-Hitler-Investigative/dp/0300284918

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s own new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers***

If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on Youtube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLT97Jikt2c

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

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You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

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Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

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

Phil begins with his reaction to the latest royal news as the police finally move to arrest Britain’s disgraced former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

He’s then joined by writer Neil Root to talk about the incredible life, and untimely death, of Peter Rachman, the most notorious landlord in 1950 and 60s London. His life intersected with many of the dangerous - but also glamorous - men and women of his time, as the city boomed and then prepared to 'swing’, as told in Neil’s excellent book on criminal and social history, called SLUMLORD...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Slumlord-Rachman-Post-war-London-Underworld-ebook/dp/B0G2SKC4YY

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#birdwatching

We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcast

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

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Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

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Phil is very much occupied by Australia this week.

He starts by sharing his thoughts on a recent boycott of an important Writer's Festival in Adelaide because of a row about open support for Hamas and its murderous actions on 7/10. The boycott was by mostly left-of-centre wing writers and broadcasters, some of whom Phil has worked with and knows well. He doesn’t think they were right!

Then - in the week that Prince Andrew finally leaves Royal Lodge - Phil turns to the state of the British royal family’s relationships with Australia, in the company of lawyer, broadcaster and long-term royal observer Caroline Di Russo.

From the rise and fall of republicanism through Australia’s love affair with Diana Princess of Wales and then its (brief!) embrace of Prince Harry in his ‘Larkin Prince’ phase, this is a fascinating convo (as they would say in Australia) about royalty, politics and culture down under.

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

*We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work*

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcast

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

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

In the first episode of 2026 Phil talks to his old friend Stephen Moss, one of Britain’s leading bird watchers. It’s a colourful and amusing conversation - full of surprises. 

‘Birding’ has become very popular in recent years as more and more of us take an interest in conservation and the natural world.  But, even amongst the normally placid ’twitching’ community, there are many issues and controversies to explore - and even some actual scandal.

Stephen’s books are available here...

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/products/ten-birds-that-changed-the-world-book-stephen-moss-9781783352418?sku=GOR012965889&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19553277260&gbraid=0AAAAADZzAIC6VLCRd1czTlTLBfrYuVxVa

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to listen to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcast

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

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

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

In this extended episode Phil reviews his year then welcomes his old pod-pal Andrew Lownie back to discuss the continuing fall out from his bestselling book on Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and to drop some major hints about his next project - the marriage of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. What truth lies behind the rumours of his multiple affairs, the suggestion that she enjoyed at least one alternative relationship, and that Philip may not have been Andrew’s real father? 

Expect some scandalous suggestions. 

After that Phil is showing a video of his recent interview with Sonia Purnell, biographer of Pamela Churchill/Harriman. This interview - filmed at a recent literary event - is full of juicy details about a life that was packed with scandal, but also very momentous. 

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book now on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to listen to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcast

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

#Christmas2025

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

During WW2, Allied propaganda portrayed Adolf Hitler as….er…lacking in certain areas of male physique.

Recently, the world’s leading forensic DNA scientists have extracted Hitler’s genetic material from an old bloodstain - and discovered some remarkable things about his health, his mental state and, yes, the likely state of his genitals.

Historian Guy Waters - an expert on the Nazis - joins Phil to explore what all of this means for our understanding of one of history’s greatest villains.

Guy’s book Hunting Evil can be bought here...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunting-Evil-Guy-Walters/dp/0553819399/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0

And there’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book now on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to listen to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcast

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

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

In this second part of Phil’s conversation with investigative writer Andy Webb, they explore perhaps the most troubling part of this saga - a BBC cover up that involved some of the most senior figures in British broadcasting and which kept the truth about this interview hidden for almost 30 years.

It’s a story that reflects very badly on the BBC and the UK ‘establishment’, in which brave whistle blowers are punished, time serving hacks are promoted and Diana herself goes to her grave not knowing that she had been told numerous false stories about those closest to her. Andy even believes that her life may have been saved had she been told the truth in time.

Phil worked with and knew many of the key players of this saga, including his former BBC colleague Martin Bashir, the Panorama team members who first raised the alarm about the interview and his friend Patrick Jephson.

You can buy Andy’s new book in our own Scandal Mongers shop...

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/dianarama-the-betrayal-of-princess-diana-andy-webb/02f9cfa4523783c7?ean=9780241784648&next=t&aid=12054

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book now on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is available to watch on Youtube...

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

Show Produced By Podcast World Soho

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

When Diana, Princess of Wales sat down with BBC Panorama reporter Martin Bashir in November 1995 she shook the British monarchy and changed the course of her own life.

Bashir obtained this interview by - allegedly - using forged bank statements and telling Diana a series of lurid stories about her husband getting their nanny pregnant, plans to have her killed, the imminent death of the Queen and the bribery of her key staff.

Allegations about how this interview was secured triggered a crisis inside the BBC, a long cover up, a judge led inquiry and then - finally - an unprecedented BBC apology along with compensation payments to the many people damaged along the way. These include whistle-blowing BBC journalists and Diana’s own Private Secretary, Patrick Jephson.

Writer Andy Webb has spent decades investigating this story and is the main reason it ever came to public knowledge. His new book - DIANARAMA - is the full and definitive account of what happened, and it’s packed with shocking new details.

Phil worked with and knew many of the key players of this saga, including his former BBC colleague Martin Bashir, the Panorama team members who first raised the alarm about the interview and his friend Patrick Jephson.

Dianarama: The Betrayal of Princess Diana...

https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/dianarama-the-betrayal-of-princess-diana-andy-webb/02f9cfa4523783c7?ean=9780241784648&next=t&aid=12054

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book now on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpiDbLiwypTLqMaKnNfxcTA

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

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

After updating on the latest scandals to shake British politics, Phil returns to the greatest royal story of the decade - the fall of (ex)Prince Andrew. 

Joining him this special double episode is Shauna Kay from The Vintage Read. Phil and Shauna jointly reviewed Virginia Giuffre’s autobiography last week - and there are some matters outstanding!

Shauna and Phil discuss the latest news and allegations about Andrew, Epstein, Maxwell and - indeed - Giuffre herself. Then they are joined by former senior royal protection officer Dai Davies who has his own strong and well informed ideas about what should happen next to Andrew Windsor.

There’s information and extracts from Phil’s new book here...

https://sites.google.com/view/1945thereckoning/home

You can order his book now on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia, India and NZ - and it is available all around the world as an e-book and an audio book...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/1945-Reckoning-Empire-Struggle-World/dp/139971449X/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=#

***We now have a Thank You button (next to the ’three dots’) for small donations that help support our work***

Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you’d like to get scandalous with? We’re here to help...

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers

*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.

THE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcast

The Scandal Mongers...

https://x.com/mongerspodcast

Phil Craig...

https://x.com/philmcraig

You can get in touch with the show via...

[email protected]

(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)

#Shaunakay

#TheVintageReadShow

#DaiDavies

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