Catrin Nye gets a mysterious call that plunges her into an unsettling world of self-help and cults. What happens when a life coach takes over your life? In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions.
 
Two years later, Jeff had sold his house, his relationship was in pieces, and he had handed over tens of thousands of pounds. And he wasn’t the only one. In this eighteen-month investigation for the BBC, journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a mysterious life coaching company taking over people’s lives and ripping families apart.
 
As the investigation hots up, the group fights back, and there’s a surreal final showdown… Listen to all eight episodes from Wednesday 5 April 2023.
 
Reporter: Catrin Nye
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main and Jo Adnitt
Researcher: Aisha Doherty
Executive producer: Ravin Sampat
Sound engineer: James Bradshaw
Original music by: Phil Channell
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts

Welcome to... A Very British Cult

The sinister life coaching company that takes over your life. Catrin Nye investigates.  In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions.   Two years later, Jeff had sold his house, his relationship was in pieces, and he had handed over tens of thousands of pounds. And he wasn't the only one. In this eighteen-month investigation for the BBC, journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a mysterious life coaching company taking over people's lives and ripping families apart.    As the investigation hots up, the group fights back, and there's a surreal final showdown.

News

It’s the final showdown. The BBC team finds out there’s been another investigation going on in parallel to their one. It’s by the Government, who want Lighthouse shut down.  Lighthouse International Group end up in court, and more than 20 team members crowd into the hearing room, squashed alongside the BBC as well as Jeff and Dawn. Catrin finally gets to put her questions to Lighthouse and their leader Paul Waugh, and a massive crowd piles down a central London street as she tries to get answers.    What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a sinister life coaching company. Reporter: Catrin Nye 
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye 
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main & Jo Adnitt 
Researcher: Aisha Doherty 
Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat 
Sound Mixing: James Bradshaw 
Original Music by: Phil Channell 
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts

8. The Showdown

The people inside cults aren’t the only ones whose lives are transformed. There’s also the family members and friends, who are left behind.   When Jeff left Lighthouse, he quickly found there was a whole community with loved ones still part of the organisation. Catrin meets a father who says it feels like his daughter is dead. Meanwhile there is an unexpected twist. There’s been another investigation, in secret, and parallel to ours.   What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a sinister life coaching company. Reporter: Catrin Nye  
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye  
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main & Jo Adnitt  
Researcher: Aisha Doherty  
Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat  
Sound Mixing: James Bradshaw  
Original Music by: Phil Channell 
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts

7. Us and Them

We meet Simon, who ended up deep in Lighthouse, recruiting for them, monitoring their critics and living with his mentor. But one day Simon says he realised he was actually in a cult, and he had no choice but to pack his bags and run.   What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a sinister life coaching company.  Reporter: Catrin Nye  
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye  
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main & Jo Adnitt  
Researcher: Aisha Doherty  
Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat  
Sound Mixing: James Bradshaw  
Original Music by: Phil Channell 
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts

6. Control

To understand Lighthouse, Catrin needs to try and understand Paul Waugh. She delves into his past to investigate his claims of incredible wealth, high profile business connections, and a difficult childhood.   What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a sinister life coaching company.  Reporter: Catrin Nye 
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye 
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main & Jo Adnitt 
Researcher: Aisha Doherty 
Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat 
Sound Mixing: James Bradshaw 
Original Music by: Phil Channell 
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts  Archive clips: Unleashing the Power Within - An Owner's Manual for the Brain (Robbins Research Institute); Zig Ziglar - Changing the Picture (Zig Ziglar Corporation); Harvey Mackay: Best-Selling Author & Entrepreneur (Eagles Talent); The Oprah Winfrey Show 1993 (Harpo Productions); The Oprah Winfrey Show 1988 (Harpo Productions); The Oprah Winfrey Show 1996 (Harpo Productions).

5. Paulie

The investigation is finding out more and more strange things about Lighthouse. We hear what happens when people start to question what is happening. Catrin speaks with Erin who raised concerns about Lighthouse and was accused of being "a cynical little old witch".  Meanwhile Lighthouse is getting increasingly obsessed with its critics and former members.  What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a sinister life coaching company.  Reporter: Catrin Nye 
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye 
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main & Jo Adnitt 
Researcher: Aisha Doherty 
Executive Producer: Ravin Sampat 
Sound Mixing: James Bradshaw 
Original Music by: Phil Channell 
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts  Archive clips from Stanley Milgram, Solomon Asch Conformity experiment re-enactment, 1974: copyright Alexandra Milgram and Alexander Street.

Welcome to... A Very British Cult

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