When sport collides with true crime.
When sport collides with true crime.
Was Hansie Cronje a villain? A victim? Or something in between? In this final episode, we unpack the legacy Hansie left behind — the loyalties, the doubts, and the stories that still divide opinion. Some say he was trapped by powerful people and trying to find a way out. Others say he knew exactly what he was doing. From emotional moments with close friends to sharp takes from those who saw a darker side, this episode digs into the heart of the scandal and what it says about cricket today.
June 2002. Hansie Cronje dies in a plane crash. The reaction is immediate - shock, disbelief, grief. But not everyone buys the official story. In Episode 5, Mark Butcher traces Hansie’s final hours - a missed flight, a last-minute ride on a cargo plane, and a descent through mountain cloud with broken instruments and almost no visibility. Was it pilot error, as the report claimed? Or something more? From talk of missing money and dropped investigations to strange phone calls and long-held theories, this episode explores where the facts end and the doubts begin.
Hansie’s admitted guilt but the real drama is only just getting started. Episode 4 takes us to the King Commission, a library turned media circus, where cricket’s clean image takes hit after hit. More names come out. More matches are mentioned. And as the pressure builds, the emotion gets raw. And one big question hovers over it all: was this about getting to the truth or just controlling the damage?
The Centurion Test is over. Hansie’s praised for “saving” the match. But rewind 24 hours and the real story starts to unfold. In Episode 3, we go behind the scenes of a game that never should’ve happened - cryptic calls, hotel whispers, and a captain running his own playbook. Then, by pure chance, someone’s listening. And suddenly, Hansie’s house of cards starts to wobble.
It’s the final Test of a five-match series, and everyone’s already packed their bags. Three days of rain, no result, nothing to play for. Then out of nowhere, Hansie Cronje makes an offer, and the game is back on. In Episode 2, Mark Butcher takes us inside one of the weirdest days he’s ever seen on a cricket field. At the time, it looked like a stroke of sportsmanship. But in hindsight? Let’s just say not everything is as it seems.
In the mid-90s, Hansie Cronje was South Africa’s golden boy, the God-fearing captain backed by Nelson Mandela and worshipped by a nation. More than just a cricketer, he was a symbol of hope. But were the cracks there all along?
In the first episode of Sport’s Strangest Crimes - Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace, former England cricketer, Mark Butcher revisits the rise of a man who seemed too good to be true and maybe was. Teammates, journalists and friends paint a picture of a leader everyone trusted… until they didn’t. Because before you fall from grace, you’ve got to be on a pedestal.
Hansie Cronje had it all — captain of South Africa, adored by a nation, trusted by Nelson Mandela. A symbol of hope in the post-apartheid era.
Then came the Centurion Test: a rain-ruined match is suddenly back on, thanks to a strange decision by Hansie. At first, it looks like good sportsmanship — until a wiretap in India catches something shocking. What unfolds next will change cricket forever.
In Sport’s Strangest Crimes - Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace, former England cricketer Mark Butcher traces the rise and collapse of a national hero — from quiet warning signs and secret phone calls to a dramatic confession and a televised inquiry. But even as Hansie admits to more than just Centurion, many believe the investigation didn’t go far enough.
Sixty-three offshore bank accounts are discovered. Links to other players emerge. And just as pressure builds for a deeper probe — Hansie dies in a plane crash.
Some say pilot error. Others aren’t so sure.
Was Hansie manipulated by a powerful network of fixers? Or was he the one pulling the strings?
With testimony from teammates, journalists, investigators and those who knew him best, Mark unpacks a story of power, money, and the dark side of sport.
More than two decades on, people are still asking: who was the real Hansie Cronje?
New coach Conor O’Shea sets about transforming Harlequins’ fortunes and restoring their reputation.
Tom Williams rediscovers his form and helps the club to the Premiership final - the ultimate opportunity for redemption.
Dean Richards returns to rugby with Newcastle and reflects on the Bloodgate episode, while some of the key figures in the series offer opinions on the legacy of the scandal.
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
medium: As Richards alleges blood cheating is rife, Williams has a difficult return to rugby.
Long: With the full Bloodgate scandal now exposed, rugby enters a period of soul-searching.
Fallen Harlequins coach Dean Richards makes allegations that blood cheating goes to the very top of the game, while Ugo Monye adds his weight to the argument that other teams are culpable.
And when Tom Williams returns to the rugby pitch, he’s given a less than warm welcome by opponent Chris Ashton.
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
Bloodgate is big news - and it’s about to get even bigger…
Dean Richards’ resignation has thrust Bloodgate onto the front and back pages - but details of the cover-ups remain outside the public domain.
That’s until Paul Kelso, sports news correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, arrives on the scene.
While Kelso, now a Sky news correspondent, starts to release details of the murky aftermath to the cheating plot, Tom Williams prepares to reveal all.
Everything comes to a head at a hearing in Glasgow, with life-changing consequences for some of the key figures in the Bloodgate plot.
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
After receiving his 12-month ban, Tom Williams faces pressure from the club and his team-mates as he considers blowing the whistle on the Bloodgate plot.
We hear about secret meetings between Tom and the club’s board and horse-trading over what level of financial incentive might persuade him not to reveal the truth.
It leads to a showdown at a board member’s house in Cobham, a decisive intervention from Tom’s girlfriend Alex and a shock resignation.
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
Gripping testimony from the Harlequins dressing-room as Tom Williams persuades club doctor Wendy Chapman to help cover up his act of cheating.
But when new footage emerges of Tom appearing to chew on a fake blood capsule, European Rugby prosecutors decide to press charges against the player, his coach and the club.
Quins agree a cover story - but will it hold water when matters come to a head at a Bloodgate hearing in central London?
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
The story of one rugby's most notorious matches, told by those who were there.
A European Cup quarter-final between Harlequins and Leinster was always going to be big - but nobody knew how big.
Players from both sides including Ugo Monye and Brian O’Driscoll, commentators, coaches and referee Nigel Owens recall how events unfolded before, during and after the moment that Tom Williams staggered from the field with fake blood dripping from his mouth.
The Leinster officials see through the plot straight away - but can they expose the wrongdoing?
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
Ross Kemp visits the Clapham joke shop at the origin of the Bloodgate cheating scandal that brought rugby union to its knees.
We learn how the advent of professionalism in the 1990s brought a new win-at-all-costs mentality to the sport.
And Harlequins players Tom Williams, Ugo Monye and Nick Easter explain how new coach Dean Richards transformed the club from entertaining also-rans into ruthless winners who began to push the rules to their limits and beyond.
Could a loophole in the laws around blood injuries boost their chances of European silverware?
Narrator: Ross Kemp Reporter/Interviewer: Chris Jones Writer/Producer: Sam Sheringham Story editor: Tom Fuller Sound design/production: Jesse Howard Digital Producers: Sam Huxley and Stephen Trenchard Assistant producers: Metin Yilmaz, Jack Wood, Mujtaba Ali and Victoria Turner BBC 5 Live Sport podcast editor: Matt Smith Commissioner: Stevie Middleton
Rugby union was rocked to its core by an episode that involved deception, cover-ups, recriminations and life-changing consequences for those involved.
Hosted by actor and award-winning documentary maker Ross Kemp, with reporting by BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones, this series uncovers new details and untold stories about the infamous ‘Bloodgate’ scandal.
Kemp takes listeners on an intense journey into how a simple blood capsule triggered a series of events that shook the sport.
At the heart of this story is Tom Williams, the young Harlequins player who found himself caught up in a scheme to cheat during a critical match. He opens up about his role in the cover-ups and the decision to blow the whistle on the whole operation, revealing the conspiracies, secret deals, and the aftermath.
The podcast not only features interviews with rugby icons like Brian O’Driscoll, Shane Horgan, Ugo Monye, Nick Easter and referee Nigel Owens, who were on the pitch on that fateful day, but also esteemed journalists and investigators, who reveal how they exposed the plot and covered the messy consequences.
On the other side of the world, a bugged goalpost brings tales of the match-fixing king. Having completed his confession, Moses faces up to Troy Deeney's judgement of his incredible story.
Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.
Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Voices from the past bring new opportunities. But is Moses in or is he out? A fatal miscalculation turns Moses’ life upside down and results in a devastating showdown.
Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.
Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live
What do you do when you come up against the footballer you cannot corrupt? With the fans on his back and the players in open revolt, can Moses pull off the fix of his life?
Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.
Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5 Live.
Did you hear the one about the Conference South game that got more bets than Barcelona? With the authorities looking like they’re closing in, can Moses get out first, or will the pull of match-fixing prove too strong?
Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.
Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC 5 Live.
More players want in. The money keeps growing. Will Moses’ good times ever end? But as the scale of his match-fixing grows, word travels fast - up the leagues and around the country - and Moses gets a call from a voice from the past.
Warning this podcast contains language some might find offensive.
Presented by: Moses Swaibu with Troy Deeney Producers: Stephen Hollywood, Jack Kibble-White and Marion MacNeil Associate Producer: Moses Swaibu Music: Julian Corrie. Sound Design: Julian Corrie and David Martin Researcher: Jack Herrall. Additional scripting: Martin Conaghan Additional development: Kate Bissell Story Consultant: Graham Russell Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton Executive Producer: Tom Connor.
A BBC Scotland Production for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 5 Live.
