The Town That Knew Too Much
There is a town in the English Cotswolds, sometimes referred to as the most Regency place in the world. But it's not all bonnets and townhouses: this is the story of Cheltenham, the home of British spying. From the madness of King George to the madness of Geoffrey Prime, and the construction of the Donut to the leaking of GCHQ files by Edward Snowden, Cheltenham has been at the centre of global espionage for a century. Does this town know too much?
“Hilton’s script is beautiful... knowingly florid, ironically meandering... one of those rare
moments when a podcast slips the surly bonds of being merely audio entertainment and
approaches the condition of art” – James Marriott, The Times
“Hilton is a terrific narrator and the writing is densely packed... florid descriptions are mixed
with reflective commentary, unexpected pop culture references and the odd brilliantly timed
gag” – Fiona Sturges, Financial Times
“Hilton’s investigative dedication and wry humour make these series utterly gripping” –
Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
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- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 34 minutes
- Episodes
- 7
- Years Active
- 2023
The Doughnut
The Doughnut. A giant circular low-rise office block in west Cheltenham; it is, jokingly I'm sure, said to look from above like a giant bullseye.
Here, the men and women of GCHQ go to work every day. …
The Black Abbot
Where do the dead go when they die? Do we file them away in obituaries? Or celebrate them at a memorial service and slowly forget their day-to-day existence?
This is a story of death. It is a story of…
Time of Trial
Geoffrey Prime, Soviet spy at GCHQ, has been arrested on sexual offences against children. But that was just the start of his world unravelling. And as the Prime affair came to a boil, the grubby com…
The Wishing Fish Clock
There's a clock in Cheltenham that hangs above a shopping arcade. Below its face a magnificent golden fish rotates and, on the half hour spews bubbles. It is a singular work from a singular mind: tha…
Through The Looking Glass
This is the story of a man who had not one but two double lives. It is the story of the disorientating topsy-turvy world you'll find through the looking glass, where all is not what it seems. This is…
Enigmas
Enigmas. Things that cannot be understood; things that must be unravelled and unriddled. Things that are not what they seem.
This series is, in many ways, about enigmas, but here we're talking about a…
The Devil's Chimney
Tucked away in a scenic corner of the Cotswolds, you'll find the Regency spa town of Cheltenham. It could be more English: from royal visits to Jane Austen re-enactments, it has everything an outside…