Show of Strength

BRISTOL IT’S CRIMINAL?

True Crime EN ↓ 3 episodes

BRISTOL: IT’S CRIMINAL Bristol made its fortune on trade, empire, rebellion — and sometimes outright criminality. BRISTOL: IT’S CRIMINAL is a dark history and true crime podcast from Show of Strength, presented by Sheila Hannon. Each episode, in conversation with a knowledgeable guest, uncovers the city’s most notorious stories: pirates and press gangs, public executions and body snatchers, corruption, colonial violence and the blurred line between legal power and crime. This isn’t sanitised heritage. It’s storytelling rooted in rigorous research from the company that brings Bristol’s past to...

Author

Show of Strength

Episodes

CHAPTER 3: SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD PART TWO 10.04.2026 15:51

BRISTOL: IT’S CRIMINAL Chapter 3: Sheila Hannon, Creative Producer of Show for Strength Theatre, is joined once again by Dr Rose Wallis from the University of the West of England to find out what happened to the Skeleton in the Cupboard – an extraordinary conclusion to this dark tale. Sheila and Rose discuss: The afterlives of John Horwood and Eliza Balsum, and the impact on their families Post-mo...

CHAPTER 2: THE SKELETON IN THE CUPBOARD 13.03.2026 15:59

BRISTOL: IT’S CRIMINAL is back! In CHAPTER TWO, Show Of Strength’s Creative Producer Sheila Hannon is joined by Dr Rose Wallis, Associate Professor of British Social History, to reveal the dark history behind the Skeleton in the Cupboard…. a tale of love, lust, murder, and the medical profession. Together, Sheila and Rose explore The life and death of John Horwood, the first person to be executed...

CHAPTER 1: BLACKBEARD AND THEY PIRATES 06.03.2026 14:49

Was the most infamous pirate in history actually a Bristol man? In Episode One of BRISTOL: IT’S CRIMINAL, Sheila Hannon is joined by Bristol-born actor and long-time Show of Strength performer Gerard Cooke to explore the evidence linking Edward Teach — better known as Blackbeard — to Bristol. Together they dive into: The case for Blackbeard’s Bristol origins • The “posh pirate” theory — clergy, me...