From a Scottish Castle to a Merseyside boozer, via the FBI’s most-wanted list, this is the incredible story of a missing masterpiece.
The biggest single artwork theft in British history took place in 2003. Twenty years on, Olivia begins her quest to find out what really happened to The Madonna of the Yarnwinder.
As the news breaks of the daring heist, police and press descend upon Drumlanrig Castle. Despite the attention of the media, the thieves get clean away. The painting disappears into the underworld. Will it ever be seen again?
The Madonna surfaces in Liverpool and two local PIs spot the opportunity of a lifetime. Robbie Graham and Jackie Doyle begin to bring together their team to get the painting back.
A man sits nervously in a car. Will he get The Madonna back, or a bullet in the head? Olivia pieces together the most critical moment in the plan to rescue the painting.Writer, Producer and Presenter Olivia GrahamProducer and Writer Emily Esson and Jack Kibble-WhiteSound Design and Composer Julian CorrieActors Kenny Blyth, Peter Collins and Gavin MitchellStory Consultants Graham Russell and Kirsty WilliamsDevelopment and artwork by Sally Greig LockwoodEditorial Policy Matthew Eltringham Lawyer Rosalind McInnesAdditional research by Elizabeth Ann Duffy and Anna MilesExecutive Producer Elizabeth ClarkExecutive Editor Heather Kane-DarlingCommissioning Editor Gareth Hydes
The plan to rescue The Madonna gets very real. Contact is made with the agent of Duke of Buccleuch and a crunch meeting brings Robbie and his team to the point of no return.
A warning light, a nail-biting wait and an Act of God derail the team’s plans. But is it always darkest before the dawn?
The lives of the Graham family come crashing down. And revelations from Marshall Ronald and John Craig seem to seal their fate.
Startling new evidence comes to light in the case of the missing Madonna. And while the story looks to have been all wrapped up, Olivia comes across a new lead and the possibility of something she previously missed.
A whole new story of the theft of The Madonna of the Yarnwinder emerges. And Olivia comes to terms with how the da Vinci painting has shaped her life so far.
A criminal lurks in the dark. Watching. Waiting to return a priceless van Gogh. Olivia’s in Amsterdam to find out how a late-night meeting led Arthur Brand to a missing masterpiece.Writer, Producer and Presenter Olivia GrahamProducer and Writer Emily Esson and Jack Kibble-WhiteComposer Julian CorrieExecutive Producer Elizabeth ClarkExecutive Editor Heather Kane-DarlingCommissioning Editor Gareth Hydes
Ed Porter
really enjoyable series, thank you - but I'll be very relieved if i never hear the term "photees" ever again!
New Jawn
I just couldn't connect with the Silver Fox or, for that matter, any of the characters except the castle museum docent in the first episode, the only person who wasn't seeking to gain benefit from the theft. I don't believe that her dad was motivated at all by altruism. I believe he was seeking fame and money. I found sad irony in the painting's subjects-- Mary and Jesus and the implicit teachings of Christianity-- and the cast of greedy thieves, corrupt lawyers, and assorted lowlifes all looking to profit from returning what was stolen. To me, if anything, this was a podcast on morality and ethics (and lack thereof) and base, course humanity. There are no good guys in this.