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Cover – BBC Radio 5 Live — True Crime
Cover – BBC Radio 5 Live

A new investigative series from the production team behind ‘Where Is George Gibney?’
This new series will focus on another figure who lived a double life and was eventually forced to live under cover. And it’s a story, like the George Gibney one, that many would prefer was never told.
So, from this point on, this feed will be renamed ‘Cover.’ Series 1 one of which was ‘Where Is George Gibney?’ and series 2 is Stakeknife.
In Northern Ireland from 1978 to 1994, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers; people accused of passing information to the police and the British Army. But the man who often found, tortured, and sometimes killed these men and women was himself an informer, a secret British Army Agent with the codename Stakeknife.
Using secret recordings, reporter Mark Horgan traces the astonishing double life of Freddie Scappaticci. Why was he protected? How did he walk the tightrope between the IRA and British Army intelligence for so long and when murders, often of entirely innocent people, were sometimes allowed to take place despite state security force surveillance, who gets to play God?
This series is about far more than just one man; it’s about the state structures that protected him. From the production team behind the international award-winning ‘Where Is George Gibney?’, Stakeknife tells the story of one of the most-contested and darkest episodes of the Troubles. When neither side wants the story of Stakeknife to come out, how does society try to reconcile the truth about what happened?
You can continue to contact our production team about either series via our new email cover@bbc.co.uk and rest assured, any significant future movements in the story of George Gibney will also be covered right here. Talk to you again next week.

Copyright: © (C) BBC 2024

Latest Episodes:

12. Case Update: George Gibney Arrested in Florida Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

In a hugely significant development, the former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney has been arrested in Florida. Mark brings us the very latest.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan Composer: Michael Fleming Theme tune: Aaron Dessner Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins

Where is George Gibney? is a Second Captains Production for BBC Sounds.

12. Bonus Episode With Angela Donnelly, Sister of Eugene Simons Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

Angela Donnelly was one of the voices you heard at the end of episode 9 coming forward publicly for the first time. Angela is the sister of Eugene Simons who was murdered and disappeared by the IRA in 1981. She speaks to Mark at her home in County Down about her complicated relationship with her brother and how Stakeknife was involved in his murder.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan Editing and Sound Design: Mark Horgan Composer: Michael Fleming Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioner for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioner for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

11. Bonus Q&A with Mark Horgan and Patrick Radden Keefe Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

Mark is joined by the author of 'Say Nothing' Patrick Radden Keefe to discuss the making of 'Stakeknife' and also the television adaptation of 'Say Nothing'. They'll take your questions on both series and discuss the crossover elements between the two.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan Co-Producer: Killian Down Composer: Michael Fleming Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioner for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna Commissioner for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

A message to listeners - Q&A with Patrick Radden Keefe and bonus interview coming soon Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

Two bonus episodes coming soon including a Q&A with Patrick Radden Keefe, the author of the international bestseller Say Nothing. The second episode is an exclusive interview with Angela Donnelly, a woman whose brother Eugene Simons was murdered and disappeared by the IRA in 1981, a killing connected to Stakeknife.

Send your questions for Mark and Patrick to cover@bbc.co.uk.

10. Frank Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Mark travels to where Freddie Scappaticci lived after he disappeared from Belfast. A news report we featured from 1987 inspires a man to get in touch with the podcast.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy Co-Producer: Paddy Fee Editing and Sound Design: Ciarán Cassidy Composer: Michael Fleming Sound mixing: Ger McDonnell Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioners for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna and Sarah Green. Commissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

9. No Harm Will Come to You Jan 24, 2025

Show notes

Shauna tells the story of her mother Caroline Moreland. We hear how her campaigning has helped others connected to the the Stakeknife case and how other families have come forward to Mark since the start of this series.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy Co-Producer: Paddy Fee Editing and Sound Design: Ciarán Cassidy Composer: Michael Fleming Sound mixing: Ger McDonnell Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioners for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna and Sarah Green. Commissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

8. The General and the Agent Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

We return to the solicitor’s office in West Belfast as Mark meets three crucial people to discuss the end of Scappaticci’s time in the IRA and his eventual uncovering as the agent Stakeknife.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy Co-Producer: Paddy Fee Editing and Sound Design: Ciarán Cassidy Composer: Michael Fleming Sound mixing: Ger McDonnell Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioners for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna and Sarah Green. Commissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

7. The Beginning of the End Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

In 1990, a man called Sandy Lynch was tied up, blindfolded and interrogated by Scappaticci. He survived to document his experience. Marks speaks to an IRA man who “guarded” Lynch.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy Co-Producer: Paddy Fee Editing and Sound Design: Ciarán Cassidy Composer: Michael Fleming Sound mixing: Ger McDonnell Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioners for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna and Sarah Green. Commissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

A message to listeners - one week break Jan 03, 2025

Show notes

Episode 7 is available on Friday, January 3rd on BBC Sounds.

6. Playing God Dec 27, 2024

Show notes

Orla and Kevin Coyle tell the story of their father who was killed as an alleged informer by the IRA. The profound shadow cast by their father’s death has lasted almost 30 years.

Credits

Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written by: Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy Co-Producer: Paddy Fee Editing and Sound Design: Ciarán Cassidy Composer: Michael Fleming Sound mixing: Ger McDonnell Theme tune by Lankum Artwork by Conor Merriman Assistant Commissioners for BBC: Lorraine Okuefuna and Sarah Green. Commissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins

Stakeknife is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

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