logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2024
53m 14s

Boris Becker | Boy King | 1

Wondery
About this episode

A Wimbledon win aged just 17 saw Boris Becker become the tennis tournament’s youngest ever winner and a global superstar. But the pressure of overnight fame sent his life into a tailspin. In this four-part series, Matt Forde and Alice Levine chart Becker’s meteoric rise and shocking fall from grace. A fall that took the player from the tennis court to the criminal court. And to a London prison.


Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you'd like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you'd like to ask our hosts? Email us at britishscandal@wondery.com

Listen to British Scandal on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial today by visiting https://wondery.com/links/british-scandal/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Today
Anne Boleyn | The Great Matter | 2
Anne and Henry face two tiny obstacles: his wife and the Pope. As they plot to dethrone a queen and secure a divorce, Anne discovers crowns come with catches.Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you would like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you would like to ask ou ... Show More
51m 57s
Jul 2
Anne Boleyn | To Catch a King | 1
Anne Boleyn dazzles Henry VIII, refusing to be just another notch on his bedpost. She'll settle for nothing less than marriage. But King Henry already has a wife.Do you have a suggestion for a scandal you would like us to cover? Or perhaps you have a question you would like to as ... Show More
54m 16s
Jun 25
The Salisbury Poisonings | The Journalist Who Knew Too Much | 4
Guardian journalist Luke Harding was thrown out of Russia for exposing uncomfortable truths. Now he takes Matt and Alice behind the headlines of the Skripal attack, exposing how Putin's spy machine really works, and the chilling lengths it went to to threaten his own family.Do yo ... Show More
34m 18s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 8
Quiz Show Rigging | Deception | 4
Twenty-One producer Dan Enright takes drastic action to keep the rigging scandal under wraps by discrediting his accuser, Herbert Stempel. But investigators with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office uncover undeniable proof that soon sparks a Congressional hearing, and puts c ... Show More
38m 46s
Mar 2025
Quiz Show Rigging | The Perfect Contestant | 2
Herbert Stempel is given the opportunity of a lifetime when television producer Dan Enright offers him a guaranteed winning streak on the quiz show Twenty-One — so long as he follows the script. Stempel enjoys his newfound celebrity and financial success, but as ratings plateau, ... Show More
35m 36s
Apr 15
Quiz Show Rigging | The Pressure Cooker | 5
Television producers Howard Blumenthal and Bob Boden weren’t old enough to experience the quiz show scandal of the 1950s firsthand, but it had a major impact on their lives and careers. Blumenthal’s father helped produce the rigged quiz show Twenty-One, and Boden worked alongside ... Show More
34m 56s
Dec 2024
Legacy and British Scandal Special: The Scandalous Life of Charles Dickens | 5
Peter and Afua go on the British Scandal podcast hosted by Matt Forde and Alice Levine to discuss the life and times of Charles Dickens. Behind the snowy scenes, jolly carols and festive cheer, the so-called “Father of Christmas” had a turbulent home life full of drinking, allege ... Show More
47m 37s
Jul 2024
Teapot Dome | An Extraordinary Transaction | 3
After months of chasing his tail, Teapot Dome investigator Thomas Walsh finally gets a lead when Denver Post reporter D.F. Stackelbeck reveals evidence that Albert Fall accepted bribes. Fall and his benefactors, Edward Doheny and Harry Sinclair, remain defiant, but their continue ... Show More
37m 56s
Apr 1
Quiz Show Rigging | Consolation Prize | 3
As former quiz show champion Herbert Stempel watches Charles Van Doren continue his staged winning streak on Twenty-One, he threatens to go public with what he knows. Meanwhile, another contestant quietly takes steps of his own to document the show’s fraud. Be the first to know a ... Show More
38m 23s
May 20
The Woman Who Sold Babies | The Judge's Daughter | 1
In the early 20th century, a young woman named Georgia Tann begins her career in social work and becomes determined to change adoption in America—even if it means destroying lives and tearing families apart.Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendat ... Show More
38m 58s
Mar 2025
Quiz Show Rigging | All the Answers | 1
In the 1950s, America was captivated by high-stakes television quiz shows like The $64,000 Question and Twenty-One, which promised everyday Americans a shot at life-changing winnings. But behind the scenes, producers decided they couldn’t leave the drama to chance. They needed to ... Show More
38m 6s
Oct 2024
Henry V, the Greatest Medieval King: Interview with Dan Jones
Henry V of England was the archetypal medieval king, a warrior par excellence whose example inspired English kings for centuries to come, the victor at Agincourt and conqueror of much of France. Tides of History's returning champion guest, Dan Jones, joins me to talk about his ne ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2024
Even the Royals: Caroline of Brunswick Part 1: Sex, Lies & Letters | 246
Over a hundred years before Princess Diana and Prince Charles, there was another doomed British royal couple: Queen Caroline and King George IV. Caroline and George’s hatred for each other runs so deep that it leads to a war that snowballs into a full blown tabloid circus. (Imagi ... Show More
44m 6s