logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
36m 35s

Lord Lucan: the vanishing earl

IMMEDIATE MEDIA
About this episode

On 7 November, 1974, nanny Sandra Rivett was found murdered in the affluent London neighbourhood of Belgravia. The prime suspect? The father of her young charges, Lord Lucan. But before the aristocrat could be questioned, he vanished, sparking one of the greatest cause célèbres of the 20th century. Author Laura Thompson tells Ellie Cawthorne more about the case, and what it can reveal about simmering class tensions in Britain at the time.


(Ad) Laura Thompson is the author of A Different Class of Murder: The Story of Lord Lucan (Head of Zeus, 2014). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Different-Class-Murder-Laura-Thompson/dp/1781855366/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.


Kate Morgan chronicles the legal history of murder, discussing the cases that shaped UK murder laws: https://link.chtbl.com/kNn9jPWH.


The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Yesterday
Nationalism: everything you wanted to know
Human beings tend to identify with being in a group, and, historically, few groupings have been more potent than the idea of the nation. But when did people first embrace the idea of the nation state? Is nationalism predominantly a right-wing creed? And does it thrive during peri ... Show More
45m 17s
Aug 22
Preview: The forgers who faked a fortune
In 1775, a respectable lady, a mild-mannered apothecary and his fast-living identical twin stood accused of pulling off a scam that had earnt them a fortune. But as their trial unfolded, the defendants turned on one another, and the plot thickened – who was the real orchestrator ... Show More
8m 52s
Aug 21
From dodos to 'lost' tribes: a history of extinction
After causing the extinction of the dodo, humans soon realised that we had the power to destroy entire species – and we continue to reckon with that power. Speaking to James Osborne, Sadiah Qureshi discusses her new book Vanished, which looks at the connections between extinction ... Show More
35m 6s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2025
Episode 396 - Lord Lucan: the Vanishing Earl
When the Countess of Lucan burst into a West London pub drenched head-to-toe in blood, it instantly sparked a national obsession. Lord Lucan – the suave, speedboat-racing, professional-gambling aristocrat – was wanted for the murder of their housekeeper, Sandra Rivett. And he had ... Show More
1h 35m
Jun 27
The Murder of Henry VI
An investigation into the dramatic siege of London in 1471 and the controversial and mysterious death of Henry VI. Matt Lewis is joined by Andrew Boardman to unpack Thomas Neville's assault on London, a rebellion that set the city on fire and led to panic within its walls. They e ... Show More
53m 21s
Jul 2024
893. The Mystery of Lord Lucan (with Alastair Budge)
Talking about the story of Lord Lucan, the British aristocrat who disappeared in 1974 after the murder of his nanny and attempted murder of his wife. Lord Lucan is an infamous name in Britain, and the story of his disappearance is a compelling glimpse into a life of privilege, hi ... Show More
1h 41m
Oct 2023
The Murder Mystery of the Greystone Mansion
On the night of February 16th, 1929, Lucy Doheny, wife of Ned Doheny (son of the oil baron Edward L. Doheny) heard a gunshot in her home – The Greystone Mansion – at about 11:30 PM. She called the family doctor, and only when he arrived did she go investigate the noise. She and t ... Show More
12m 16s
Jul 15
49. Elizabeth Manning - Hocusser
Lucy Worsley is back with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make ... Show More
28m 10s
Apr 2025
ROYAL MURDERS: Anne Boleyn & The Romanovs
What do Anne Boleyn and the Romanov children have in common? They were both royal… and they were both executed. This week, we investigate two of the most infamous royal murders in history. First, the rise and fall of England’s Queen Anne Boleyn. And later, the 2008 discovery of t ... Show More
49m 27s
Feb 2025
#286 - The Black Cap Farce (Edith McQuaid, Soho, UK)
On 1st January 1932, in the attic room of 27 Old Compton Street in Soho, 19-year-old domestic servant Edith McQuaid gave birth to a baby boy. Whether he died of natural causes, or she took his life by infanticide will never be known. But she wasn't alone. Edith was one of 1000s o ... Show More
1h 1m
Apr 2024
Seducing James I: Mary & George
The major new TV series, Mary & George tells the scandalous story of George Villiers, who rose - thanks to his mother Mary’s machinations - from minor gentry to enrapture King James VI & I, Britain’s first Stuart king. For a decade, George Villiers was at James’s side – at court, ... Show More
47m 22s