Gangster: The Story of the Black Widow - inside the life of Britain's most notorious female gangster Linda Calvey
Hosted by investigative journalist Livvy Haydock, Gangster: The Story of the Black Widow explores the extraordinary life of Linda, who rose through the ranks of London's criminal scene to become one of the UK's most feared female gangsters.
Now 76, Linda opens up in candid interviews with Livvy about love, loss, and lethal consequences.
Dubbed 'The Black Widow', Linda served time in the infamous H Wing alongside notorious killers Myra Hindley and Rose West. In this six-part series, she revisits the crimes that defined her, the prison years that changed her, and the regrets that still haunt her.
This series also includes exclusive interviews with Linda's children, Neil and Mel, speaking publicly for the first time. In a raw and emotionally charged conversation, they reveal what it was really like growing up as the children of armed robbers, and how their childhood was shaped by crime, violence and loss.
Neil recalls playing outside aged just three and a half with what turned out to be a real sawn-off shotgun: 'I thought it was just another toy gun, I'd found it behind the sofa. I was outside running around with it when one of the neighbours knocked on the door. My mum just said, 'Oh, he's got loads of guns.' She thought it was a toy, but it wasn't.'
Mel, meanwhile, describes a surreal early memory of going on a spending spree to Hamleys, with money she found under Linda's bed.
They also open up about the devastating loss of their father Mickey who was shot and killed during a failed robbery, and how they later lost their mother too, when she was later imprisoned for murder.
Neil said: 'When my dad got killed and my mum went to prison, it was like falling into a black hole. You just don't know which way to turn.'
Mel added: 'I was angry. I'd already lost my dad, then I lost my mum. I told her that. I was about 14, and I asked her, 'Why did you do that to us?' I was bitter for years. It was like drinking a poison that festered in me.'
Both siblings reflect on how that trauma shaped their adult lives, from struggles with addiction and mental health to years spent numbing the pain. 'It's like I walked into a party at 14 and didn't leave until I was in my forties,' Mel said. 'I was reckless. For years I was just on another planet.'
Despite the pain, there are also moments of reconciliation. Neil adds: 'I might have been angry with the situation, but I never blamed my mum. I'd still choose her. And my dad. It's just a shame how it all went.'
Mel agrees: 'I'd still choose them too, but I'd want it to be different. I used to be envious of my friends whose parents had jobs, mortgages, dinner on the table. That's what I wanted. A normal life.'
The Gangster podcast series has garnered millions of downloads and widespread critical acclaim for its deep dives into Britain's criminal underworld. This latest six-part series pushes even further, offering a rare female perspective on violence, power and survival in a world dominated by men - and for the first time, lays bare the personal cost of crime on the children left behind.
Livvy Haydock said: 'Linda Calvey's story is one of the most extraordinary I've ever come across. This podcast isn't about glamourising crime, it's about asking how someone becomes 'The Black Widow' and what that says about class, gender, and justice in Britain."
Listen to Gangster: The Black Widow on BBC Sounds from Friday 8 August
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The Independent
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