PODCAST

Assume Nothing

BBC Radio Ulster

The teams assume nothing as they examine events through fresh eyes.

true crime documentary

All Episodes

12:40

1. The Last Shift

Assume Nothing ·

2026/03/14

The story of a 35 year old nursing assistant who collapsed and died following an altercation with a patient at a psychiatric hospital in Northern Ireland.35 years later, her family is still searching for answers.Episode 1: The Last Shift23rd March, 1991. Mary is finishing her night shift when a patient suddenly becomes violent. A colleague hears a loud commotion and rushes to help. Meanwhile, Mary’s husband Norman is on his way to collect her, unaware of an unfolding tragedy.Readings by:Declan

12:35

8. The Journal

Assume Nothing ·

2026/02/28

Short Description 8. The Journal Medium Description A security breach. A top-secret surveillance operation. A government collapsed. The exposure and death of a spy. Long Description Twenty years on, nobody has been convicted of the murder of Denis Donaldson. One potentially key piece of evidence, a journal he was supposedly writing around the time of his death, is being held by Irish police. His family wants it returned, but their efforts are unsuccessful.

11:55

7. At the Double

Assume Nothing ·

2026/02/21

A matter of months after he confesses to being a spy, Denis Donaldson is murdered at a remote cottage in Donegal. Questions are asked about his death, his life, and his true loyalties. Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern Ireland

10:35

6. The Cottage

Assume Nothing ·

2026/02/14

A journalist gets a tip that a political backroom man who’s just confessed to being a spy is living in the wilds of Donegal. He sets out to track him down and secure a major scoop. The old, whitewashed stone cottage where the spy is living has a dark history that’s about to take another chilling turn. Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern Ireland

13:14

5. In the Public Interest

Assume Nothing ·

2026/02/07

The dust has barely settled on the shock news that prosecutors have dropped all charges against three men accused of running a republican spy ring in government, when one of them makes a jaw dropping confession. Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern Ireland

13:57

4. Disclosure

Assume Nothing ·

2026/01/31

Four people are arrested when police swoop to break up what they claim is a republican spying network operating at the heart of Northern Ireland’s volatile government. A convoluted legal process ends with an outcome nobody sees coming. Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern Ireland

10:08

3. Politically Pear Shaped

Assume Nothing ·

2026/01/24

A massive surveillance operation into IRA intelligence gathering has led police to the home of a political party administrator. They recover material they believe to have been stolen from government offices, but some of the intelligence is missing. Their efforts to find those missing items turns the covert operation into a full-blown political scandal that threatens the future of Stormont’s shaky coalition. Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern

11:10

2. The Easy Art of Espionage

Assume Nothing ·

2026/01/17

Police investigating a daring break in, supposedly by the IRA, at their counter terrorism unit’s headquarters get a tip off. Apparently, there’s another republican intelligence operation happening and its reach extends to the heart of Northern Ireland’s volatile government. Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern Ireland

13:19

1. Agent of Influence

Assume Nothing ·

2026/01/10

A daring raid at the Belfast headquarters of Special Branch, the police counter terrorism unit, triggers a massive investigation. The finger of blame is pointed at the IRA, at a time when the paramilitary ceasefire is just about holding but government in Northern Ireland is far from stable.Presenter: Martin McCann Additional Voice: Nicolas Boulton Produced by BBC Northern Ireland

25:05

15. A Political Call

Assume Nothing ·

2025/12/27

In August 2020 Katie Simpson was brutally murdered by Jonathan Creswell, the partner of her older sister.For months he convinces her family, the hospital, the pathologist and even the police that she'd taken her own life. He portrays himself as the Good Samaritan, who'd tried to save her.But for a small group of people, close friends and family, a Detective Sergeant and journalist Tanya Fowles, the truth about how she'd died might never have come out.For the first time, Tanya reveals how in the

13:16

Episode 14: Curiosities

Assume Nothing ·

2025/12/20

A woman says she's visited by men who she says tell her there is no point in pursuing Jonathan Creswell after she reported him for stealing her horse. Another is told police couldn't arrest him when she'd reported him for indecent exposure at the yard where they worked. And for the first time, journalist Tanya Fowles reveals details of a call she received trying to put her off the story.

11:36

Episode 13: Do the Right Thing

Assume Nothing ·

2025/12/13

Detective Sergeant James Brannigan has one last chance to convince his bosses to launch an investigation into Katie's death. Working on his own, he compiles a 20-page report of all the evidence so far. He says there are questions that need answers. He hopes senior officers will now decide the death needs to be looked at by a Major Investigations Team. But it is only when a young officer speaks up that the decision to have another look is made.

13:08

Episode 12: The Detective Sergeant

Assume Nothing ·

2025/12/06

Detective Sergeant James Brannigan is able to speak to this series for the first time. He reveals how a call from journalist Tanya Fowles leads him to review the evidence gathered so far by his police colleagues into the murder. The more he uncovers, the more he believes an investigation is needed. He's just got to convince his senior officers.

12:00

Episode 11: The Recap

Assume Nothing ·

2025/11/29

Jonathan Creswell very nearly gets away with murder. He tells police Katie Simpson had tried to take her own life. He's the hero who'd tried to save her. But he is lying. He's eventually charged with her rape and murder. Now new witnesses say they'd tried to warn police of her killer's behaviours.

29:18

4. Mum

Assume Nothing ·

2025/10/22

As Cameron Finnigan is sentenced at the Old Bailey his mum speaks out. She offers a rare, painful and deeply revealing insight into families caught in the fallout of 764.The BBC investigation explores what it will take to stop this network and the National Crime Agency reveal what they’re doing to combat the growing threat of online groups like 764.For information and support on issues discussed in this series, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline.

23:21

3. Taken in 90 Seconds

Assume Nothing ·

2025/10/22

In a chilling look at how screens become crime scenes, we uncover a murder that was plotted in Romania and live streamed to 764 members worldwide.The investigation explores the power of online manipulation and the worrying reach of 764.For information and support on issues discussed in this series, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline.

25:32

2. The Lion’s Den

Assume Nothing ·

2025/10/22

Uncovering what happens inside 764’s chatrooms and its devastating toll on victims and families who are caught in the web of a network so dangerous, global law enforcement can barely keep up.We meet a Canadian mother, whose daughter was drawn into the group’s grip, revealing how 764’s tactics push families to the brink and leave no one untouched.For information and support on issues discussed in this series, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline.

25:08

1. The Arrest

Assume Nothing ·

2025/10/22

Teenager Cameron Finnigan from Horsham in Sussex is arrested in a dawn raid. Behind it all is a shadowy online network called 764, so dangerous it’s being hunted by the FBI and global law enforcement.The BBC investigates how Finnigan became entangled in a world where teenagers are coerced into live streaming rituals, self-harm and murder plots.Presenter Jo looks deeper into the predators behind 764 and explores how they are reaching vulnerable children in their bedrooms.For information and support

2:06

Introducing... Creation of a Teenage Satanist

Assume Nothing ·

2025/10/22

They are a terrorist organisation who believe ‘no lives matter.’ They search for and extort children and young people, with deadly results. This is the story of the far right Satanist group called 764.For information and support on issues discussed in this series, visit bbc.co.uk/actionline.

24:55

4. Parachuting into War with a Gramophone

Assume Nothing ·

2025/08/09

A fierce warrior turned master strategist, he led elite SAS troops on missions that shifted the tide of World War II. Decorated four times yet denied the Victoria Cross. Was it down to a typo or a face that didn’t fit? Today, his legend burns brighter than ever, fuelling a renewed campaign to honour him with the Victoria Cross.

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Assume Nothing

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