Original version

BBC Four

BBC 4

Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues

BBC Four HD

Sam Willis

Gerry Dawson

William Naylor

Michael Poole

Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues: Episode 3: Rogues Gallery

Documentaries

Rogues Gallery

Episode 3

Episode 3: Rogues Gallery

BBC Four - Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues, Rogues Gallery

Sam Willis looks at urban crime, fraud and corruption in the 18th century.

Sam Willis looks at urban crime, fraud and corruption in the 18th century, uncovering a fascinating rogues' gallery of charmers, fraudsters and villains.

Few figures in British history have captured the popular imagination as much as the outlaw. From gentleman highwaymen, via swashbuckling pirates to elusive urban thieves and rogues, the brazen escapades and the flamboyance of the outlaw made them the anti-hero of their time - feared by the rich, admired by the poor and celebrated by writers and artists. 

In this three-part series, historian Dr Sam Willis travels the open roads, the high seas and urban alleyways to explore Britain's 17th and 18th-century underworld of highwaymen, pirates and rogues, bringing the great age of the British outlaw vividly to life.

Sam shows that, far from being 'outsiders', outlaws were very much a product of their time, shaped by powerful national events. In each episode, he focuses not just on a particular type of outlaw, but a particular era. The series as a whole offers a chronological portrait of the changing face of crime in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the final episode, Sam looks at urban crime, fraud and corruption in the 18th century, uncovering a fascinating rogues’ gallery of charmers, fraudsters and villains. Charmers like thief and serial escaper Jack Sheppard, so notorious that almost a quarter of a million people turned up to witness his hanging. Almost as controversial in her lifetime was Mary Toft, a fraudster who managed to convince no less than King George I and his surgeon that she had given birth to rabbits, making her, perhaps, the original 'con' artist.


Knowledge, arts, music and culture from the UK and the world.

BBC Four reflects arts, music and culture with an ambitious range of intellectually and culturally enriching programmes, taking an expert and in-depth approach to its subjects.

Factual: History

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Swashbuckling series in which Dr Sam Willis charts the great age of the British outlaw.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues

Episode 3: Rogues Gallery

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Series

BBC Four

About BBC Four