Gangster - The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

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Gangster

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The boxer turned bouncer who was gunned down on Tyneside in 1993

Viv Graham ran a pub and club protection empire which spanned Newcastle and beyond.

How did he build his fearsome reputation, and what led to his brutal, unsolved murder?

A new series of Gangster tells the story of Viv Graham, a man who ran a protection empire which spanned Newcastle and beyond.

Viv Graham, a 17-stone man mountain, a man feared and revered in equal measure, came to dominate Tyneside’s nightlife through brutal and uncompromising violence.

His murder, in an organised hit on New Year’s Eve 1993, sparked recriminations and repercussions which echo to this day. It remains one of the country’s most notorious unsolved murders.

The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys: The Burger Bar Boys: 5. Judgement Day

Introducing Gangster: The Story of The Burger Boys

The Burger Bar Boys: 5. Judgement Day

BBC Radio 5 Live - Gangster, The Story of the Burger Bar Boys, The Burger Bar Boys: 5. Judgement Day

The murder trial unfolds and an anonymous informant steps forward to aid justice.

The murder trial of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare unfolds and an anonymous informant steps forward to aid justice despite violent efforts to unmask him.

It’s late 2004 and the buzz of police helicopters and sea of armed police around Leicester Crown Court creates a tense, intimidating atmosphere as one of the biggest murder trials of the decade gets underway. West Midlands police have the men they believe responsible for the deaths of Charlene Ellis and Letisha Shakespeare ready to stand trial for their crimes. But this was not going to be an easy conviction. Detectives had identified 75 people they believed could provide key evidence - yet all of them refused to testify. Then a break came from a man in prison who told prison officers he had seen some of the men in the car involved in the shooting. The problem was - he needed to remain anonymous, and this would involve a legal first.

The trial would go on to last the best part of six months - at that point it was the longest trial in British history and there were several times when it threatened to collapse. Meanwhile, the Burgers were doing everything they could to find out the identity of the secret witness, using extreme violence and intimidation to uncover the name of this faceless man trying to put them behind bars. For the families of Letisha and Sophie and West Midlands police - would they get to witness the killers being put behind bars and finally bring the Burger Bar Boys’ reign of terror to an end?

New episodes are released on Fridays. If you’re in the UK, listen to Gangster: The Burger Bar Boys first on BBC Sounds. bbc.in/40W5Chz

Presenter – Livvy Haydock
Series Producer – Hayley Mortimer
Technical Producer – Nicky Edwards
Producer – Patrick Kiteley
Researcher – Megan Jones
Archive Researcher – Nicola Han
Fixer in Jamaica – Nick Davies
Journalism Assistant – Tim Fernley
Commissioning Executive – Louise Kattenhorn
Assistant Commissioners – Lorraine Okuefuna and Natasha Johansson
Editor and Executive Producer – Carl Johnston

Gangster: The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

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Birmingham's notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots.

The story of Birmingham's notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots in 1985.

A brand new series of Gangster tells the story of Birmingham's notorious Burger Bar Boys - a gang born out of the Handsworth riots in 1985.

Named after the fast food joint where they met, they were described as more ruthless than the Jamaican Yardies. They fought a bitter and bloody war with their rivals the Johnson Crew for control of the crack cocaine trade in the West Midlands. They controlled their turf in the suburb of Handsworth with threats, intimidation and sub machine guns. But when they killed two innocent girls in a drive-by shooting, they were brought down by their own community and a team of fearless detectives determined to stem the body count.        

Presenter - Livvy Haydock
Series Producer - Hayley Mortimer
Technical Producer - Nicky Edwards
Producer - Patrick Kiteley
Researcher - Megan Jones
Archive Researcher - Nicola Han
Fixer in Jamaica - Nick Davies
Journalism Assistant - Tim Fernley
Commissioning Executive - Louise Kattenhorn
Assistant Commissioners - Lorraine Okuefuna and Natasha Johansson
Editor and Executive Producer - Carl Johnston

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The Story of the Burger Bar Boys

The Burger Bar Boys: 5. Judgement Day

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