Episode One: Pandora’s Box

Summary

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Fraudacious - Episode One: Pandora’s Box

Podcast: Fraudacious
Host: Novel in association with BBC Studios
Episode: Episode One: Pandora’s Box
Date: March 2, 2026

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Overview

The debut episode of "Fraudacious" explores the bewildering rise and devastating impact of a high-society fraud. London dress shop owner, Bridget Hutchcroft, finds herself entangled with the enigmatic Ekaterina Barrett, a self-styled Russian heiress whose apparent fortune – and friendship – evaporates just as quickly as it appears. What begins as dog-sitting duties develops into an all-consuming financial disaster for Bridget, who is ultimately left fighting for justice in a web of deception stretching across Europe. The investigative journalist Vicki Baker guides listeners through this intricate tale of trust, illusion, and betrayal.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Allure of High Society and First Impressions

[01:10–02:35]

• Bridget recalls attending an exclusive Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Milan with Ekaterina ("Yekaterina"), who arrives with greyhounds, a driver, and entourage, exuding wealth and confidence.

  • “She was where she wanted to be... beautiful clothing. Money’s not a problem. You don’t even talk about money.” – Bridget [02:23]

• Despite the glamour, Bridget feels like an outsider among Yekaterina’s circle, quipping about being served “staff pasta.” [02:43]

• Baker introduces the central tension: Bridget is unsure of her place, swept from acquaintance to "entourage" status, all the while a sense of unease brewing.

2. Bridget’s Backstory: From Adventurer to Successful Shopowner

[06:55–09:40]

• Inside Pandora Dress Agency in Knightsbridge: an unassuming secondhand shop brimming with luxury labels (Dior, Chanel, Gucci).

• Bridget’s roots in Staley Bridge, Greater Manchester: rebellious, independent, forged her own path, bought the dress shop in her twenties.

  • "If I lose all my money, it doesn’t really matter because I can make it all again because I’m only 28." – Bridget [09:21]

• The shop attracts a star-studded clientele, but no patron would affect Bridget’s life like Yekaterina.

3. The Introduction of Yekaterina Barrett: Eccentricity and Power

[10:14–12:26]

• Yekaterina, with a thick Russian accent, is “very bossy,” phoning regularly and seeking extra attention from staff.

  • "Like, pay attention to me, deal with me type of attitude. Money is what I heard from one of the girls..." – Sona, Shop Manager [10:20]

• The friendship begins with a simple favor: watching Yekaterina’s dogs while she shops at Harrods.

  • "She was, you know, 'Oh, you must come to my house.'" – Bridget [11:54]

• Sona notes the sudden shift: “Bridget never liked dealing with her... as soon as the dogs came in. That's when they befriended each other.” [10:40]

4. Vulnerability and Escalating Entanglement

[13:43–15:46]

• Yekaterina’s Mayfair apartment: a backdrop of wealth (designer furnishings, live-in staff).
• Bridget, still fragile after a breakdown and newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, finds comfort in walking the greyhounds. She becomes a regular presence in Yekaterina’s world.
  • “Walking the dogs is like good therapy for me.” – Bridget [15:43]

5. The Facade of Friendship and Growing Dependence

[16:17–18:31]

• Despite spending increasing time together, Bridget insists their connection is superficial, “just an intrigue.”

  • "It was like a theatre, to be honest. And now I was on the outside watching." – Bridget [23:42]

• Yekaterina presents herself as an heiress, supported by a Liechtenstein trust set up by her grandfather.

• Bridget is gradually drawn into Yekaterina’s errands and attends high society venues with her, blurring the lines between friend and staff.

6. The Moment of Crisis: The First Loan

[19:18–21:46]

• A dramatic episode in September 2017: Yekaterina’s trust manager reportedly dies, causing a “cash flow crisis.”
• Bridget, feeling pressured by Yekaterina’s trustees, agrees to lend her £7,500.
• The amount quickly grows, reaching £14,500 tracked formally by shop manager Sona.

7. Mounting Suspicion and Growing Sums

[22:34–25:16]

• The “all-expenses-paid” trips are often not so: Bridget is asked to front costs, always with promises of reimbursement.

  • “She tries to imply, 'I’ll pay you when we get back to London. Stop making a fuss.'” – Bridget [22:28]

• Sona senses something wrong, believing Bridget is hiding the scale of her financial support for Yekaterina.

  • “That’s when my flag went ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.” – Sona [25:16]

8. The Bombshell: Over a Million Pounds Lent

[25:22–26:19]

• Sona contacts Roger, Bridget’s closest friend and ex-partner, to intervene. Roger confronts Bridget and discovers the true extent: she’s lent Yekaterina over £1.4 million.
  • "That's when he came back and told me...Bridget has lent Ekaterina money, a lot of money, more than a million pounds." – Sona [26:04]

9. Roger’s Perspective: Charm, Vulnerability, and Credibility

[27:37–32:29]

• Roger, a retired estate agent with acute instincts, describes Bridget as energetic and impulsive, but impaired by her depression and medication.

  • "Depression is a dreadful, dreadful thing...it makes you incredibly vulnerable." – Roger [28:41]

• While it seems irrational to lend so much to a new friend, Roger notes Yekaterina’s apparent credibility: the lifestyle, Monaco property, Swiss banking.

10. The Crucial Meeting at Langan’s Brasserie

[32:39–36:57]

• Roger organizes a lunch with two Swiss bankers from EFG International to verify Yekaterina’s wealth. The banker confidently reassures them:

  • “She’s as rich as a Rothschild. She’s good for it.” – EFG International banker (as recounted by Roger) [34:39]

• Roger and Bridget leave the meeting feeling reassured – perhaps wrongly – that repayment will come.

11. The Unraveling: Empty Promises and Final Straws

[38:09–40:05]

• Bridget, even as she grows more insistent about repayment, receives repeated delays from Yekaterina.

• A tense phone exchange becomes the turning point:

  • “I said, you either give me the money or I’m coming to get the money. And she said, ‘Don’t be like that…If you say that one more time, you’ll never see your money for 100 years.’” – Bridget [39:17]

• This threat is the “trigger” that pushes Bridget to finally take a stand.

12. Turning to the Law

[41:28–45:11]

• Bridget consults solicitor Philip Barden, who immediately senses “these were not loans that were going to be repaid.”

• The police decline to investigate, treating the matter as a civil (not criminal) dispute.

• Barden warns: “You are opening Pandora’s box because you don’t know what’s going to come out once you start litigating.” [45:28]

• Bridget is determined to pursue a civil case, despite warnings about the cost and low probability of recovering her money.

13. The Psychological Toll and the Road Ahead

[46:18–47:41]

• Barden notes that for Bridget, it’s “about more than the money…she needed the comfort of knowing that her story had been listened to and she had been believed.”

• Baker emphasizes the deep psychological and emotional complexities, extending beyond the financial loss.

• Bridget and Roger realize that taking on Yekaterina is “like dealing with perhaps the slipperiest fish that I’ve ever come across in my life.” – Roger [47:34]

14. The Counterattack

[47:41–end]

• After Bridget initiates legal action, Yekaterina responds with a countersuit, accusing Bridget of owing her money—more, in fact, than she ever received.
• The narrative closes with a sense of escalating conflict: “When Bridget took this battle on, she had no idea who she was up against.” [47:55]

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “She was where she wanted to be. Beautiful clothing. Money’s not a problem. You don’t even talk about money.” – Bridget [02:23]
• “If I lose all my money, it doesn’t really matter because I can make it all again because I’m only 28.” – Bridget [09:21]
• "She was very bossy... Like, pay attention to me, deal with me..." – Sona [10:20]
• “Walking the dogs is like good therapy for me.” – Bridget [15:43]
• "She has a magnetic effect on you and I don’t know why." – Bridget [38:09]
• “She’s as rich as a Rothschild. She’s good for it.” – EFG Banker (reported by Roger) [34:39]
• “You either give me the money or I’m coming to get the money... ‘If you say that one more time, you’ll never see your money for 100 years.’” – Bridget [39:17]
• "You are opening Pandora's box because you don’t know what’s going to come out once you start litigating." – Philip Barden [45:28]
• “We are dealing with perhaps the slipperiest fish that I’ve ever, ever come across in my life." – Roger [47:34]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bridget’s Dolce & Gabbana Milan memory – [01:10–02:35]
• Inside Pandora Dress Agency, Bridget’s background – [06:55–09:40]
• Introducing Yekaterina, shop staff perspective – [10:14–12:26]
• First loan & escalation – [19:18–21:46]
• Sona’s suspicions and Roger confronts Bridget – [25:22–26:19]
• Lunch with bankers (Rothschild’s assurance) – [32:39–36:57]
• Legal escalation, Philip Barden’s cautions – [41:28–45:28]
• Counter-suit by Yekaterina – [47:41–end]

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Style & Tone

The episode balances intimate interviews with dramatic narration, veering between the glitz of high society and the rawness of personal betrayal. Baker’s tone is probing yet empathetic, and the subjects speak with candor, humility, and sometimes disbelief about the twists in their journey.

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Closing Thoughts

Episode one sets up a psychological and legal thriller founded not just on a spectacular monetary loss, but on the power of charisma, the collapse of trust, and the cost of illusion. It’s a cautionary tale with global scope, inviting listeners to question how far appearances can deceive, and at what ruinous cost.

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For more, listen to the next episode as the story digs deeper into the international web around Ekaterina Barrett, and as Bridget’s fight intensifies.

Transcript

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[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Fraudatious is a novel production for BBC studios.

[Bridget]

You went in through almost like a curtain. You go upstairs and they're treating everybody as if they're a multi million pound customer.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget is stepping into a Dolce and Gabbana showroom in Milan. It's invite only. It's in an Italian palazzo. Renaissance architecture, candelabras and gold leaf everywhere. Everything here is haute couture. This is a brand that channels drama and decadence.

[Bridget]

You know, a bit like when you see these 19 stuff 60s films with Ava Gardner and they're all like glamorous with big dresses on and it's a bit like that Dulce Guevara, really. It's lovely.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget's friend Ykaterina secured the invite. She's in her 60s and she's arrived dressed for the occasion. Bridget says Y has also brought her greyhounds and her driver, plus a young makeup artist. Yekaterina is beaming with delight as she spins around in a multi colored harlequin like outfit. She stretches its feathered edges out with

[Bridget]

pride and everyone's like, oh yes, madam. She was where she wanted to be. Beautiful clothing. Money's not a problem. You don't even talk about money.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget, meanwhile is watching from the sidelines. She says she's shown to a table and offered something to eat while she waits.

[Bridget]

What I call a staff pasta, which is usually the basic pasta of the day. That's what the staff ate.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

But Bridget isn't part of Ekaterina's staff. The problem is she's not sure exactly what she is anymore. It's 2019 and over the last two years, Bridget has gone from being a stranger to a casual acquaintance to, well, seemingly being part of an entourage. By this point, she feels like she's playing along, trying to avoid a conflict which has been brewing.

[Bridget]

I think also is beginning to think, I'm going to wait, you know, I'll see where this is going.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget wishes now that she'd never gone on that trip to Milan. But there's a lot more she would like to rewind and erase if she could.

[Bridget]

I just remember thinking, God, this is really weird, you know, and then to you, she can be as charming as charming can be. And that's how she ropes you in.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Ekaterina Barrett certainly manages to rope people in. More people than you could imagine. I'm Vicki Baker and I'm a reporter who specialises in investigating con artists. Fashionista who posed as multimillionaire to swindle friend faces jail. That's the headline from the Times that first pulled me into this story. This tale had all the ingredients to grab my attention. A high society swindle, A friendship gone wrong. A potential crime. I clicked for more and I saw the photos. Extraordinary pictures that show the so called fashionista Yekaterina Barrett having been tracked down on the streets of Monaco by the Daily Mail. It's a tabloid gotcha moment. Yekaterina seems unaware she's being photographed. She's in her late 60s, pencil thin with long straight flame red hair. She's wearing a garish royal purple Chanel minidress and leather knee high boots. Three equally lithe greyhounds trail behind her. She struck me as highly eccentric, to say the least. Now I was even more intrigued. And as for the woman who was apparently swindled, Bridget, she's pictured too. She's of a similar age, also in her 60s. She's dressed more casually in jeans and a boucle jacket and she's smiling softly into the camera. Part of this story seems so straightforward, it seems like Bridget's been had. But nothing in this story is straightforward. That's what I soon learn. This is a story that goes beyond a feud between two women. Behind it is a deep web of truth and lies, which at times seems almost impossible to disentangle. From novel in association with BBC Studios this is fraudatious. Episode 1 pandora's box. You enter Pandora Dress Agency under an arch of artificial flowers that makes a giant garland around the shop's front door. Red roses and pink peonies. Finding it feels a bit like being Let in on a secret. It's tucked away on a residential back street in Knightsbridge, one of London's most affluent areas. Just around the corner, Harrods department store is heaving with tourists browsing luxury goods, taking selfies and looking for the latest craze.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

Hi.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Hello.

[Bridget]

Just entertainment.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget's Pandora Dress Agency feels a world apart. It has the look of a regular, unpretentious thrift shop. Have you been before?

[Bridget]

Okay.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Every inch of space is utilized. Row upon row of rails are tightly crammed with clothes in every color you can imagine. Strappy shoes with towering high heels sit on shelves above them. Handbags dangle from the ceiling. But look a little closer and you'll see it's all organized. One rail is marked Cashmere. Another is for long evening dresses. And the labels, Dior, Chanel, Gucci. Everything in here has a designer label. There must be thousands of items for sale.

[Bridget]

I mean, we've got probably about. Is it about 5,000 on the shop floor. But we've also got stock waiting to go onto the shop floor.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget has owned this place since 1988, and she's its lifeblood. She's petite, with cropped hair that's dyed a fiery copper red. She dresses casually, but I get the impression that she's never without a special touch. Today, that's a sparkly brooch on a fitted jacket. Her style feels quirky and down to earth, much like the shop. Bridget is from Staley Bridge in Greater Manchester, and from an early age, she was looking for adventure.

[Bridget]

I was very adventurous. I was constantly wanting to get away. I could see the Pennines, which were about maybe three miles in the distance. I was always aiming. I think I'm going to climb over there and I'm going to find out what's on the other side.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It sounds like Bridget grew up possessing a rebellious streak. She tells me as a kid, she once broke into an abattoir and let the animals out. After climbing through a Perspex roof at night with friends.

[Bridget]

I thought, yeah, let's let them loose. I didn't like the idea of them killing them anyway. So, yeah, constantly letting the cows and the sheep, poor little lambs.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It was Bridget's brother who first noticed that Pandora Dress Agency was up for sale in the 1980s. He proposed it as a joint venture because he knew how much he loved secondhand fashion. Bridget tells me she didn't think about it for long. She gathered all her savings and borrowed some money from a friend to take the leap.

[Bridget]

And we were completely naive to the business and Everything. But we made these decisions, yes, I'll buy it. And I do remember thinking, if I lose all my money, it doesn't really matter because I can make it all again because I'm only 28 and that's actually how I went into paid off.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It's now been almost 40 years and Pandora's star studded clientele includes Sharon Stone, Catherine Zeta Jones and Paris Hilton. But of all the clients who frequented the shop during Bridget's four decades of ownership, there's one in particular that I want to know more about. And her name is of course Yekaterina Barrett. Yekaterina became a client during a period when Bridget was on extended sick leave and she became notorious among Pandora's staff who noticed her thick Russian sounding accent.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

She was very bossy.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

This is Sona, the shop manager, Bridget's right hand woman.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

Like pay attention to me, deal with me type of attitude I have. Money is what I heard from one of the girls that used to deal with her.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

They also felt they were constantly answering her calls.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

Yeah, she used to phone every other day.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Maybe Bridget knew of Vikaterina, but the two of them had never properly spoken face to face.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

Bridget never liked dealing with her. She said, oh, so now can you go and talk to her? Can you do this, can you do that? Can you go to her house and get the stuff? She was avoiding her as soon as the dogs came in. That's when they befriended each other.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

To understand what happened next, I need Brigitte to take me back to that moment. It's a Summer's Day in 2017. Yekaterina is outside Pandora trying to maneuver her luxury car down the narrow street. She's without her usual chauffeur.

[Bridget]

The first time I saw her, she drove herself in, I think it was a Bentley.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

She's wearing designer clothes, top to tail, and when she steps out of the car, she's followed by her greyhounds.

[Bridget]

They were very tiny, very delicate.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget recalls her being flustered as she comes through the shop door. She says she needs someone to watch the dogs because she must go to Harrods.

[Bridget]

So I said, sorry. And the girl said, oh, it's, it's Ekatrina. And I said, oh, right. I said, well, you can leave the dogs here because I do like dogs.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget has always been an animal lover, so it doesn't seem like much of an imposition. She says, yeah. Katerina is effusively grateful.

[Bridget]

And then after that she was, you know, oh, you must come to my house. I was in my car.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

According to Sona Bridget's also enthusiastic about the new connection.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

The following day, when I came in the next day, oh, Ekaterina came with the dogs. The dogs love me. She's asked me to babysit the dogs. I was like, huh? I looked at the other girl and went, what happened here?

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Sona isn't keen on Ykatrina, but she decides it's none of her business who her boss wants to spend time with. And it doesn't seem like a big ask.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

Why not? They're just babysitting the dogs.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

But it was a decision that would end up completely derailing Bridget's life.

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[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Yekaterina's apartment is on a prestigious pedestrianised side street in Mayfair. This is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods, not just in London, but in the world. As I listen to Bridget tell the story, I can already picture the surroundings. The five star hotels of Park Lane, the designer shops of New Bond street, the abundance of showrooms for luxury cars. Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin.

[Bridget]

She had like a big table in the dining area and then some beautiful chairs and paintings. A designer did it all for her.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Yekaterina lives here alone with her dogs. But Brigitte notes there are often other people milling around. There's a driver, a pa, a housekeeper,

[Bridget]

and she had these poor women making her bed. Honestly, it would have taken me a week to make that bed.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Over the next few weeks, the dog sitting becomes regular and before long, Brigitte is going to Yekatrina's place every other day to collect the greyhounds Luca and Louis. I should point out that this is happening at an unusual time in Bridget's life. She's recovering from a serious breakdown that's why she's been off sick. She still isn't sure what triggered it. But having also received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, she's been reassessing her priorities. Her hectic work focused life has been forced to slow right down.

[Bridget]

And I was on medication, but I also think I also wasn't taking it correctly. You know, I take it almost like toffees or I have some today. You know, there's nothing, you know, you think you're okay. It works in a strange way, feeling bipolar, you know, you can be sometimes well in with everybody, you know, da, da, da, da. And then the next minute you're dead. Without any emotion.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget has no qualms talking about her mental health publicly. She sees it as integral to the story. She says she remembers telling Ekaterina that the dog walking seems to be aiding her recovery.

[Bridget]

Walking the dogs is like good therapy for me.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

She does laps around Hyde Park. Its big lake and expansive lawns are less than five minutes from the apartment.

[Bridget]

Whereas on your own you don't walk. Warren Hyde Park I walk to the cafe or something, you know, I really did like the dogs actually.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

When Bridget goes back to the apartment to return the greyhounds, Yekaterina is usually at the long dining room table. Bridget says Yekaterina is often busy putting her makeup on, which tends to be heavy. Big dramatic eyes, plenty of coal liner and dark winged shadow.

[Bridget]

She does her makeup like she's a makeup artist. You know, she's obviously been taught.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget finds her new acquaintance unusual. But she says she can also be funny and charming. Is it a budding friendship?

[Bridget]

I would say. I wouldn't say a bit looser than their friendship. Just an intrigue. I think I was slightly intrigued with her.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I keep probing Bridget for more details. From reading the newspapers, I know this relationship is doomed. But I figure it would have had its high points in the early days. Surely didn't it start off rosy? Weren't they having heart to heart chats? Sharing everything, forming a close bond? Bridget insists it was never like that.

[Bridget]

I didn't hold her hand or, you know, kiss her goodnight or anything. And like inviting you over to Harrods to have a hair thing, you know, like, are you having your hair wash? Come over with me. That was about as chummy as it got.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

She says their connection always felt quite superficial.

[Bridget]

I know Wanda, she said, oh. She said, let's have a talk. Tell me, what do you think of the Royals?

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I wonder if there was a bit more to their initial connection and maybe this is just part of Bridget's coping mechanism to dismiss recollections of any good times because she's been hurt. I guess that's something I may not get to the bottom of instantly. What Brigitte does learn is that Ekaterina was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union. She also recalls her saying she gets her money via a trust based in Liechtenstein, which she says was set up by her grandfather. So she appears to be some sort of heiress. As the summer weeks roll on, Yekaterina seems to be moving Brigitte more and more into her world. Bridget remembers her taking her to George, an exclusive members club in Mayfair, where she was having a meeting with her lawyer. My usual table, that's what she recollects her saying on arrival. Bridget feels like she's somehow in the inner circle and it's happened so fast. How did she introduce you to people?

[Bridget]

Oh, this is Bridget, my great friend or I've known Bridget a long time or something like that.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget says she finds herself straddling a strange position between quasi friend and staff member. She says she even starts running errands for ya Katrina. Multimillionaire style errands.

[Bridget]

One day she said, oh, I want you to go and see a house for me, a flat. And I went into this huge flat selling for millions.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

The flat is in Grosvenor Square, an area filled with grand townhouses built for the nobility in the late 1700s. You might know it as the setting for some of the London mansions in the TV show Bridgeton. But she was implying that she wanted to buy that property and. And then you had to report back.

[Bridget]

Yeah. She said, oh, what do you think? I said it was great. You know, it's, it's amazing. It is amazing. It was amazing.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget ends up viewing two flats on the square worth 25 million each. She recalls Yekaterina telling her that she intends to buy both of them and knock down the intervening walls to make one huge luxury home. It's early September 2017, just two months after Bridget's first dog sitting favour, when their relationship takes an unexpected turn. Bridget is visiting the Mayfair apartment when she says Yekaterina gets a call that causes a commotion. She remembers Yekaterina starting to sob.

[Bridget]

She was in terrible state.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

She's not alone.

[Bridget]

There were quite a few men and they turned out to be the trustees.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget thinks they're from her trust in Lichtenstein.

[Bridget]

They were saying, I'm so sorry, Ekatrina, of your loss and I'm so sorry for your loss.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

One of the group she can't remember who tells her that the man who managed the trust has passed away unexpectedly.

[Bridget]

The guy had died and they were sweet on each other and he helped her to live. And he trapped her money, you know, she couldn't get out of money.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

She says the mood feels desperate, a mixture of grief and panic.

[Bridget]

And one of them said to me, are you going to be able to help Ekatrina? And I said, well, yeah, she needs it. God, it's awful, isn't it?

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

He hands her his business card. Bridget feels all eyes on her. She agrees to help so Yekaterina can pay some apartment costs while her cash flow issues are being resolved. Bridget lends her £7,500. And that's how it starts. Back at Pandora, Bridget tells Sona what's happened. She says Yekatrina is going through a difficult time. On top of her problems with the trust, her estranged husband has filed for divorce. Bridget says she's agreed to help Yekaterina out so she doesn't get behind in her payments to her lawyers. Sona is not keen on this.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

I didn't like her simple.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

But she feels there's only so much she can say.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

I'm like, okay. It is Bridget's business.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

So she complies when Bridget asks her to record it all properly on the shop computer and send confirmation emails to Yekaterina.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

And then on the system, I created a loan category.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Sona records the running total. £14,500. Over the next year, Brigitte and Ekaterina continue to spend time together. Brigitte agrees to go on trips with her. They go to Israel and Monaco. Bridget's invited to stay at Yekaterina's multi million pound apartment in Monte Carlo. I assume these are all lavish, all expenses paid invites. But Bridget says Ykatrina often asks her to pick up tabs along the way.

[Bridget]

She tries to imply, I'll pay you when we get back to London. Stop making a fuss.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Brigitte knows Yekatrina is still having cash flow problems when it comes to paying her bills. But Yekaterina doesn't exactly seem to be tightening her belt either. I wonder if in an odd way, this feels reassuring to Bridget. Maybe Yekaterina doesn't need to cut her cloth because her financial situation will indeed soon be resolved.

[Bridget]

Should I try and get that photograph if I've still got it, of me and her?

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Oh yeah. Where?

[Bridget]

I'm in Monaco. I should have taken more pictures of it. Where is it? And she looks totally different.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget gets her phone to start scrolling through old photos. She finds the one she's looking For? Yeah. Katrina has her arm around Bridget. They're both in sun hats and sunglasses.

[Bridget]

See, she's quite Bonnie. I'm Bonnie. She's, you know, not bad. She's not got loads of makeup on. She looks friendly. She is.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

You do look like sort of close pals on holiday.

[Bridget]

This is about the chummiest we ever got.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Would you say you were having fun on that trip?

[Bridget]

Not really, no. I found it a bit strained. A bit sort of. She isn't my person. It was like a theatre, to be honest. And now I was like, on the outside watching.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

And you want to see what happens next. Where's this going?

[Bridget]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Where was this going? Back in Pandora Dress agency. By early 2018, Sona is becoming more suspicious of this new friendship. The more time Bridget spends with Yekatrina Barrett, the more Bridget is withdrawing from her normal social circle.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

She was being secretive whenever Barrett phoned. She used to leave the shop.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

One time, Sona catches the briefest snippet of one of their calls.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

Bea sounded distressed. I didn't hear the conversation. It's Bea's tone. If you know Bridget, you know her. It's very hard to explain. I'm good at reading people.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Sona was particularly good at reading Bridget, having known her for more than a decade.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

If she trusts you, she tells you everything. But when she doesn't tell you, and then if it gets too much, then she drops hints and you have to pick up on the hints.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Sona's instincts tell her Bridget is keeping a secret and the weight of it is getting too much. Considering Bridget's recent breakdown, this feels really concerning. Then Sona has a penny drop moment. What if Brigitte has also been loaning here Katrina money from her personal account as well, without anyone's knowledge?

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

That's when my flag went ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Sona decides to call one of Bridget's best friends, Roger.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

There's something going on. I think Bridget's giving money to Barrett from her account. You need to check is all. I said check.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Sona feels Roger can have the conversation that she can't. She knows Bridget well, but Bridget is still her boss.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

I think he was in Spain that time, so he had to come back to uk and then he can deal with it.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

So Sona waits and as soon as Roger is back, he goes to Bridget's flat, which is just around the corner from Pandora. He looks his old friend in the eye and asks her directly what is going on with Ykatrina.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

That's when he came back and told

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

me Bridget has lent Ekaterina money, a lot of money, more than a million pounds.

[Sona (Shop Manager)]

And I was like, what the hell?

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I was like, what the hell? The first time I heard this too. It seems unfathomable. £14,000 sounded like a lot to loan to a new acquaintance. How did it escalate so much? To tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands, then more than a million? I have so many more questions that I want to ask Bridget. But I also want to try and follow the story as it unfolded at the time, to try and understand the decisions that came next, too. So I'm going to meet the first person that Sona phoned when she realised Bridget was in trouble. I will get the Eggs Royale, please. That'd be lovely.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

And could I have a caramelized banana French toast for me, please?

[Bridget]

Wow.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Thank you. Bit different. Never. Never tried it. Fine. That's good. Thank you.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Thank you. I've come to Langen's Brasserie, a Mayfair institution, to meet Roger, Bridget's best friend. In the 1970s and 80s, this French star bistro was co owned by the actor Michael Kane, and it was the ultimate haunt for London's bon vivers. Some things have barely changed since its heyday. The red neon sign that gives it its sultry vibe. The heavy art deco door that keeps out the riffraff. The signature dish still being spinach souffle with anchovy sauce.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

And I came here pretty religiously through all those years. I always liked it. And Bridget and I come here a lot together, too.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Roger is an erudite London gent in his early 70s. He's dressed smartly with a silk handkerchief in his jacket pocket. He's a retired Knightsbridge estate agent and he's also Bridget's ex.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

We had 10 fantastic years together and still retained the deepest of bonds of friendship that you could ever have.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

He speaks very highly of her.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

The sheer energy that she had, enthusiasm. You just couldn't keep up with her. She was an absolute fireball. It was great to be around. I loved it.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Roger says he knows anyone coming to this story afresh will struggle with the idea of someone lending a new friend such a vast amount of money. When he totals it up with Bridget, he's shocked to discover she's lent ykatrina more than £1.4 million. But Roger thinks it's important to understand that Bridget was in a bad place at the time and not thinking rationally.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Depression is a dreadful, dreadful thing. And being too high is equally dangerous because, you know, you think you're invincible and it's really trying to steer a middle path. And the medication and everything else tries to keep you on equilibrium. And this of course makes you incredibly vulnerable. Incredibly vulnerable.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I've picked Langan's Brasserie as our meeting point for a reason. This is why Roger arranged a crucial meeting not long after, after finding out about Bridget's loans. And I want to ask him more about how that unfolded.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

I've got it in my diary still of 2019. On the 24th of January, he's brought

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

the old leather bound diary to show me. He puts on his reading glasses and points at the entry.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Lunch at Langan's, 12:45.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It's in blue biro highlighted in yellow.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Everything in my diaries, I mean I've always written a diary since I was about 20s. I've got all my diaries.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I wonder if this highlighting came later when he realized how significant this meeting really was. After receiving Sona's phone call, he'd gone to Bridget's flat around the corner from Pandora. Together they started looking through her bank statements.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

And then Bridget confessed the situation to, to me how much she'd lent it. And that was when I was in absolute shock.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I can't help wondering how Bridget had more than a million pounds sitting in her account in the first place. Most people don't have those sort of funds at their fingertips.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

No, no, no, no, no, they don't.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

The money was supposed to be in her account temporarily, he says, following some

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

property sales over the years. Part of her business strategy her had been to build up a portfolio of property very sensibly, incredibly successfully. I mean, you know, for the little girl from Staley Bridge, to the woman, you know, she was quite a force.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It's a tale of a different era. Bridget went it alone, worked hard and was able to invest the money she earned in the right place at the right time. But this doesn't mean she was swimming in spare cash.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

I mean, although she had that amount of money, it wasn't all her money, if you see what I mean. A lot of that money had to be repaid to mortgage companies, to different loans that she had. The money that Bridget had lent to Ekatrina was totally hard earned Money that was 100%, fully taxed British money. Everything she's ever done is entirely off her own back. No help from anybody else.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Roger says he was shocked about the loans to Ekatrina, but he was even more disturbed to hear that Bridget had asked for her money back repeatedly, but to no avail. Was it in the back of your mind that she could be a con artist.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

One always thinks that, of course, about anybody that borrows money from anybody in that way. And you do automatically think somebody could be a con artist. Don't forget, I was in the business of measuring people about being con artists, whether they. They were good for the money, you know, when people were coming to me to buy, you know, a 2 or 5 or a 10 million pound property in the heart of London. But she had all the trappings. You know, she had the property in Monaco, the tax reasons, she had the property in Mayfair. She had the lifestyle that went with it and she exuded the confidence that went with it. And she'd been around quite a long time, as far as I could see. Even though I'd never met her, from what I'd been told about her, she did have a level of credibility.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Roger decided they needed to sort all this out. And what better way to do that than lunch at Langens Coffee?

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Just white coffee for me, please. Regular white coffee. Thank you.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

The other two people Roger invited to lunch back in 2019 were bankers from the private Swiss bank EFG International. Bridget knew that's where Yekatrina held an account. And this, in Roger's mind, added to that feeling of credibility. EFG is renowned for working with high net worth individuals, but he wanted further reassurance and he was well connected enough to be able to pull a favour. He knew one of the bankers through other business dealings. So it's a Thursday lunchtime when Roger, Bridget and the two bankers slide onto one of these leather banquettes. Being a celebrity haunt, Langan's is a good place for a confidential discussion. Its discreet waiters know exactly when to disappear out of earshot. What Roger wants to know is, is Yekaterina really ultra rich? Could this be a misunderstanding? Or is she a fake, a con woman?

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

We didn't know what to expect. We both were very concerned at the time. Leading up to it, we kind of thought we could smell a big rat. I'd never actually met the woman in person at all. Bridget had been reassuring me. But I'm sure Bridget had her her doubts. As people do. I had major doubts. I just smell.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Over lunch, Bridget recounts her story and explains how much money she's lent. Roger asks the bankers what they think.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

And I think from memory, the conversation did start off saying, look, we can't talk specific specifics, but. And then our new introduction very quickly volunteered, look, you haven't got anything to worry about. She's as rich as a Rothschild. She's good for it.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

That was her banker using the phrase.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

That was her banker. Her personal banker using that very phrase. She's as rich as a Rothschild. And that was it.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

The Rothschilds were a mighty banking dynasty. They were considered to be one of the richest families in the world in the 19th century. Roger says he and Bridget looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. It felt like they'd got what they came for.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

You're feeling, gosh, thank goodness for that.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

That's such a kind of an evocative saying that he wouldn't forget it.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

No, no, no. I mean, it just painted a picture, a very positive picture. Yeah. That inspired confidence, totally there. Somebody said that about. Nobody would certainly say that about me, that's for sure. So you see what I mean? It's not something you use lightly.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It is. It means, like, I would interpret it as money is no object.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Yes, Absolutely no object. Yeah, Absolutely no object.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

And Roger turns back to the diary and shows me the note he wrote in it.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Afterwards, Edwards, I named the two people plus Bridget. The bill was 281 pounds, 84 for four of us. And I said, I write after. It looks more promising for Bridget's money, at least she may have the money back. What it meant was, well, she's, you know, she's okay for the money. She's good for it. She's got it. She's not some pauper that's pretending to be something she's not.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I contacted EFG International about this meeting. They declined to comment. After the lunch in Lang's Brasserie, Roger and Bridget traveled back in a cab to Pandora Dress Agency.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

And we just felt very Boyd up. Bullish, optimistic, positive, all those emotions, you know, And Bridget was almost saying, well, look, you see, I. I wasn't quite so stupid as you think I was, you know, because she sort of, in a way then justified what she'd done to herself by the fact that she hadn't made a terrible miscalculation or misjudgment of this person, which actually was quite important to her.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

That's interesting. That hit her hard, did it?

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think she didn't like to feel that she'd been a complete fall.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

From that point on, Bridget tries to play nice to keep Yekatrina on side. And it's after the Langens meeting that Bridget decides to go on another trip with her to Milan and the Dolce and Gabbana showroom. Amid all this theatricality, Bridget feels that there is an uncomfortable undertone. She's constantly wondering when she's going to get her money back. It does feel a bit strange to me that she would travel with her at this point. But Roger likens it to a divorce. You don't cut someone off instantly. You're still trying to reach an agreement. There is still some semblance of a friendship there. And Bridget is still in denial. She wants to believe the situation will come good. I'm beginning to realize that there must have been a lot more going on here behind the scenes to have convinced Bridget to part with the money in the first place. What was Yekatrina saying to her? How was she able to have this sort of influence?

[Bridget]

I'll say it. If my. One of my brothers had rang me up and said, oh, Bridget, I've got the lawyers chasing me, da, da, da, da, da, and I have to give him 200,000, I'd probably say no, can't possibly afford that. But she has a magnetic effect on you and I don't know why.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

This is something I'll hear about again and again in this story. Ekaterina's magnetic effect on people and how that's impossible to put into words. So it's now down to Bridget to retain friendly relations while chasing her money from Yekaterina, which she does via calls and WhatsApp messages. And there's a glimmer of hope when, according to Bridget, yet Katrina agrees to repay her soon after her divorce is finalised. But the first deadline is missed. And then the second, and then the third. Bridget is falling back into a serious depression, struggling to get out of bed. In November 2019, more than two years since the first loan, Bridget receives a phone call.

[Bridget]

I was going into the shop, my phone rang and it was her. And I actually said to her, before you say anything, I said, you either give me the money or I'm coming to get the money. And she said, oh, don't be like that. You know, come over, we'll talk, we'll talk about it. And I said, no, it's over. I want my money. She said, well, if you say that one more time, you'll never see your money for 100 years.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

You won't see your money for a hundred years. That, for Bridget, is the final straw. This isn't how you speak to friends.

[Bridget]

That was a trigger. That was a trigger. I thought, what? All the help I've given you and you have the audacity to tell me if I keep on pushing, that's it.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget decides the time for playing nicely is over. If she wants her money back, she's going to have to fight for it.

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[Narrator (Toto Wolff segment)]

It's 2009 and we're in the German mountains. A man straps himself into a car on the world's most dangerous racetrack. He whispers to himself, it's time to

[Narrator (Toto Wolff segment continuation)]

put my balls on the dashboard as

[Narrator (Toto Wolff segment)]

he starts the engine.

[Narrator (Toto Wolff segment continuation)]

In 15 minutes, he's in an ambulance, unconscious. In 15 years, he's a billionaire.

[Narrator (Toto Wolff segment)]

This is Toto Wolff, Formula One's most powerful team boss and the breakout star of Drive To Survive.

[Narrator (Toto Wolff segment continuation)]

This week on Good Bad Billionaire, How Toto Wolff made his billions. Listen wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Finsbury Circus in the City of London. It's an elegant arc of limestone buildings, grand and baroque in style. I'm at number 30, the offices of legal firm Devonshires.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

Good to meet you.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I'm meeting Philip Barden, one of the firm's partners. He's in his 60s, suited, booted, wearing glasses. He has a firm handshake, as you'd expect from a man with a reputation as a particularly tough city solicitor. Oh, sorry, that's his ringtone.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

Abigail, I'm in a meeting. Is it quick?

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

He's a busy man.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

I'll tell you what, just. Can I pop out for a minute? I'll just go pop out for a minute.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

While Philip is out of the room, I look back at my notes. I know that by the time Bridget came here in August 2020, she had serious concerns and was ready to escalate the dispute.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

Sorry.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

So how did Bridget's case land on your desk?

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

Somebody referred Bridget to me. I can't recall now who that was. Over the course of an hour or two, she told us her story about who she was, how she had developed Pandora of such a successful business, how she met Ekatrina and how she advanced significant sums to Ekatrina. You know, and it was a very sad story.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Philip says he was skeptical of Ekatrina from the outset.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

It was obvious to me, from my experience, these were not loans that were going to be repaid. And the issue really was we need to get to the bottom of exactly what's happened.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

He's also not convinced Ekaterina is as rich as she makes out. He starts by referring Bridget to the police.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

I had a contact and I went to the contact and I was introduced to an officer from a specialist squad. And I met with the officer. But as is so often the case, the police were not interested to take any action.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

And why is that?

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

Because they see fraud as a civil offense, by and large.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

And my understanding is that fail to repay a loan is not a crime. But misrepresenting yourself to get a loan could be fraud, or is it not as simple as that?

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

Yeah, misrepresenting yourself dishonestly, I would say. So fraud is a crime of dishonesty.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Loans can be tricky territory. You need to spend time unpicking relationships, going through all communications. When Philip starts doing this, he is sure Bridget has a case.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

She clearly advanced the money. She hadn't gifted it because you would expect to see evidence of a gift in the sense that people like Bridget and Ekatrina communicate a lot on social media, WhatsApp. And we go through those communications and we see, you know, the nature of the conversations that are taking place. And it was quite clear that these were monies which have been advanced as loans. Bridget wasn't in a position to gift somebody over a million pounds.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

So without the police on board for a criminal case, Bridget is left with one route civil action. She can sue. Ya, Katrina. Philip strongly believes that with his help, Bridget can win this case. And yet he also strongly advises that she drops it.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

I said at a very early stage, I will get you a judgment because I was confident that if we fought our way through the court processes, we would get judgment. But that's a piece of paper. Converting that into cash can be very difficult with these people.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Roger Slater recalls you using the phrase, you're opening Pandora's box. Do you remember using that? I mean, it just feels like a very apt metaphor.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

Yeah, well, absolutely. I mean, it was. It was an obvious metaphor to use in this case. So you are opening Pandora's box because you don't know what's going to come out once you start litigating, what their

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

side of the story is going to

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

be, what they're gonna make up.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

Bridget at this point, isn't backing down.

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

From the very beginning, it was appreciated that it may be difficult to get any money back. But Bridget, in order to help her recover from the bipolar episode that she was then in, needed the comfort of knowing that her story had been listened to and she had been believed.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

It's Interesting hearing Philip tap into the psychological side of this too. I'm discovering that this case is about more than the money. There are all sorts of other emotions wrapped up in this, and this is something I'm going to have to ask Bridget more about. As I'm sure you can imagine, Philip's services do not come cheap. So this is a huge risk for Bridget. The stakes are high, but she's all in. She engages Philip despite his initial protestations,

[Philip Barden (Lawyer)]

and then you just have to, you know, batten down the hatches and fight your way through the court process.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

What Bridget and Roger don't yet know is that they are embarking on a quest that will consume years of their lives and become a driving obsession. They are still trying to figure it all out. And so am I. By the time I join this story, the legal case is long underway and still not yet resolved. I'm playing catch up, and there is heaps to catch up on. Can I ever get to the root of Yekaterina's wealth and how she operates? The how is still bothering me.

[Bridget]

She is like a snake, like a serpent. She can sort of get you to do things you would never do.

[Roger (Bridget's Best Friend)]

We are dealing with, with perhaps the slipperiest fish that I've ever, ever come across in my life.

[Vicki Baker (Reporter and Narrator)]

I'm already realizing she's a very hard woman to pin down geographically, psychologically, legally. What started as a casual encounter in Knightsbridge has now become an international pursuit which will take Bridger from Liechtenstein to Monaco, Switzerland to Israel. I've only got the beginnings of the story so far, but one thing I do know is that after Brigitte launches her legal action, Yekaterina goes straight on the attack, turning everything I've heard so far on its head. She sees Bridget's legal letter and she countersues. Yekaterina now says that Bridget owes her money, not the other way round. And guess what? Yekaterina also claims. Claims the total value is way more than a million pounds. When Bridget took this battle on, she had no idea who she was up against. Fraudatious is produced by Novel in association with BBC Studios. For more from Novel, visit Novel Audio. The show is written and produced by me, Vicki Baker. The assistant producer is Valeria Rocca. The editor is Philippa Goodrich. Our fact checker is Dania Suleiman. Production management. From Sheree Houston, Charlotte Wolf and Joe Savage. Sound design, mixing and scoring by Daniel Kempson. Narration recorded by Nick Thackeray. Cron development by Sonny Ma, Jess Brown Swinburne, Anna Phelan and Willard Foxton. Additional production by Leona Hamid, Sasha Baker and Ziana Youssef. The series artwork is designed by Christina Lemkel. Our executive producer is Max O'. Brien. Fraudatious is a novel production for BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial subsidiary.