Episode 1

About this episode

A true(ish) crime podcast, based on James Acaster's undercover cop alter-ego Pat Springleaf, which sees Pat share police wire recordings from the biggest case of his career: working undercover to infiltrate and bring to justice the notorious SW6 gang, led by the villainous Lawrence (Domhnall Gleeson). Back in 2013, ex-conman-turned-undercover-cop Pat was in the middle of a career-defining gig - but problems beset him on all sides: the gang are getting suspicious; his wife wants a divorce; the police are demanding results; and his ex partner in crime is blackmailing him. Not an ideal situation for someone with a burning need to please absolutely everybody. In 2023, meanwhile, Pat and his producer Adams (Kath Hughes) play excerpts from his wire recordings to studio guests as they unpack the criminal hijinks that launched the comedy career of the man now reasonably widely-known as James Acaster. In episode 1, Lawrence announces a side-step from drug dealing into a more glamorous branch of crime, Pat's wife Sita (Sindhu Vee) makes some life changing personal and career decisions and Pat takes the advice of fellow comic Evelyn Mok to find a better, more truthful, on-stage comic pe