Hard B*****ds Episode Guide

Episode Guide

• Albert Reading

  Kate Kray profiles Albert Reading, the youngest person ever to be locked up in a British jail. At the age of 12, he was incarcerated in Wormwood Scrubs for stealing a bucket of rationed potatoes after the war. He recalls how he shared a cell with older men who abused him, and protected himself by stabbing one and killing another. Following his release, he became one of London's foremost criminals, robbing banks and running protection rackets

• Carlton Leach

  Kate Kray profiles Carlton Leach, a former soccer hooligan and leading underworld figure who changed his ways after the gangland execution of one of his close friends

• Charlie Seiga

  Kate Kray profiles Britain's most notorious hardmen, beginning with Liverpool's infamous 'Teflon Don' Charlie Seiga, who has not been convicted of a crime since 1958. Allegedly retired, the author of autobiography Killer decided to go straight after a kidnapping that nearly cost him his life. He now dreams of living out the rest of his days in a peaceful Welsh village

• Duchy

  Kate Kray profiles Duchy Peters, a thalidomide victim who muscled his way to the top of the crime tree as an enforcer, drug dealer and gun runner. After serving a total of nine years behind bars, he now works as a doorman and shuns the underworld, focusing his energies on bringing up his teenage son, playing the guitar and practising jiu-jitsu

• Gaffer

  Kate Kray meets notorious brawler Gaffer, whose violent temper has led him into literally thousands of fights and put him behind bars for seven years. Given up for adoption at the age of six months, the angry Essex-based hardman spent his formative years in a Putney children's home, but now finds himself the target of hit-men in the house he has made his own with an idiosyncratic application of interior design

• Glenn Ross

  Glenn Ross was viciously attacked by a gang in 1996 and has since cherished a burning ambition : to become the strongest man in the world. Kate Kray talks to the 28-stone bodybuilder and nightclub bouncer about life as a leading strongman and dedicated husband and father

• Hugh Collins

  Kate Kray profiles Hugh Collins, formerly known as Scotland's most violent prisoner, who now channels his energy into a successful career as a writer and sculptor. The son of a gangster, he followed in his father's footsteps and was eventually jailed for the murder of a gangland rival, swiftly earning a reputation for brutality within the prison walls which was only curbed after the discovery of his artistic talents

• Ian Wadley

  Kate Kray concludes her survey of Britain's toughest customers with a profile of body-builder Ian Wadley. Bullied as a child, Wadley went off the rails and ended up in jail on an armed robbery charge, where he discovered an aptitude for weight-lifting and went on to become a world champion. He is currently working as a doorman and debt-collector, has a glamorous girlfriend and is able to spend thousands on suits : but his underworld status has its dangers, as he discovered when a hired gunman tried to kill him

• Joan Hannington

  Former diamond thief Joan Hannington talks to Kate Kray about her life of crime, which she relates to the appalling physical abuse she has suffered : both at the hands of her alcoholic father and her first husband. Her experiences led her to a stark choice : between robbery and prostitution : and she embarked on a highly successful 'career', using her brains rather than brawn to survive in the violent lawless underworld

• Joe Pyle

  Kate Kray profiles Joe Pyle, a suave London entrepreneur with a reputation as the ultimate underworld 'fixer'. After spending the 1960s mingling with the cream of the capital's criminal fraternity, Joe ended up behind bars for offering to supply drugs, but is currently keeping on the right side of the law and has even published a book of poetry : proceeds of which go to a babies' hospice

• Kevin Houston

  Kate Kray profiles Coventry businessman Kevin Houston, a former amateur boxer who has never been convicted of an offence, despite his violent reputation. He discusses how he has mellowed in recent times, and his greatest pleasure is spending time with his teenage daughters : but his gentler side is tempered by a thorough knowledge of the pugilist's arts, as revealed in tales of his past encounters

• Ronnie Field

  Kate Kray meets her old friend Ronnie Field, an associate of her former husband who has spent half his adult life in prison for armed robbery and drug-dealing. On home leave toward the end of a nine-year stretch, the apparently reformed character remains haunted by a violent upbringing at the hands of his grandmother, but vows he will not die in jail : much to his daughter's relief

• Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw

  Kate Kray profiles Britain's most notorious hard men, beginning with bare-knuckle boxer and entrepreneur Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw. An old friend of Kate's former husband Ronnie Kray, Shaw made his name as an unlicensed boxer, before his uncontrollable temper landed him in no less than 21 prisons and Broadmoor Hospital for the criminally insane

• Saira Bronson

  Kate Kray swaps notes with kindred spirit Saira, wife of notorious prisoner Charles Bronson, about marrying a hardened criminal in jail. Bronson, who has spent 28 years behind bars : 22 of them in solitary confinement : is a deeply disturbed and aggressive man. Since meeting his wife, however, his behaviour has improved and he is studying Islam. What draws an intelligent and determined woman to a man known for his rages : and how would the couple fare should he ever be released?

• Stilks

  Kate Kray meets Stellakis Stylianou, known as Stilks, who has been a professional bouncer for 25 years. A happily married man with five daughters and a black belt in judo, Stilks insists he has always resisted the temptation to turn his formidable physical prowess to a life of crime, preferring instead a stable home life and shopping for antiques

• Vic Dark

  Kate Kray profiles the eventful life of Vic Dark, who has spent 19 of the past 20 years as a maximum security prisoner for armed robbery and hostage-taking. Now out of jail, Dark insists he has put violence behind him for good, preferring to spend time bringing up his baby son