A Very British Cult

Welcome to... A Very British Cult

Catrin Nye gets a mysterious call that plunges her into an unsettling world of self-help and cults. What happens when a life coach takes over your life?In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions.
 
Two years later, Jeff had sold his house, his relationship was in pieces, and he had handed over tens of thousands of pounds. And he wasn’t the only one. In this eighteen-month investigation for the BBC, journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a mysterious life coaching company taking over people’s lives and ripping families apart.
 
As the investigation hots up, the group fights back, and there’s a surreal final showdown…Listen to all eight episodes from Wednesday 5 April 2023.
 
Reporter: Catrin Nye
Written by: Jamie Bartlett and Catrin Nye
Producers: Osman Iqbal, Natalie Truswell, Ed Main and Jo Adnitt
Researcher: Aisha Doherty
Executive producer: Ravin Sampat
Sound engineer: James Bradshaw
Original music by: Phil Channell
Commissioner: Rhian Roberts

The sinister life coaching company that takes over your life. Catrin Nye investigates. In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions. Two years later, Jeff had sold his house, his relationship was in pieces, and he had handed over tens of thousands of pounds. And he wasn't the only one. In this eighteen-month investigation for the BBC, journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a mysterious life coaching company taking over people's lives and ripping families apart. As the investigation hots up, the group fights back, and there's a surreal final showdown.