Foul Play

Ed is the grandson of footballing legend Gordon Banks. He was a national icon, the only goalkeeper ever to win the soccer World Cup for England. But Ed’s heard a rumour: that in 1970, while defending the title, his granddad, his hero, was poisoned… by the CIA. All part of a Cold War plot to bolster a military dictatorship in Latin America, supposedly. Could this possibly be true? Banks did get ill in Mexico in 1970 with food poisoning. And England crashed out, marking the start of decades of hurt. Ed enlists the help of investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse. Together they embark on a journey into the bewildering world of Cold War espionage, a journey that threatens to unravel 60 years of sporting history; or possibly… to knock Ed’s granddad off his pedestal. Foul Play is an Audible Original, produced for Audible by Grayhouse Productions.

This series contains mature language. Discretion advised.

Episode One—Men in White Coats

Ed needs help. He’s heard that the CIA poisoned his grandfather, legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks. True, Banks did get ill with food poisoning at the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, causing England to crash out. Investigative journalist Gabriel Gatehouse is sceptical at first. But when Ed’s mum Wendy drops a tantalizing clue, Gabriel checks in with one of his old CIA contacts, who tells him: it’s not as crazy as it sounds. But they’d better hurry: the only living witness to this rumour is in his nineties, and in poor health…

Episode Two—Bogota Bracelet

Why would the CIA want to sabotage England’s chances of winning the World Cup? While Gabriel delves into the secret archives of the Cold War, Ed remembers an unsolved footballing mystery that might be more important than he first thought.

Episode Three—If the River Rumbles

Ed and Gabriel travel to Mexico, the ‘scene of the crime.’ Ed is convinced his grandfather was the victim of a conspiracy. But Gabriel has unearthed the notes of the England team doctor, which tell a different story. The tension between them is punctured by a sensational discovery in the archives of the Mexican secret police.

Episode Four—Wilderness of Mirrors

Gabriel is on the hunt for a secret memoir written by an American spy in Mexico. He’s looking for clues about a CIA operation to poison an English footballer, only to find his story mixed up with the mother of all conspiracy theories: the JFK assassination.

Episode Five—Mum

This episode contains descriptions of domestic violence. Please take care when listening.

Gabriel is nursing suspicions that wayward behaviour by the players might have been the actual cause of Gordon Banks’ illness. So, Ed brings him to meet his granddad’s old teammates in Stoke on Trent, in the English Midlands. But Ed’s mum, Wendy, has an unexpected story that casts a different light on… everything.

Episode Six—A Case of the Tummies

This episode contains references to pregnancy loss and psychological abuse. Please take care while listening.

Gabriel takes a deep dive into the CIA’s long history with poisons and finds evidence that looks like a smoking gun.

Episode Seven—Coming Home

Having uncovered a final piece of the puzzle buried in a dusty archive in Missouri, Ed and Gabriel reunite in the English Midlands to bring their findings back to the Banks family.

Available in Dolby Atmos.