Ross Kemp: Mafia and Britain

Actor and documentarian Ross Kemp will be investigating and exposing Britain's surprising and deep-rooted links with the mafia, dating as far back as the 1920s. It's always been assumed that Britain has had no links to the world's most infamous organised crime organisation, but the truth – as Ross will discover and as recent arrests of mafiosi in the UK reveal - is far more sinister and complex. Since the UK does not recognise membership of the mafia as a crime, it has at various points in history become a safe haven for mafia ‘Cosa nostra' lieutenants, ‘soldiers' and hit men who have hidden all over the UK in locations as unlikely as caravan parks and newsagents. In this series Ross will start his journey in London, taking us back to 1982, where the body of the so-called ‘God's Banker', Roberto Calvi, was discovered under Blackfriars Bridge with his pockets stuffed full of foreign currency from all over the world. From there Ross will embark on an epic odyssey to New York, Italy, Sicily, Colombia and Spain, before arriving back in London, to reveal the intricate path of the mafia's involvement with Britain over nearly a century. On his travels, Ross will be speaking with those closest to mafia bosses, top organised crime investigators, and some who have been affected by their crimes. Ross will use this knowledge to trace the complex network of money, drugs, and criminals, in and out of the UK, creating a historical map and timeline to reveal how the mafia has quietly and effectively inveigled its way into the heart of Britain's underworld.