She Stole a Dead Nun & Set a Convent on Fire: Julie D'Aubigny

She Stole a Dead Nun & Set a Convent on Fire: Julie D'Aubigny

She was a swordswoman who could beat three men at once, an opera singer with the greatest voice Louis XIV had ever heard, and a woman so fearless she broke into a convent, stole a dead nun's body, set the place on fire, and escaped with her lover. She was 17 at the time. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods tackle Julie D'Aubigny, the 17th-century French hell-raiser who seduced counts, outfought noblemen, and became one of the most extraordinary figures you've never heard of, all before dying at 33. What You'll Hear in This Episode: ⚔️ Sword-fighting child prodigy. By 12, she was fencing grown men, and by 14, she was the mistress of the Count of Armagnac 🏃‍♀️ On the run: after her fencing instructor boyfriend killed a man, they fled Paris and toured France doing sword exhibitions by day and singing in taverns by night 🔥 The convent escape: body snatching, arson, a dead nun used as a decoy, and a plan that almost worked… almost 🎭 Opera stardom: spotted singing in a Marseille tavern like a French Elvis in King Creole, she became one of the most celebrated voices in Paris 💔 The love that ended it all: she stole the most beautiful woman in France from the king's own son, fled to Belgium, and never recovered when her lover died two years later If you love outrageous true stories, legendary women, French chaos, duels, opera, and comedy podcasts, this episode of Bloomin' Legends is for you. 🎥 Watch the full episode now on the Bloomin' Legends YouTube channel! Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com [bloominlegends@global.com] 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends [https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends] Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com [http://www.globalplayer.com/] Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

The Extra Legendary Bit: A blunderbuss, a bomb & Diamond White Cider

He tried to flog an antique firearm to a dealer, kicked off over the price, stormed out — and was genuinely surprised when the police turned up. He wasn't bothered about nearly going to prison. He was fuming about losing the profit. The Extra Legendary Bit is the bonus episode where Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods leave the history books behind and dive into the gloriously unhinged stories sent in by you, the listeners. What You'll Hear in This Episode: 🔫 Dave & the Blunderbuss – A proper Del Boy character tries to sell an antique firearm, gets into a row with the dealer, and ends up having his door knocked on by the feds. His only complaint? The couple of quid he missed out on. 💣 The Lottery of War – The same man served in Northern Ireland and swapped places with a terrified soldier moments before the IRA detonated a bomb. His bravery saved his own life — and the irony has haunted his family ever since. 🍏 "It's Never Seen a F***ing Apple" – A beautiful tribute to a late friend, a brutal woodwork teacher with a mallet, a rope swing gone wrong, and the funniest thing anyone's ever said about a bottle of Diamond White. Got a story that can top this week's madness? 📩 Send it to bloominlegends@global.com [bloominlegends@global.com] and we'll decide if it's Bloomin' Legendary or just brilliantly bonkers. 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download from your app store or visit www.globalplayer.com [http://www.globalplayer.com/] This is a Global Original Podcast, produced by Ben Fairclough. New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

Diego Maradona: Football God, Cheat & the Greatest Party Ever Thrown in a Prison

He grew up so poor his mum pretended she wasn't hungry so her kids could eat. By 15, he was playing professional football. By his mid-20s, he was the best player on earth, the most fouled man in the sport, and partying every single night in Naples with the mafia. He also threatened to shoot Liam and Noel Gallagher. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods take on Diego Armando Maradona, the dirt-poor kid from Buenos Aires who became the greatest footballer the world has ever seen, the most famous cheat in sporting history, and possibly the only man alive who could out-party Pablo Escobar. From breaking world transfer records twice, to brawling in front of the King of Spain, to scoring the greatest and most controversial World Cup goals in the same match, Maradona lived a life so outrageous it barely sounds real. What You'll Hear in This Episode: ⚽ Pro at 15 – How a muscular kid from a family so poor his mum pretended she wasn't hungry got scouted at eight and was playing professional football by fifteen 🤚 The Hand of God – The most infamous moment in World Cup history, and why no one blames Shilton 🎉 Escobar's prison party – How Maradona ended up playing football with Pablo Escobar in a Colombian jail, and why he called it "the best party of his entire life" 🎸 "I will shoot you" – The night Liam and Noel Gallagher met Maradona in Argentina and were told if they touched any of his women, he'd have them killed 🇮🇹 The Naples years – Cocaine, the Camorra, partying every single night, and somehow still becoming the top scorer in Napoli's history If you love football stories, larger-than-life characters, sporting legends and unbelievable true stories, this episode of Bloomin' Legends is for you. Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com [bloominlegends@global.com] 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends [https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends] Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com [http://www.globalplayer.com/] Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

The Extra Legendary Bit: Dead Sheep, Blitz Heroines & Operation Village Green

A bloated, rotting ram floating in a Cornish quarry, a 12-year-old boy bullied into dragging it out, a finger inserted into a decomposing eye socket, and a long, smelly walk home that nobody ever forgot. The Extra Legendary Bit is where Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods dive into your messages and uncover the gloriously unhinged tales sent in by the Bloomin' Legends nation. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE: 🐑 Byron and the dead ram – a group of teenage boys find a decomposing sheep floating in their swimming quarry and send the youngest in to deal with it, with truly horrifying results ✈️ Flight Lieutenant Willy Welsh – a six-foot Rand pilot who earned a DFC and bar for his complete disregard for danger flying Halifax and Whitley bombers 🔥 The five sisters of Erith – all named after plants, all blonde, all under 5'5", and they formed what's believed to be the first all-woman fire brigade team in Britain during the Blitz 😂 Randy George – a former Chief of Staff of the US Army with possibly the greatest name in military history If you love funny true stories, listener tales, childhood disasters, wartime legends and comedy podcasts, this bonus episode of Bloomin' Legends is for you. Got a story that can top this week's madness? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com [bloominlegends@global.com] 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends [https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends] Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com [http://www.globalplayer.com/] Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!

William Shakespeare: 1,700 Words, 6 Signatures & 7 Missing Years

HE'S THE MOST FAMOUS WRITER IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, THE INVENTOR OF OVER 1,700 WORDS WE STILL USE TODAY, AND A MAN SO LEGENDARY HE'S KNOWN SIMPLY AS THE BARD. THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM: ALMOST NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT HIM, ONLY SIX OF HIS SIGNATURES SURVIVE, AND NONE OF THEM SUGGEST AN EDUCATED HAND. In this episode, Johnny Vaughan and Gavin "The Woodman" Woods tackle William Shakespeare, the glove maker's son from Stratford who became Britain's greatest cultural export, and one of history's most debated figures. Johnny has a mind-blowing theory about who Shakespeare really was and what he actually did, and it might just change how you think about the most celebrated writer in history. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE: 🎭 The mystery of Shakespeare – how so little is known about someone so famous, including 7 "lost years" where he vanished completely ✍️ The greatest writer who couldn't write? – only 6 signatures exist, all different spellings, none showing an educated hand 🧠 Johnny's controversial theory – was Shakespeare a "memory lovie" who collected and compiled plays from touring companies rather than writing from scratch? 🗣️ 1,700 words invented – from "eyeball" to "hobnob" to "advertising," the everyday language Shakespeare gave us 💰 The dodgy businessman – grain hoarding during a famine, a shady dad, and a monument that originally showed him holding a sack of grain, not a quill If you love history mysteries, English literature, conspiracy theories, legendary figures and comedy podcasts, this episode of Bloomin' Legends is for you. Got a legend you want us to cover? 📩 Send it to: bloominlegends@global.com [bloominlegends@global.com] 📲 Follow us on TikTok & Instagram: @BloominLegends 🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends [https://www.youtube.com/@bloominlegends] Listen to all episodes on Global Player, download the app, or visit www.globalplayer.com [http://www.globalplayer.com/] Bloomin' Legends is a Global production Produced by Ben Fairclough New episodes are released every Wednesday & Sunday. Subscribe to never miss an episode!