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true crime

Cover

true crime · EN

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About this Podcast:

Cover is an award-winning series investigating true stories of people living secret double lives, presented and produced by Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy. Series 1: Where Is George Gibney? An Olympic coach charged with child sexual abuse who never stood trial. Instead, he vanished. Series 2: Stakeknife. A man tasked with finding and killing alleged IRA informers who was, in fact, a British agent all along. You can contact our production team about either series at cover@bbc.co.uk. Credits for series 2: Stakeknife - Reporter: Mark HorganProduced and written by: Mark Horgan and Ciarán CassidyCo-Producer: Paddy FeeEditing and Sound Design: Ciarán CassidyComposer: Michael FlemingSound mixing: Ger McDonnellTheme tune by LankumArtwork by Conor MerrimanAssistant Commissioners for BBC: Lorraine OkuefunaCommissioning Editor for BBC: Dylan Haskins Cover is a Second Captains & Little Wing production for BBC Sounds.

Pitch Analysis

Required Pod Score for this podcast. PitchCentric checks your profile against host openness, topical fit, and audience signals before you generate a pitch.

Contact path

Verified email

Booking probability

21%

Guest openness

Selective

Verified email on file
80/100
Required Score

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Questions about Cover

What is Cover about?

Cover is an award-winning series investigating true stories of people living secret double lives, presented and produced by Mark Horgan and Ciarán Cassidy. Series 1: Where Is George Gibney? An Olympic coach charged with child sexual abuse who never stood trial. Instead, he vanished. Series 2: Stakeknife.

What has Cover covered recently?

Recent episodes include "12. Case Update: George Gibney Arrested in Florida" (11 July 2025, 11 minutes), "12. Bonus Episode With Angela Donnelly, Sister of Eugene Simons" (20 June 2025, 42 minutes), and "11. Bonus Q&A with Mark Horgan and Patrick Radden Keefe" (20 June 2025, 63 minutes).

How often does Cover publish?

Cover publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 36 minutes across 30 episodes.

How hard is it to get booked on Cover?

Booking probability for Cover is 21%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Cover requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Cover's contact route on record: verified email.

About the host

Cover is a true crime podcast with 30 episodes published.

Verified host email: ████████@████.comSign in to unlock →

Recent episodes

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

  • Jul 11, 202511 minS1

    <p>In a hugely significant development, the former Irish Olympic swimming coach George Gibney has been arrested in Florida. Mark brings us the very latest.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark Horgan Produced and written...

  • Episode #12

    10. Frank

    Jan 31, 202555 minS2

    <p>Mark travels to where Freddie Scappaticci lived after he disappeared from Belfast. A news report we featured from 1987 inspires a man to get in touch with the podcast.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark Horgan...

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  • Jan 24, 202549 minS2

    <p>Shauna tells the story of her mother Caroline Moreland. We hear how her campaigning has helped others connected to the the Stakeknife case and how other families have come forward to Mark since the start of this...

  • Jan 17, 202558 minS2

    <p>We return to the solicitor’s office in West Belfast as Mark meets three crucial people to discuss the end of Scappaticci’s time in the IRA and his eventual uncovering as the agent...

  • Jan 10, 202537 minS2

    <p>In 1990, a man called Sandy Lynch was tied up, blindfolded and interrogated by Scappaticci. He survived to document his experience. Marks speaks to an IRA man who “guarded” Lynch.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark...

  • Episode #7

    6. Playing God

    Dec 27, 202441 minS2

    <p>Orla and Kevin Coyle tell the story of their father who was killed as an alleged informer by the IRA. The profound shadow cast by their father’s death has lasted almost 30 years.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark...

  • Dec 20, 202444 minS2

    <p>Brendan Hughes wants to question Joe Fenton and find the “main mover.” Is Stakeknife suspected? We meet the former IRA man who interviewed Hughes and whose hero was Scappaticci.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark...

  • Dec 13, 202439 minS2

    <p>Mark tells the story of a man called Joe Fenton and how he was connected to Stakeknife. We learn there was a hierarchy of agents, where some were saved and some were not.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark Horgan...

  • Episode #4

    3. The FRU

    Dec 6, 202449 minS2

    <p>Mark meets two former members of the FRU, the secret army intelligence unit that ran the agent Stakeknife. How did they recruit people? How was Scappaticci recruited?</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark Horgan...

  • Episode #3

    2. Sin É

    Nov 29, 202449 minS2

    <p>Mark speaks to the brother of one of the first people interrogated by Stakeknife. We follow Seamus’ journey as he retraces his brothers steps in the days before he was murdered.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark...

  • Nov 22, 202437 minS2

    <p>A man flees Northern Ireland when he’s named as Stakeknife. At a surprise press conference a few days later he denies the charges but a forgotten tape comes back to haunt him.</p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark...

  • Nov 12, 20243 minS2

    <p>In Northern Ireland from 1978 to 1994, the IRA killed over 40 alleged informers; people accused of passing information to the police and the British Army. But the man who often found, tortured, and sometimes killed...

  • Nov 8, 20241 minS1

    <p>A message from Mark Horgan on a new investigative series launching next week from the production team behind ‘Where Is George Gibney?’</p><p>This new series will focus on another figure who lived a double life and...

  • Episode #14

    11. Case Update

    Nov 24, 202356 minS1

    <p>Almost three years on from our last episode, there’s a significant update on the case of George Gibney. We also hear from contributors to the podcast series speaking publicly at an emotional event in the National...

  • Episode #13

    10. Sea Swimming

    Dec 10, 202045 minS1

    <p>As a police investigation into Gibney is confirmed, survivors around the world begin to talk. A significant voice in the story of George Gibney comes forward.</p><p>-- </p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter: Mark Horgan...

  • Dec 3, 202038 minS1

    <p>Survivors continue to come forward for the first time and a new voice emerges from Waterford. We tell the story of Loraine Kennedy with some help from her daughter, Louise.</p><p>-- </p><p>Credits</p><p>Reporter...

Recent guests

Recent guests on Cover. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Best industries to pitch Cover for

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this podcast is a strong guest fit for executives in:

true crimestrong

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