Jun 21, 2026 · 53 min · 14 segments
Ronnie and Reggie Kray were a vicious pair of gangsters who somehow cultivated an air of charm and 60s cool. They were criminals who attracted celebrities like Jackie Collins and Judy Garland to the…
Kate Beal BlythGuestIn 1926, a 17-year-old named Violet Lee meets Charles Kray, seven years her senior, in a dance hall.
Violet, of mixed Irish and Jewish descent, is the daughter of John Cannonball Lee, a well-known boxer, street performer, and market porter.
Violet's father disapproves of her new beau, but the couple are soon married in secret, with the underage Violet lying about her age at the registry office.
Then six years later, on the 24th of October, 1933, Violet gives birth to two identical dark-haired boys.
Kate Beale Blythe is a documentary filmmaker and the co-author of The Krays: The Prison Years.
The stories you hear about Violet is how she would walk around with her pram, proud as punch of having these beautiful boys, and the fact that people would stop her in the street.
Though their father is largely an absent figure, Violet's love will be a constant throughout their lives.
When they are three, both boys develop measles and diphtheria, and though Reggie soon recovers, Ronnie is ill for weeks.
Afterwards, he seems slower and shier than his brother, and it's possible this spell of ill health impacts his development.
From a young age, the twins are extremely close, speaking in a secret language, and seem to have a telepathic understanding of one another.
While they are mischievous and always fighting with other children, at home they compete fiercely for their cherished mother's attention.
The twins' grandfather fills the boys' heads with stories of local boxers and villains, and their aunt spoils them with sweets.
They live in a tiny Victorian terrace with no inside toilet, and it is an area where 60% of the children are malnourished and 85% of the housing stock is deemed unsatisfactory.
The outbreak of the Second World War just before their sixth birthday only worsens the situation.
In 1926, a 17-year-old named Violet Lee meets Charles Kray, seven years her senior, in a dance hall.
Violet, of mixed Irish and Jewish descent, is the daughter of John Cannonball Lee, a well-known boxer, street performer, and market porter.
Violet's father disapproves of her new beau, but the couple are soon married in secret, with the underage Violet lying about her age at the registry office.
Then six years later, on the 24th of October, 1933, Violet gives birth to two identical dark-haired boys.
Kate Beale Blythe is a documentary filmmaker and the co-author of The Krays: The Prison Years.
The stories you hear about Violet is how she would walk around with her pram, proud as punch of having these beautiful boys, and the fact that people would stop her in the street.
Though their father is largely an absent figure, Violet's love will be a constant throughout their lives.
When they are three, both boys develop measles and diphtheria, and though Reggie soon recovers, Ronnie is ill for weeks.
Afterwards, he seems slower and shier than his brother, and it's possible this spell of ill health impacts his development.
From a young age, the twins are extremely close, speaking in a secret language, and seem to have a telepathic understanding of one another.
While they are mischievous and always fighting with other children, at home they compete fiercely for their cherished mother's attention.
The twins' grandfather fills the boys' heads with stories of local boxers and villains, and their aunt spoils them with sweets.
They live in a tiny Victorian terrace with no inside toilet, and it is an area where 60% of the children are malnourished and 85% of the housing stock is deemed unsatisfactory.
The outbreak of the Second World War just before their sixth birthday only worsens the situation.
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3 of 5
Brutal Thugs, Not Folk Heroes
She dismantles the Krays' Robin Hood myth.
Stabbing vs Shooting Revelation
Examining Reggie's more horrific close-up killing style.
Legacy of Pure Failure
Her verdict on the twins' ultimate legacy.
+2 more clips · 4 min 43 sec of audio in all
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