Cutting Edge: The Millionaire and the Murder Mansion

The Millionaire and the Murder Mansion

9th April 2009 (forthcoming)
Cutting Edge
on Channel 4

In August 2008, a devastating fire raged at a Shropshire mansion. As the flames engulfed Osbaston House, mystery surrounded the disappearance of Christopher Foster, his wife Jill and 15-year-old daughter Kirstie.

What started out as a fire became a double-murder, suicide and arson investigation that would shock Britain. As vital evidence went up in smoke before their eyes, the police were faced with a number of conspiracy theories and a frenzy of press speculation about the Fosters' fate.

With exclusive access to the West Mercia police's painstaking investigation and interviews with close friends and family members, The Millionaire and the Murder Mansion charts the complex jigsaw puzzle involving pathologists, forensic anthropologists, and arson, ballistics and CCTV specialists.

Interspersed with the detailed investigation are the emotional interviews with family members and friends who provide an insight into the dark secrets and many sides of the apparently doting husband and father who committed this horrific crime.

Producer: Adrian Gatton

Director: Nick Poyntz

Executive Producers: Roger Graef, Eve Kay

Read Roger Graef's article exploring the case Revealed: Why Millionaire Christopher Foster Slaughtered His Family

Make a donation to the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) in memory of 15-year old Kirstie Foster by clicking here.

Do you know anything about this mysterious and tragic case, or about Christopher Foster? If so, you can contact me in confidence at gatton (at) globalnet.co.uk

Cutting Edge: The 9/11 Faker

The 9/11 Faker

11 September 2008

Cutting Edge

on Channel 4

This programme tells the extraordinary story of Tania Head, one of the world's most audacious fakers.

In the years following the 9/11 attacks, many stories emerged of triumph, tragedy and heroism. But one story stood out. Tania Head, one of only 19 people at or above the point of impact to survive, who also lost her fiancé in the attacks.

As Tania Head became President of the World Trade Centre Survivors Network, Tania's vivid account of miraculous escape and tragic loss convinced everyone – politicians, press, fellow survivors and the families of those who died in the attacks. But Tania wasn't who she said she was. And on the day of the attacks she wasn't even in New York; she was thousands of miles away in Spain.

When she joined the 9/11 Survivors Network, Tania Head impressed her fellow survivors with how well she seemed to be coping. Within months of joining she had helped the network to get official status, secured state funding and asked a trauma expert to lead therapy sessions. She even supported the organisation with her own money and, in 2004, arranged the first survivors' visit to Ground Zero.

Barbara Conrad, a former member of the Survivors Network, recalls that, at meetings, "she would walk in and barely make it to her seat because she'd be surrounded, almost by fans".

No one questioned Tania, even when there seemed to be small inconsistencies in her version of events. Was the man she lost her fiancé or her husband? Why did a man in a red bandana – known to have saved the lives of many others that day – only appear in later versions of her story?

But, as her fame grew, so, finally, did the questions. In September 2007, the New York Times published a front page article questioning Tania's account. Shortly afterwards, she packed her bags and disappeared.

So who was Tania Head? And how did her deception affect the members of the 9/11 Survivors Network she left behind?

Speaking to traumatised survivors, the therapist who treated her and the family of the dead hero she claimed saved her life; The 9/11 Faker tells the intriguing story of how Tania Head became 9/11's most famous living face – and how she was exposed as one of the world's most notorious fakers.

The 9/11 Faker is an independent production for Channel 4 by Films of Record.

Director: James Bluemel

Producer: Adrian Gatton

Executive Producer: Helen Littleboy

"compelling and shocking ... this was a great documentary: gripping and mysterious" - The Times

"absorbing film … a staggering - and commendably unsensational - reflection on delusion, ambition and cynicism" - The Guardian (The Guide)

"[a] solemn, intelligent documentary ..." - The Guardian

"[a] sad, gripping documentary" - The Daily Mail

"a truly fascinating programme" - The Daily Star

"[a] fascinating story of deception and intrigue" - The Daily Record

Cutting Edge: Who Killed the Playboy Earl?

Who Killed the Playboy Earl?
7 February 2008
Cutting Edge
Channel 4

When Anthony Ashley-Cooper, the 10th Earl of Shaftesbury, went missing from his luxury hotel in Cannes on 5 November 2004, it inspired a press frenzy that exposed a frothy mix of glamour, vice, drink, drugs and fallen aristocracy.

Wayward life

The press exposed the lifestyle of the 66-year old earl – 'Atty' to his friends – who held one of the most distinguished lineages in the country, but who had become an ageing, sex-obsessed adventurer, whose wayward life created passion and jealousy in his many lovers, and eventually a vicious rivalry that led to the Earl's sudden death.

Medallion-wearing lothario

This film tells the extraordinary story of the Earl's downfall – his transformation from the Eton-educated millionaire philanthropist, patron of the Owl Trust and heir to the great social reformer Lord Shaftesbury – into a medallion-wearing lothario with an insatiable appetite for young women who became lured into the ruthless demi-monde of 'hostess bars' on the French Riviera.

See the Channel 4 webpage about the programme, including an interview with producer Adrian Gatton about the making of the documentary, here.

Who Killed the Playboy Earl is an independent production for Channel 4 by Blast Films.

Director: Robert Davis
Producer: Adrian Gatton
Executive Producer: Grant McKee

Cutting Edge : The Black Widow

The Black Widow
Cutting Edge
Channel 4 Television
29 June 2005














"This woman is every man's nightmare, the most dangerous woman I have ever met. For a decade she has targeted men sexually, financially and physically; they can sleep safe tonight knowing that she has been taken off the streets." - Sussex Police statement.

In December 2003, Dena Thompson was convicted of murdering her husband by poisoning. Sussex Police had uncovered a long career of deceit, fantasy, fraud, theft and bigamy. Through the harrowing accounts of those she deceived, this film tells the incredible story of how one woman wrecked the lives of so many men.

Producer: Adrian Gatton
Director: Martin Herring
Executive Producer: Nina Davies

"a riveting documentary" - The Sunday Times
"fascinating" - The Financial Times
"gripping" - The Times
"scary" - The Observer
"an extraordinary tale" - The Guardian