Geoffrey Wansell

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Geoffrey Wansell
Born (1945-07-09) 9 July 1945 (age 80)
Greenock, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Journalist; author; podcaster
Notable workThe Bus Stop Killer; Terence Rattigan: A Biography; Lifers
Geoffrey Wansell presenting the Blood Ties Podcast

Geoffrey Wansell (born 9 July 1945) is a British journalist, author and podcaster. He has written biographies and works of true crime, and co-hosts the podcast Blood Ties.

Career

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Wansell has worked as a journalist for newspapers including The Times, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, where he is crime and thriller reviewer.[1] Writing in The Telegraph about Fred West, Wansell questions, "If all his evil secrets will ever be uncovered?".[2] The Independent describes Wansell's article on Fred West as a, "masterpiece of self-serving hypocrisy".[3]

Geoffrey Wansell has written biographies such as Cary Grant: Haunted Idol (1983), appearing on BBC Radio 4, Wansell commented on Cary Grant's acting career that, "It's not until "Sylvia Scarlett" with Katharine Hepburn you begin to see the Grant persona emerge".[4] Other biographies include, Tycoon: The Life of James Goldsmith (1987) and Terence Rattigan: A Biography (1995), the last of which was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize.[5] His true crime books include An Evil Love (1996), on Fred and Rose West, The Bus Stop Killer (2011), about Levi Bellfield, and Lifers: Inside the Minds of Britain's Most Notorious Criminals (2016).[6]

The Independent reported that Wansell had exclusive use of Fred West's, "13 volumes of police transcripts of interviews with West" for his book "An Evil Love: The Life and Crimes of Fred West".[7]

In 2013, he co-wrote Poirot and Me with actor David Suchet.[8]

Podcasting

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Wansell co-hosts the weekly true crime podcast Blood Ties with his daughter, Molly Wansell. The series discusses high-profile murder cases and the psychology of offenders.[9] In 2025, Feedspot rated it as 15th in their top 50 UK crime podcasts.[10]

Selected bibliography

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  • Cary Grant: Haunted Idol (1983)
  • Tycoon: The Life of James Goldsmith (1987)
  • Terence Rattigan: A Biography (1995)
  • An Evil Love (1996)
  • The Bus Stop Killer (2011)
  • Poirot and Me (with David Suchet, 2013)
  • Lifers: Inside the Minds of Britain's Most Notorious Criminals (2016)

References

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  1. ^ "Geoffrey Wansell – CrimeCon UK". Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  2. ^ "Fred West: How many other murder victims could there be?". The Telegraph. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  3. ^ "Thomas Sutcliffe: The feeding of our darkest appetites". The Independent. 28 August 2001. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  4. ^ "Great Lives: Cary Grant". BBC Radio 4. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Geoffrey Wansell". Johnson & Alcock. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Geoffrey Wansell – HarperCollins". Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  7. ^ "LEADING ARTICLE: The legacy of Fred West". The Independent. 19 October 1995. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Geoffrey Wansell – Johnson & Alcock". Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Blood Ties Podcast". Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  10. ^ "50 Best UK Crime Podcasts". 24 September 2025.
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