A Very British Cult
by BBC Radio 4
The sinister life coaching company that takes over your life. Catrin Nye investigates. In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions. Two years later, Jeff had sold his house, his relationship was in pieces, and he had handed over tens of thousands of pounds. And he wasn't the only one. In this eighteen-month investigation for the BBC, journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a mysterious life coaching company taking over people's lives and ripping families apart. As the investigation hots up, the group fights back, and there's a surreal final showdown.
Episodes
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8. The Showdown
It’s the final showdown. The BBC team finds out there’s been another investigation going on in parallel to their one. It’s by the Government, who want Lighthouse shut down. Lighthouse International Group end up in court, and more than 20 team members crowd into the hearing room, squashed…
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7. Us and Them
The people inside cults aren’t the only ones whose lives are transformed. There’s also the family members and friends, who are left behind. When Jeff left Lighthouse, he quickly found there was a whole community with loved ones still part of the organisation. Catrin meets a father who says it…
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6. Control
We meet Simon, who ended up deep in Lighthouse, recruiting for them, monitoring their critics and living with his mentor. But one day Simon says he realised he was actually in a cult, and he had no choice but to pack his bags and run. What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin…
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5. Paulie
To understand Lighthouse, Catrin needs to try and understand Paul Waugh. She delves into his past to investigate his claims of incredible wealth, high profile business connections, and a difficult childhood. What happens when a life coach takes over your life? Catrin Nye and her team expose...
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4. Getting Out
The investigation is finding out more and more strange things about Lighthouse. We hear what happens when people start to question what is happening. Catrin speaks with Erin who raised concerns about Lighthouse and was accused of being "a cynical little old witch". Meanwhile Lighthouse is getting...
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3. The Life Coach
Catrin is quite cynical about the concept of life coaching. She’s now spent months speaking with people who signed up to it and ended up in a cult. So, she has a session with one of Ireland’s most in-demand coaches to see if he can change her mind. Then Catrin meets Anthony, who found Lighthouse...
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2. The Daily Call
Jeff is being drawn deeper and deeper into a life coaching group called Lighthouse. He loves having a mentor and feels great about life. Now it’s time to take the next step, to go full time. But what exactly awaits Jeff, and what is it going to cost him? What happens when a life coach takes over...
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1. Lighthouse
In November 2021 investigative journalist Catrin Nye got a call from Dawn. She said her boyfriend Jeff was trying to leave a cult. But this cult was also a life coaching company. Dawn said Jeff had handed over more than £100,000 to them and wasted years of his life. And what Dawn is really…
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Welcome to... A Very British Cult
Catrin Nye gets a mysterious call that plunges her into an unsettling world of self-help and cults. What happens when a life coach takes over your life? In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions.…
more
About this show
The sinister life coaching company that takes over your life. Catrin Nye investigates.
In early 2019 Jeffrey Leigh-Jones from Portsmouth got a life coach. Someone to mentor him in life and help him realise his business ambitions.
Two years later, Jeff had sold his house, his relationship was in pieces, and he had handed over tens of thousands of pounds. And he wasn't the only one. In this eighteen-month investigation for the BBC, journalist Catrin Nye and her team expose control, intimidation and fear at a mysterious life coaching company taking over people's lives and ripping families apart.
As the investigation hots up, the group fights back, and there's a surreal final showdown.
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BBC Radio 4
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