A Most Audacious Heist

A master thief. A relentless pursuit. A jewel that changes everything.

Daniel Blanchard isn’t your average petty criminal. His heists are ingenious, his escapes defy belief, and his ability to stay one step ahead of the law leaves investigators baffled. He has a system, and it works.

But when one ordinary day Daniel spies the last remaining Sisi Star – a perfect cluster of dazzling diamonds – he will risk everything to get his hands on it. His plan to steal it is high-stakes: a daring night-time parachute jump. If he can pull this off, he knows it will launch him into the criminal big-leagues. 

Daniel’s exploits unleash a relentless game of cat-and-mouse, as a determined police team tracks him across continents – even as time and again he vanishes from their grasp. But how long can Sisi’s star stay lucky for Daniel?

Because what Daniel doesn’t know is that this jewel has a dark history. It was once the crowning glory of the legendary Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who used it to defy the rules of her age and carve her own legacy of absolute beauty and power. Its pursuit drove her to her very limits. And now his fate is fixed to that same star.

A Most Audacious Heist is a gripping tale of ambition, risk and obsession, as host Seren Jones tracks the thief – and the empress – across two centuries, to find out just how far they'll go to get what they desire.

Credits

Host: Seren Jones

Writer and Producer: Emma Jane Kirby

Research: Hannah Tavakkolizadeh

Managing Producer: Amica Sciortino Nowlan

Original Music: Daniel Lloyd-Evans, Louis Nanke-Mannell, Toby Matimong

Sound Designer and Mix Engineering: Toby Matimong and Louis Nanke-Manell

Special thanks to: Kathy Kenzora and Rob Johnston

Creative Director: Rosie Pye

Executive Producer: Amica Sciortino Nowlan and Laurence Grissell