‘Bloody Mary’ is most famous for burning hundreds of people at the stake for their religious beliefs. Sounding pretty evil so far. But she defied all of the odds against her to become queen, fight for what she believed in, and overcome a toxic childhood. Ria Lina, Pierre Novellie and Catherine Bohart must weigh up whether she was more evil or genius.
Additional material: Eve Delaney and Christina Riggs
Researcher: Miriam O’Byrne
Sound Editor: Kate Mac
Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy
Executive Producer: Paul Smith
The producer was Sasha Bobak. Evil Genius with Russell Kane is a BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Sounds.
Published on Wednesday, 17th December 2025.
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