New York and London – March 1, 2023 – Somethin’ Else and Sony Music Entertainment today premiered their new podcast Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets. Hosted by writer and historian Giles Milton, Ministry of Secrets aims to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of famous British Navy diver Lionel ‘Buster’ Crabb, a figure who has been said to be the inspiration for James Bond. The first episode is available now. 

Crabb was a diver and highly decorated war hero. During World War Two, he worked in special ops diffusing mines planted by the Nazis in Venice, saving the city from destruction. He became a household name as a result and was thus rumored to be the inspiration for Bond. 

Throughout the series, Milton learns that in Spring 1956, Crabb took part in a top-secret diving mission to investigate a Russian ship docked in Portsmouth Harbour. The ship had brought Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev over for a state visit during the Cold War. After this dive, Crabb was never seen again.

What happened next is a state secret that has been concealed for decades: Milton’s mission throughout the podcast is to discover what really happened and establish why the truth continues to be hidden from the public. Normally files pertaining to such incidents are released after 20 years, but the Lionel Crabb files are officially embargoed for a century, to be kept under lock and key until 2057. 

Giles Milton is a writer and historian whose career has seen him dig into forgotten stories from the past. He’s come across some remarkable stories, from the doctor who supplied Hitler with cocaine to the MI6 spy who helped kill Rasputin. Yet, he’s never come across anything as strange as this story.

Throughout Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets, we hear Giles speak with his producer and oldest friend Sarah Peters, as they unpick this dark, shocking and disturbing story. Sarah is the founder of Tuning Fork Productions and produced the hit narrative podcast series Bed of Lies.

Listeners can expect weekly revelations on a journey into a world of rogues, royalty, spies, and lies, as Milton investigates the truth behind one of the last great secrets of the Cold War… and why it’s remained a mystery for so long. Cover Up: Ministry of Secrets is now available on all major podcast platforms and for subscribers to The Binge.