A jaw-dropping story of one of the world’s most audacious conmen, Robert Hendy-Freegard, comes The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman. This documentary series directed by Sam Benstead and Gareth Johnson. This chilling series explores the story of Robert Freegard, who, over the course of two decades, controlled, conned and fleeced at least seven women and one man out of almost one million pounds, with his devious charm.
Born in Dronfield on 1 March 1971, and started his career as a barman and car salesman, British conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent, Robert Hendy-Freegard would meet his victims on social occasions or as customers in the pub or car dealership where he worked. Having met the victims, he claimed to be an undercover agent, working for MI5, the Special Branch or for Scotland Yard. He applied pressure and psychological stress to his victims, claiming they were threatened with assassination by the IRA, to coerce them into following his demands. Having won his victims over, he coerced money out of them and pressured them do his bidding, including cutting off contact with their family and friends; performing "loyalty tests"; and living alone in poor conditions. He seduced five women, claiming that he wanted to marry them. Initially some of the victims refused to cooperate with the police because he had warned them that police would be double agents or MI5 agents performing another "loyalty test". In January 2022, it was reported that Hendy-Freegard was living in Berkshire with one of his victims, Sandra Clifton, whose two children had not seen her since 2014.
Born in Dronfield on 1 March 1971, and started his career as a barman and car salesman, British conman and impostor who masqueraded as an MI5 agent, Robert Hendy-Freegard would meet his victims on social occasions or as customers in the pub or car dealership where he worked. Having met the victims, he claimed to be an undercover agent, working for MI5, the Special Branch or for Scotland Yard. He applied pressure and psychological stress to his victims, claiming they were threatened with assassination by the IRA, to coerce them into following his demands. Having won his victims over, he coerced money out of them and pressured them do his bidding, including cutting off contact with their family and friends; performing "loyalty tests"; and living alone in poor conditions. He seduced five women, claiming that he wanted to marry them. Initially some of the victims refused to cooperate with the police because he had warned them that police would be double agents or MI5 agents performing another "loyalty test". In January 2022, it was reported that Hendy-Freegard was living in Berkshire with one of his victims, Sandra Clifton, whose two children had not seen her since 2014.
The lesson to be learned here is that if a person claims to be an MI5 agent, you really should obviously be sceptical. It's a ripping ride but it's the final episode in which, among other things, we come face to face with the hunted man, that the series really delivers its sucker punch. Sometimes you don't have to meet a genius to feel taken advantage of; just a person who knows how to recognize what you want and haven't ever had. At best it's an odd confluence of true crime, documentary tropes, and visual artistry. The familiarity of this situation that makes the series watchable if not indispensable. There's a fascinating kind of danger rolling across the British landscape in this three-part documentary. Stunning re-enactments add to the documentary feel. The series hangs together much better than any of 2020's popular documentary series. There's barely any flab in these three hours as the story takes progressively weirder, more surprising turns. As twisty and juicy as the story here is, the series keeps threatening to slip through your fingers, which makes it a bit like Robert Hendy-Freegard, if you're into that sort of mirroring. Though the series settles for the basic TV-procedural, true-crime side of the story, leaving the material - as juicy as it is - conspicuously short-changed. Ultimately, the series will take you to some emotionally dark places, especially as more and more victims begin to surface. You need a week-to-week break.
Simon says The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman receives:
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