0:00

Picture the scene. It's 1987,

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and the seaside town of Amble in the north of

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England has seen much better days. It's

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cold, tired, and run down.

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So when a wild dolphin appears in the

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harbor, it's the miracle everyone's been

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waiting for. He's like a ray of light. The

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locals in Amble love him and name him

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Freddy. Freddy loves them all back, but

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his favorite playmate is Alan Cooper,

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a committed animal rights activist. Alan

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and the wild dolphin swim together for hundreds

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of magical hours, and a beautiful friendship

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is born. But when Alan is accused

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of taking his friendship with the dolphin too

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far, he finds himself at the center of

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a tabloid scandal that grips Britain and

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ends in one of the most bizarre court cases

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in legal history. You're about to hear

0:43

a clip from the new podcast Hooked on

0:46

Freddy. If you'd like to hear more, search

0:48

for Hooked on Freddy wherever you get your podcasts.

0:59

September the

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28th, 1990. It's a fine day

1:04

in Amble, a small

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coastal town on the tip of

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Northeast England. But

1:11

we're not in the town. We're

1:13

about a quarter of a mile out in

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the North Sea.

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A

1:21

man's in the water, wearing

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a wetsuit with yellow arms, and

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he's just hanging there, alone.

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His

1:30

name is Alan Cooper.

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And at first, yes, he is all alone.

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But then...

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Something dark moves at speed

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under the water. Circles,

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disappears, and

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then resurfaces. Now

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we can see him. It's

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a wild... A bottle

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nose. And he wants

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to play. He twists

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onto his side, inviting Alan

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to take hold of his dorsal fin. He will

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start to dive. Just

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go straight down to about 20 feet. And

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then don't switch the goggles.

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And you'd both explode out the water.

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It was just out of this world,

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you know. I

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was in this time of my life. Something

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special. That's

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what

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I'm 10 hours thinking it was, isn't it? You

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know, if you could bottle that feeling and sell

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it, you'd be a millionaire. Then

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Alan hears something in

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the distance.

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A boat coming towards him.

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He comes close. And

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the people on board are looking at him.

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He tries to ignore them. I carried

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on my swim.

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The boat just stays there. Alan's

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being watched. A

3:32

voice is raised. There's

3:35

something off here. Something

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very off.

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Alan

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stays near him for half an hour,

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just watching. Then

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it leaves. Alan

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hasn't heard what was said, but

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later he'll

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wish he had. before

4:00

and after moment. What

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said on that boat? Will

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make Alan wish he'd walked away

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after his first swim with the dolphin.

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It'll lead to a bitter

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rivalry, a rivalry

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with another man, a

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man who also claims to be a

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lover and protector of animals.

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And it will put these two men

4:26

on a collision

4:28

course. Little

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did I know what was going to develop. I would

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have ended it there and then. It's

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just not worth it, is it?

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Over the next year his face will

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be splashed across tabloid newspapers

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and TV shows. He'll

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be ridiculed and laughed at. He'll

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be abused in the street and

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he'll even receive

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death threats. What

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was

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said on that boat will become a national

5:01

scandal.

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And

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for Alan,

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it will change everything. It

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took an absolute unique experience,

5:09

probably a great experience of my life

5:12

and turned it into one of the worst.

5:14

What happened

5:16

to me, you know, never

5:18

goes away, does it? Would never go away.

5:21

To hear more, search for Hooked on Freddy wherever

5:23

you listen to podcasts. You can listen to

5:25

Hooked on Freddy early and add free on

5:28

Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus on Apple

5:30

Podcasts or the Wondery app.