Professor David Wilson
David Wilson is Professor Criminology at Birmingham City University and Director of the University’s Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research. David regularly appears on TV and radio talking about the criminal justice system and is the author of numerous books.
His expertise can often be found on the pages of national papers such as The Times and the Guardian, and on news programmes such as Sky News and Tonight with Trevor McDonald, concerning high profile murder cases such as those of Meredith Kercher and Raoul Moat.Prior to taking up his academic appointment in 1997, Professor Wilson was a prison governor and worked at HMP’s Wormwood Scrubs, Grendon and Woodhill – where he helped to design and run the two units for the twelve most disruptive prisoners in the country, experiences which brought him into contact with a number of British serial killers. I
n 2015 David was on our screens acting as the Borstal Governor in ITV’s series Bring Back Borstal and presented Killer Psychopaths on Channel 5 the first episode was watched by 1.3 million people. 2016 saw David moderate the sell out show Making a Murderer at the London Palladium and lead the the Channel 4 documentary, Interview With A Murderer which won Best Documentary at the Broadcast Awards 2017 and Royal Society of Television Awards.David starred in Voice of a Serial Killer for CBS, a ten-part series, examining police tapes with infamous killers. With years of experience working with murderers, David provides enlightening insights to the minds and actions of the killers featured.
Off the television, David’s expertise is highly sought after by National Newspapers, as he regularly writes about and analyses notorious criminals and infamous cases.He also hosted innovative discussion show David Wilson's Crime Files for BBC Scotland in 2019, showing in-depth investigation into both historic and contemporary criminal cases. The 10-parter aired on BBC, along with journalist Fiona Walker.In 2019, David starred alongside actress Emilia Fox in three-part BBC One documentary Jack The Ripper: The Case Reopened re-examining the murders which took place in the Whitechapel district of London between August and November 1888, with new technology. The pair reconvened in 2021 to present true crime series In The Footsteps of Killers for Channel 4, investigating famous unsolved murder cases. This was followed by another successful 6-part second series transmitted in early 2023. David's professional memoir My Life with Murderers was published in 2019.
In 2022 David published A Plot to Kill: The notorious killing of Peter Farquhar, a story of deception and betrayal that shocked a quiet English town. Followed by his latest book Murder at Home: how our safest space is where we're most in danger. The book explores the tragic prevalence of domestic murder and how, for so many victims, their own home is the place they are most in danger.
2023 saw David take his first solo tour alongside his book My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World's Most Violent Men. The show consisted of David talking through his career so far, whilst discussing his study of human nature, delving into infamous as well as lesser-known true crime cases. David also returned with a second series of his podcast If it Bleeds It Leeds, co-hosted with Emilia Fox, where they discover what is really going on behind some of the most notorious crimes.
