A new BBC Radio 4 show is to hear the “bonkers” stories of people who have woken up to find a Banksy work sprayed on their walls.
The Banksy Story-When Banksy Comes To Town will launch on April 7, and hear from people in the Suffolk town of Lowestoft and Margate in Kent, hosted by Banksy super fan James Peak.
The five-part series will hear from one person who found a mural of a seagull stealing giant chips from a skip that emerged in the Suffolk seaside town as part of Banksy’s Great British Staycation collection.
Another will be interviewed about finding the Valentine’s Day Mascara which appeared in Margate in 2023, and included a frying pan and a chest freezer as well as a stencilled piece, which were all said to highlight the problem of domestic violence.
Presenter Peak said of the show: “The aftermath of a Banksy incident is always dramatic, unpredictable and perhaps a bit bonkers in how local people, the media and the art world all react.
“For this series, we thought there would be some interesting stories that came from talking to the people who have been on the receiving end of an unexpected Banksy art gift.
“But the big surprise making these shows was finding out just what it means for the local community when Banksy comes to town, and how deep Banksy’s rabbit holes go.
“We’re thrilled to be joined once again by Steph Warren, who lends us her 25 years of experience in the underground world of street art, and gives us some more surprising insights into Banksy’s secret world.”
Banksy works have fetched millions at auction, and the show will investigate whether owning one of his pieces on property is actually beneficial.
The series follows 2023’s The Banksy Story, which documented the artist’s rise, and comes after his animal-themed collection was sprayed in the capital last year, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.
Commissioning editor Daniel Clarke said: “In the first smash hit series, we gave a glimpse behind the scenes of Banksy’s rise to fame – we’re now turning our attention to the frenzy which can take over an entire community when Banksy comes to town.
“There’s so much mystery surrounding what happens when a Banksy appears, and it’s totally fascinating to hear first-hand from the people who have experienced being at the centre of the storm.”
The artist recently interviewed Tox, who has been dubbed the country’s “most imprisoned” graffiti writer, having claimed to have been arrested more than 40 times, for a special edition of the Big Issue.
When Banksy Comes To Town begins on BBC Radio 4 on Monday April 7, with the full box set to be made available on BBC Sounds.
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