That Peter Bleksley can stand on a stage, using his real name, and talk to a packed theatre about his life and career is an achievement in itself.
The founding member of Scotland Yard’s undercover squad saw his career in the police force suddenly cut short in his 40s, when his identity was inadvertently revealed to members of an American drugs cartel that he had helped put behind bars.
Forced to enter a witness protection scheme, change his name, move out of his home and try to piece his life back together while knowing there was a bounty on his head rocked his world.
And, as he told an enthralled audience at Watford Palace Theatre on Thursday night, it led to a complete mental breakdown and institutionalisation.
His admission that he will take medication for life to prevent any relapse was combined with a heartfelt appeal from Bleksley to others who, if they find themselves in a similar situation, should not shy away from using prescribed drugs as a crutch.
It was a message that drew applause from the audience and a clearly moved Bleksley thanked them – one of the softer moments during his ‘The Makings of a Murderer – The Undercover Detective’ one-man show which was an otherwise gritty, frank and harsh recollection of his career from bobby on the beat to snaring killers.
Bleksley is a no-nonsense rough diamond, raised in south-east London with an accent that reflects his formative years.
On stage he told how school was not for him, but his Mum (still alive and thriving at 92) decided working in a Woolworths’ warehouse was not making best use of his capabilities.
She encouraged him to join the police and Bleksley thrived, moving up through the ranks having worked on the Brixton riots before becoming a detective and then moving to Scotland Yard.
He explained how his undercover work saw him mingling with, and earning the trust of, drugs barons, murder witnesses and other questionable characters that live in the murky criminal underworld.
But just when he seemed set for a long and ongoing successful career in the police, his life was shattered by a moment of ineptitude totally of his control: paperwork revealing his name as the undercover detective that had spent months infiltrating an American-based drug racket was stolen from a car in London, and ended up in the hands of those across the pond he had worked so hard to bring to justice.
He told the Palace Theatre how, in his 40s, he had to pretty much reinvent himself, revealing that not only did he get very little support from within the police force but was also the victim of bullying and torment from colleagues.
A weaker character may have cracked, but those who listened intently to Bleksley during his Watford performance will have quickly grasped that here was a man whose upbringing and career had made him resilient and resourceful.
He decided to write a book about his work in the police force, publicity for that led him to make several TV and radio appearances, and suddenly he found his knowledge, wisdom and expertise was something the media found desirable.
More bestselling books followed, then a podcast and Bleksley also fronted the Channel 4 TV show ‘Hunted’.
However, once a detective always a detective.
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Bleksley now uses his time to dig into unsolved crimes, and the second half of the show on Thursday largely focussed on his work to try and find the murderer of Scottish banker Alistair Wilson, who was shot dead on his own doorstep in 2004, aged just 30.
Regularly visiting the small Highland fishing port of Nairn where Wilson left behind a widow and two children, Bleksley has been able to access case notes, reviews by other police forces and interview local people.
The passion and determination with which he told the audience of his ongoing search for justice underscored the very traits which made Bleksley such a successful detective, as well as being a caring and empathetic human being under that wizened London accent.
It was a fascinating, often moving and regularly thought-provoking evening from a man who embodies all that we expect from our law enforcers.
For details of upcoming shows at Watford Palace Theatre, go to watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk
Andrew French is the Watford Observer's former Watford FC correspondent.
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