Before Jeffrey Epstein, before Prince Andrew, before the trials, headlines and conspiracy theories, there was Robert Maxwell.

In episode one of Ghislaine, journalist Tom Pattinson looks at the extraordinary early life of Ghislaine Maxwell and the father who shaped her world: Robert Maxwell, the Czech-born war hero, Labour MP, media tycoon, alleged intelligence asset and towering family patriarch whose power, money and mystery defined her childhood.

From the Maxwell family’s privileged life in Oxford to Robert Maxwell’s rise through the British establishment, this episode explores how Ghislaine was raised inside a world of wealth, politics, publishing, secrecy and elite connections long before she met Jeffrey Epstein.

The episode also examines Maxwell’s flamboyant public life, his reported links to intelligence agencies, his rela ...