# The mystery of Francis Bacon's minder

An episode of [The Slow Newscast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1487320403), 8 Jul 2025, 40 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/the-tortoise-podcast/e/686bd7a63b5dc9fc22f91c64/media.mp3

This is the story of how a boxing match helped solve a 50-year art world mystery. And how, when a man named Ted wades in to stop a mugging in Soho, it leads to a most unlikely life-altering friendship with an artist who makes him, or his picture, immortal. Reporter: Stephen Smith Producer: Katie Gunning Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorpe Sound Designer: Dominic Delargy Editor: Jasper Corbett To find out more about The Observer: Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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