THE BRITISH GODFATHER

He was known as the Godfather of Britain, a criminal mastermind who was even feared by the Krays.

- BY SUE LEE

But in contrast to the brutal East End twins, Billy Hill maintained a low profile, both in life and in death.

Psychologist Serena Simmons says: "He was highly dangerous, a functioning psychopath and a skilled manipulatorbut extremely charming and very clever.

"Billy operated in an underground manner. He kept himself under the radar.

"And he always wanted to control the narrative he understood the less we know, the more intrigued we are." Billy's story features in a new four-part Sky History series, Original Gangsters, narrated by Sean Bean. It takes a deep dive into some of the biggest crime names on both sides of the Atlantic, including AI Capone and the Birmingham gangs who inspired the TV series Peaky Blinders.

Serena, a senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, says: "We're fascinated by gangsters. As humans we want to understand why people do what they do.

"We're hardwired to enjoy stories - and the stories around gangsters are fascinating. Truth can be stranger than fiction." Billy was born in 1911 in the slums of London, his father a thief, his mum a fence and sister a shoplifter - while he soon became a skilled burglar.

In other circumstances, Serena feels he could have become a businessman. "He was able to get others to do his bidding, he was a skilled manipulator and felt no remorse those traits lend themselves to leadership," she says.

Instead, aged 16, he went to borstal for three years for burglary.