24 Hours in Police Custody: Nightclub Predator is the latest two-part episode of the award-winning documentary and, this time, police officers investigate serial rapist Craig France.

Viewers get unprecedented access behind the scenes of the investigation into the man who Cambridgeshire Police believe preyed on dozens of women.

The suspect, Craig France, has a reputation across Peterborough’s nightclub scene and for the notorious hot-tub afterparties he has hosted at his house… A search of France’s house reveals an obsession with hidden recording devices. As officers download the data from the cameras, what they find shocks them…

Here’s everything you need to know about rapist Craig France, the focus of 24 Hours in Police Custody: Nightclub Predator on Channel 4…

24 Hours in Police Custody: Nightclub Predator zones in on rapist Craig France

The latest instalment of the police documentary shows officers investigating “depraved” rapist Craig France. The man is a serial offender who preyed on dozens of women.

The first of the two-part documentary starts on Sunday, July 06, 2025. It reveals the inside story of the chilling investigation, which begins when police receive a distressing 999 call from a young woman. She tells the police she believes she was raped two years previously.

At the time, the suspect Craig France is not known to the police. However, he does have a reputation across Peterborough’s nightclub scene and for the “notorious” hot-tub afterparties he has hosted at his house. He’s described as a “nice guy”, who “everyone likes, everyone wants to be his friend”.

DCI Helen Tebbit, who runs the Rape Investigation Team, takes on the case. However, she is only too aware of how difficult it is to prove rape cases without forensic evidence of sexual assault.

‘He’s a nice guy, everyone wants to be his friend’

The police arrest Craig France, but he refuses to comment in his police interview and the clock is ticking. The police make their first breakthrough when a search of France’s house reveals an obsession with hidden recording devices…

As officers download the data from the cameras, what they find shocks them. Hours of footage of the victim is recorded, filmed from inside his home and without her knowledge. Of course, this appears to corroborate the victim’s account.

There are cameras all over his house. Footage shows him pulling his victim outside the concrete floor before dropping her in a hot tub. She was unable to stand.

The investigation takes a fresh twist as a report lands from another woman claiming to have been assaulted by Craig France, too.

Cameras subsequently follow the Cambridgeshire Police Rape Investigation team as they wait for the CPS to approve charges for rape and voyeurism.

As the case continues, digital investigators are further horrified to discover more disturbing footage. Hidden within his devices are videos of the two known victims, as well as hundreds of other explicit videos of young women in vulnerable states. The distressing footage was seemingly captured without their knowledge. The police then have the tricky task of tracking down the women identified in France’s videos…

Who is Craig France? What did he do?

Lorry driver Craig France, who was born in May 1991, lived on Hammonds Drive, Peterborough. He previously owned his own transport company. Perceived as sociable and outgoing, he was described as a “nice guy” by many who met him.

However, late at night, he would go out in the Peterborough area deliberately to pursue women. He would subsequently luring them to “after-parties” at his address.

Once Craig France had them back at his place, he would ply his victims with alcohol, often until they passed out. He would then commit vile sexual offences against them while they were unconscious or sleeping. Horrifyingly, France filmed and photographed himself committing these offences.

France’s victims were either “asleep, unconscious or so inebriated that they could not consent”. All of his victims, who cannot be identified in media reports, were known to him. He committed offences between 2021 and 2023.

How did police catch Craig France?

Police became aware of Craig France in August 2024 when a woman reported he had raped her two years previously. The victim described being given a shot of Sambuca while they were in his garden. The next thing she knew, she woke up in France’s bed with no recollection of what had happened. However, she suspected something sinister had taken place.

Police arrested him in September 2024. He initially denied all crimes, and replied with “no comment” during the police interview. But when police officers searched him house, they made their first breakthrough. Officers found numerous hidden recording devices, with appalling footage on them.

They trawled through more than 6,000 disturbing images and videos of several unidentified women. All were secretly filmed at France’s home between March 2022 and September 2023. They also found a video which showed the victim being raped by France, while she appeared to be “lifeless”.

A further three victims were identified from the videos and images. They were distraught to learn they had unknowingly been filmed. One said she felt France had “taken her dignity” and another saying she felt “disgusted”.

Using the images, film, and harrowing statements of his victims, the Crown Prosecution Service was able to set out a clear pattern of abuse.

‘It is one of the worst cases I have dealt with in 23 years of being a police officer’

During his trial in March 2025, prosecutor Jacqueline Carey KC explained how France’s victims considered him to be a friend. She told the judge: “His modus operandi was to go out in Peterborough, buy lots of drinks for girls, then invite them back to his house for parties.”

The parties involved more drinking and spending time in a hot tub, before he filmed his victims on a camera in his house or on a phone. His victims had no idea what had happened to them.

Jacqueline Carey explained how one women felt at the prospect of watching the hidden footage. The victim said: “I was petrified about what I was going to be seeing. I did not know what had happened to me. I was going to be seeing someone I trusted doing one of the worst things someone can do to a human being.”

In France’s defence, Beth O’Reilly KC said the case was not “straightforward”. She said France led a “hedonistic lifestyle” following a relationship break-up in 2019.

She said it would be wrong to suggest France was a “monster”.  O’Reilly insisted that France had also been “intoxicated” when he committed offences.

How many women did ‘depraved’ Craig France rape?

In court, Craig France admitted sex offences against four women, including rape, and filming victims without their knowledge.

With the overwhelming evidence against him, France also admitted sex assault, exposure in a public place, and voyeurism.

Judge Mark Bishop, at Cambridge Crown Court, described France as a “depraved and calculating sexual predator”. He went on say that the rape victim suffered “severe psychological harm”, and that France posed a “significant risk”.

He went on to say that “misogynistic” France had a sense of “sexual entitlement” and that his behaviour was “concerning”. The judge continued: “You have an attraction to risky behaviour and I judge that in this case a sense of sexual entitlement, coupled with taking risks and poor self-esteem, is a toxic risk. This is extraordinary behaviour to engage in at the age of 33. You are a risk to society.”

Meanwhile, DC Em Scates, who was involved in the investigation, said: “It’s clear France is a depraved and calculating sexual predator and a danger to women.

“It is one of the worst cases I have dealt with in 23 years of being a police officer. The bravery of the survivors of these horrendous crimes has been exceptional.”

Judge Bishop subsequently sentencing France to 10 years and seven months in prison. He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Further victims ‘yet to be identified’

DCI Helen Tebbit – who appears on 24 Hours in Police Custody – said that, due to the amount of footage and the nature of Craig France’s offending, it was possible there were further victims yet to be identified.

She said: “I would encourage anyone who thinks they might’ve been a victim of a sexual offence to contact us on 101 or via web chat on the force website. We take all reports of sexual offences very seriously.”

She continued: “We have a dedicated team of specially trained officers ready to investigate allegations promptly, fully and professionally, and a network of partnership agencies and support services to offer assistance and support.”

Cambridgeshire Constabulary told the BBC it had received further calls about Craig France. They said: “We have received nine calls in relation to the case since the conviction and we will now be following these up.”

24 Hours in Police Custody’s Craig France: Where is he now?

Craig France, the latest criminal featured on 24 Hours in Police Custody, is currently in jail. After his trial, the judge sentenced him to 10 years and seven months in prison. That would mean the serial offender is due out in 2035.

However, it is possible that he could be out earlier. He remains on the sex offenders’ register. He is currently 33.

Read more: The best true crime dramas you can stream for free if you enjoyed The Gold

24 Hours in Police Custody: Nightclub Predator (part one of two) airs on Sunday, July 06, 2025 at 9pm on Channel 4.