Show Notes
Jason Arday has a seemingly remarkable life story.
Diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay as a child, he says he was unable to speak until he was 11, and did not read or write until adulthood. When he became Cambridge University's youngest Black professor, his rise was celebrated around the world, with Arday the subject of glowing profiles in the Guardian and films by the BBC and CBS.
Now though, Arday has resigned from Cambridge, his reputation battered by accusations of plagiarism and mounting questions over his fabulous backstory. Senior Feature Writer Guy Adams has been following Arday's dramatic fall from grace for the Daily Mail, scrutinising claims that he appeared on a television series first broadcast more than twenty years before he was born; that he ran 30 marathons in 35 days, nine of them on a fractured leg; and that he had a brain tumour removed just weeks before passing his PhD viva.
Deep Dive host Chris Pleasance sits down with Guy to unpick Arday's many fantastical claims and to speculate why the professor's alleged tall tales were not spotted sooner.
Arday was contacted for comment in relation to Guy's reporting, but no response was received. The professor has always denied all accusations of plagiarism and disputes the claims made about his background.
Host: Chris Pleasance Producer: John Rogers Executive Producer: Joseph Luke Palmer
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