Introduction
Conor Woodman is an Irish journalist, author, and television presenter. He once worked in corporate finance. Then he changed direction completely.
His next job looked very different.
Instead of sitting in financial offices, he travelled through international markets. He bought goods, investigated scams, and interviewed people living through difficult situations.
Many viewers know him from Around the World in 80 Trades and Scam City. His work later expanded into books, historical investigations, and documentary films.
But how did his career begin? And what is he doing now?
Here is his story.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Conor Thomas Patrick Woodman |
| Date of Birth | 21 March 1974 |
| Age | 52 years (as of October 2026) |
| Birthplace | Galway, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Profession | Journalist, author, TV presenter, filmmaker |
| University | University of Manchester |
| Qualification | MA in Development Economics |
| Known For | Around the World in 80 Trades, Scam City |
| Former Spouse | Phoebe Waller-Bridge |
| Marriage Year | 2014 |
| Separation | Announced in 2017 |
| First Major Book | The Adventure Capitalist (2009) |
| Notable Documentary | True Appaloosa (2015) |
| Recent Book | Further (2025), with Billy Billingham |
Early Life and Childhood
He was born on 21 March 1974 in Galway, Ireland.
His childhood later took him to England. Biographical accounts say his family moved to Birmingham when he was eight years old.
That meant growing up across two countries.
Ireland remained his birthplace. England became an important part of his education and early working life.
His family background was academic. Biographical profiles identify his father, Ciaran Woodman, as a cancer epidemiologist, although detailed independent records of his wider family life are limited.
He has generally kept family matters separate from his public career.
Education and University Years
His education gave him a strong understanding of economics.
Biographical records name King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys and King Edward’s School in Birmingham among the schools he attended.
He later studied at the University of Manchester.
His publisher confirms an MA in Development Economics. This subject focuses on economic conditions, markets, poverty, and how countries develop.
That knowledge proved useful later.
He would spend years investigating international trade. His reporting often examined the lives of people producing goods for overseas markets.
His First Career in Finance
Television was not his first profession.
He originally worked in corporate finance and financial training. His professional life involved business analysis and commercial markets.
It was a very different environment.
Financial offices deal with figures and transactions. His later documentaries would focus on people, their working conditions, and how money moves through everyday trade.
Eventually, he wanted something different.
He left his job and sold his London flat. The money helped fund an international trading project that would introduce him to television audiences.
It was a big career change.
And it gave him his breakthrough.
The Trading Adventure That Started Everything
In 2009, Channel 4 broadcast Around the World in 80 Trades.
The idea was simple but demanding.
He would travel between countries, buy goods, and try selling them elsewhere for a profit.
He started with around £25,000.
The money came from selling his flat.
The four-part series followed his trading journey across four continents. He dealt with different products and traders, often working in unfamiliar conditions.
The goods ranged from camels and coffee to wine and surfboards.
Each deal carried a risk.
A bargain in one country could become a loss elsewhere. Prices changed, transport was difficult, and negotiations rarely followed a simple plan.
The programme showed international business firsthand.
Viewers could watch him learn from mistakes, handle negotiations, and test ideas outside the financial industry.
The series helped establish his broadcasting career.
Becoming a Television Presenter
After his first major programme, he continued working in factual television.
His interests became wider.
He moved from international trade towards crime, fraud, tourism, and consumer investigations.
This change brought another well-known series.
Scam City and International Recognition
Scam City began airing in 2012.
The National Geographic programme examined scams affecting tourists in major cities.
He travelled to popular destinations and investigated dishonest practices that visitors might encounter.
These included pickpocketing, fake services, and other forms of fraud.
His approach was often direct.
He sometimes posed as a tourist. Cameras followed encounters with people suspected of dishonest activity.
The series covered destinations including London, Prague, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and New Delhi.
The programme ran for two seasons.
Its subject was easy to understand.
Tourists often visit unfamiliar places. They may not recognise local tricks or dishonest business practices. The series tried to show how these situations worked.
Still, the programme also faced criticism.
In 2014, National Geographic acknowledged that several scenes in its Amsterdam episode had been staged. Amsterdam officials had challenged the programme’s portrayal of the city.
The broadcaster later stopped repeats of that episode.
This dispute became part of the programme’s history.
Consumer Investigations and Other TV Work
His television career included other investigative projects.
In 2013, he presented Hunting the Doorstep Conmen for ITV.
The programme examined criminals who targeted people through dishonest doorstep services.
That year, he also presented Exposure: Britain’s Booming Cannabis Business.
The investigation examined cannabis production and the people involved in that industry.
He later contributed reporting to BBC One’s Watchdog in 2015.
These projects continued his interest in consumer affairs and hidden business practices.
Hunting Nazi Treasure
His television work later moved into historical investigations.
In 2017, he appeared in Hunting Nazi Treasure.
The documentary series investigated cultural objects stolen during the Second World War.
He worked alongside historian James Holland and Robert Edsel, founder of the Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art.
Their investigations focused on missing artwork, stolen gold, and historical evidence.
The team visited locations connected to Nazi looting.
They examined old records, spoke with experts, and looked into unresolved cases.
The eight-part series offered a different subject from his earlier programmes.
Instead of modern tourist fraud, the focus was on historical theft and the long search for missing cultural property.
Documentary Filmmaking
Television presenting was only part of his work.
He also moved behind the camera.
In 2015, he directed, wrote, and produced True Appaloosa, a feature-length documentary.
The film followed American horse breeder Scott Engstrom.
She travelled to Kyrgyzstan while investigating the possible origins of the Appaloosa horse.
The journey took the filmmakers into Central Asia.
The story combined travel, history, horse breeding, and personal determination.
The British Council’s film database confirms his roles as director, screenwriter, and producer.
A shorter television version was broadcast under the title The Secret Horse: Quest for the True Appaloosa.
He also worked on the short drama Jester, which appeared at the Sunscreen West Film Festival in 2015.
These projects showed another side of his career.
He could tell stories from behind the camera, too.
His Career as an Author
Writing became another major part of his professional life.
His books cover real-world trade, crime, international markets, and investigative reporting.
He later worked on fiction and personal-development titles with former SAS soldier and television personality Billy Billingham.
The Adventure Capitalist (2009)
His first major book followed his international trading journey.
It was published by Pan Macmillan.
The story explained what happened when a former financial professional began making deals in unfamiliar markets.
Some trades were successful. Others brought unexpected problems.
The book focused on the human side of business.
Unfair Trade (2011)
This book examined international trade and the people working at the bottom of global supply chains.
He investigated conditions affecting workers in several countries.
His reporting included lobster fishermen in Nicaragua, tin miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and rubber production in Laos.
The questions were difficult.
Who receives the biggest profits? How much do producers actually earn?
The book challenged readers to think about the origins of everyday products.
It was longlisted for the 2012 Orwell Prize for Books.
Sharks (2017)
Sharks: Investigating the Criminal Heart of the Global City focused on crime within major cities.
He spent years examining dishonest businesses, black markets, and criminal activity.
The book covered cities including Mumbai, Bogotá, New Orleans, Barcelona, and London.
His research looked at how these activities operate.
The book was later published under another title.
The Scam Hunter (2018)
The Scam Hunter was a revised edition of Sharks.
It returned to his investigations into urban scams, counterfeit goods, and criminal networks.
The publisher confirms that the book had previously appeared under the title Sharks.
These are two editions of the same work rather than two unrelated books.
Meth Road (2023)
In Meth Road, he investigated the international methamphetamine trade.
The reporting followed drug production and trafficking routes from Myanmar towards Australia.
His research examined the people affected by the trade.
He also investigated addiction, policing, and the wider business behind drug distribution.
In a November 2023 interview with The Guardian, he discussed the research process and what he had learned.
The book marked another major investigation in his writing career.
Working With Billy Billingham
He also developed a writing partnership with Mark “Billy” Billingham.
Billingham is a former British Special Forces soldier and television personality.
Their collaborations moved into military fiction and personal-development writing.
Published titles include:
- The Hard Way: Adapt, Survive and Win (2019)
- Call to Kill (2021)
- Survive to Fight (2022)
- Further: 10 Lessons the SAS Taught Me About Life (2025)
Call to Kill introduced fictional SAS character Matt Mason.
Survive to Fight continued that story.
The books combined military-themed storytelling with Billingham’s experience.
Their 2025 book took a different approach.
Further focused on life lessons, discipline, personal decisions, and dealing with difficult experiences.
Penguin Random House confirms its UK hardback publication on 6 November 2025.
It also identifies the book as their fourth collaboration.
Awards and Professional Recognition
His work has received recognition across publishing and television.
One confirmed literary achievement came in 2012.
His book Unfair Trade appeared on the Orwell Prize for Books longlist.
That recognition came from the Orwell Foundation.
His television productions also gained attention.
Scam City received awards nominations, while Hunting Nazi Treasure formed part of a production nominated for Canadian Screen Awards.
His documentary True Appaloosa also screened at the Sun Valley Film Festival.
These credits reflect work across different subjects and media formats.
Marriage to Phoebe Waller-Bridge
His personal life received wider public attention because of his marriage to Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
She is an English actress and writer.
Many viewers know her from Fleabag and her work on Killing Eve.
The couple married in 2014.
Their relationship remained largely private.
In December 2017, reports confirmed that they had separated and intended to divorce.
Waller-Bridge’s representative confirmed the separation to People magazine.
The couple did not publicly provide a detailed explanation of their decision.
Later interviews and profiles referred to their divorce.
There is no sound reason to add speculation about their relationship.
His current relationship status has not been reliably established through the public sources reviewed.
His Reporting Style and Professional Interests
A clear pattern appears throughout his career.
He prefers firsthand reporting.
Rather than focus only on published figures or official statements, he often travels to the places involved in a story.
He meets traders, workers, and investigators.
Sometimes the subject is international business. Sometimes it involves crime or economic hardship.
The approach can carry risks.
His investigations have taken him to unfamiliar markets and places affected by organised criminal activity.
His financial background also makes his work distinctive.
He understands economic ideas, but his television and writing often explain them through individual experiences.
That makes complicated subjects easier to follow.
What Is He Doing in 2026?
As of October 2026, his latest verified major publication is Further, written with Billy Billingham.
The book was released in November 2025.
His earlier work remains available through publishers and television distribution platforms.
He continues to be recognised professionally as an author, journalist, and filmmaker.
However, no newer television series or independent documentary project for 2026 could be confirmed from the sources checked.
His exact current working schedule is not publicly established.
Career Timeline
| Year | Career Event |
|---|---|
| 1974 | Born in Galway, Ireland |
| Before 2009 | Worked in corporate finance |
| 2009 | Presented Around the World in 80 Trades |
| 2009 | Published The Adventure Capitalist |
| 2011 | Published Unfair Trade |
| 2012 | Orwell Prize longlisting |
| 2012–2014 | Presented Scam City |
| 2013 | Presented ITV investigative programmes |
| 2015 | Directed True Appaloosa |
| 2017 | Published Sharks |
| 2017–2018 | Appeared in Hunting Nazi Treasure |
| 2018 | The Scam Hunter edition published |
| 2019 | Collaborated on The Hard Way |
| 2021 | Co-wrote Call to Kill |
| 2022 | Co-wrote Survive to Fight |
| 2023 | Published Meth Road |
| 2025 | Co-wrote Further |
Final Thought
His career took an unusual turn.
He left finance for international trade. Then came television, books, and investigative reporting.
The subjects changed over time.
But one interest remained consistent: finding out how people and money operate in the real world.
His career shows that professional experience can lead somewhere unexpected.
For someone who started in financial analysis, it has been quite a journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who is Conor Woodman?
He is an Irish journalist, author, television presenter, and filmmaker. He is known for international trade and investigative documentaries.
2. How old is he in 2026?
He is 52 years old. His reported date of birth is 21 March 1974.
3. Where was he born?
He was born in Galway, Ireland.
4. What is his educational background?
He attended the University of Manchester. His publisher confirms an MA in Development Economics.
5. What made him famous?
The Channel 4 series Around the World in 80 Trades brought him wider attention. He later presented Scam City.
6. Was he married to Phoebe Waller-Bridge?
Yes. They married in 2014 and announced their separation in 2017.
7. What is his most recent confirmed book?
Further: 10 Lessons the SAS Taught Me About Life, written with Billy Billingham and published in November 2025.
8. Is he still working as a journalist?
He remains known for his journalism and writing. His 2025 publication is confirmed, but his precise professional activities in October 2026 have not been publicly verified.