One of the Isle of Wight’s most curious pieces of folklore is attracting fresh attention, with not one but two podcast investigations into the mystery of All Colours Sam, the Sandown Clown.
BBC Sounds turns detective
The latest series of BBC Sounds podcast, Uncanny, features an investigation into the Sam the Sandown Clown story, with host Danny Robins joined by paranormal experts Evelyn Hollow and Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe to examine the case.
Bafflegab Productions, who produce the series, managed to track down ‘Fay’ – the young girl who, in 1973 reportedly encountered a seven-foot-tall humanoid figure wearing distinctive clown-like attire, along with an unnamed friend. The encounter was reported five years later in the British UFO Research Association (BUFORA) journal in 1978 and has fuelled intrigue ever since.
The episode featuring Sam is due out in mid-May on BBC Sounds.
Already available to listen
While that investigation remains under wraps for now, there is already a feature-length episode on the subject from the Cease to Exist Podcast, released towards the end of last year.
Hosts Kyle Bourne, Ryan Whalen and Klint Kanopka tracked down ‘Fay’ herself and posed the central question: what was All Colours Sam?
Even Fay cannot offer a definitive answer, but the hour-and-a-half episode gives listeners plenty to consider about this strange chapter in Island history.
Head to the Cease to Exist website to listen to the podcast.
Island interest from around the world
Interest in Sam shows no sign of fading locally either.
Tracy Mikich of Boojum & Snark recently led a year-long project (Sandown Rocks) that saw Isle of Wight artist Teresa Grimaldi undertake an artist’s residency, resulting in the Evidence Board and an installation called Windowless Hut, both previously featured by OnTheWight.
Listen to OnTheWight’s conversation with Teresa in November 2025, when the Windowless Hut and Evidence Board featured in an Exhibition at Quay Arts, by clicking on the play button below.
Since completing the project, Tracy and Teresa say they receive regular contact from podcasters and enthusiasts around the world, all eager to learn more about Sam the Sandown Clown.
Immortalised in resin
Readers may also remember that back in 2024, David Jones and Natalia Dovhalionok from the Xanadu Collective, gifted an 8-foot sculpture of Sam to the Isle of Wight.
David, who lectures at Goldsmith’s University, was fascinated by the project, so with the help of Natalia set about creating this imposing 8-foot sculpture of Sam based on the description given in the 1978 BUFORA Report.
You can see this wonderful gift at Boojum & Snark on Sandown High Street (open during specific events and workshops).
You can listen OnTheWight ‘s conversation with David Jones in September 2024 by clicking on the play button below.
Fortean Times
In October 2026, the mystery of Sam the Sandown Clown, and the attention it has gained internationally made it into Fortean Times, a British monthly magazine dedicated to reporting and investigating strange phenomena, paranormal experiences and anomalies.
The story was given a four-page spread, with a special editorial mention too.
Whether Sam was someone in fancy dress, an elaborate hoax, or something altogether stranger, the story shows no sign of losing its grip on the public imagination.
More than fifty years after that puzzling encounter on the Island, All Colours Sam continues to draw artists, researchers, podcasters and curious minds from around the world – a remarkable legacy for a figure spotted on a summer’s day in Sandown.
