SOMERSET provided the setting for a new BBC Three true crime documentary series – telling the story of how a father and son set up an illegal steroid empire.

Confessions of a Steroid Gang gives viewers an insight into how Andrew Dood and his son Macauley – looking to earn some extra money – ended up running an illicit trade in steroids from North Wales.

And eagle-eyed Somerset viewers will have spotted a familiar sight in the early episodes of the series – Shepton Mallet Prison.

The former jail, now a tourist attraction, was used during filming for the series, with a spokesperson saying: “Did you catch Shepton Mallet back in the spotlight in Confessions of a Steroid Gang – the gripping true story of a father and son who launched a global steroid lab from a shed in North Wales?”

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Produced by Double Act Productions, the three-episode series is billed as showing “the dark side of self-improvement”.

“With testimony from users, gang members and those who caught them, this is how a father and son from North Wales built an illegal steroid empire,” the BBC said.

Andrew, who was a cockle fisher on the Dee Estuary, got involved in the illegal steroids business in order to top up his income and provide for his two sons – who he was raising as a single dad following a divorce.

Together, they set up a lab producing steroids in St Asaph, and sold it to online dealers.

Confessions of a Steroid Gang reveals how the pair grew their empire – and how it all eventually fell apart – and is available on BBC iPlayer and Apple TV. You can stream it online or catch it on BBC Three in the coming days, or on BBC 1 Wales.