Dispatches

Season 2021

TV-PG
Dispatches is the British TV current affairs documentary series on Channel 4, first transmitted in 1987. The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, and often features a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.

Where to Watch Season 2021

22 Episodes

  • Britain's £400bn Covid Bill: Who Will Pay?
    E1
    Britain's £400bn Covid Bill: Who Will Pay?Lockdown Britain's enduring the worst economic nosedive in centuries. Liam Halligan looks at the pandemic's soaring financial cost and asks: who will pay for Covid?
  • Condition Critical: One Doctor's Story
    E2
    Condition Critical: One Doctor's StoryFilmed over four months, this edition of the programme gives a unique perspective on life on the NHS frontline. Dr Saleyha Ahsan filmed her own journey through the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, capturing the pressure and personal tragedies she faced with the surge in patients, which included her own father. This special Dispatches film also shows the emotional and physical burden faced by friends and colleagues, and how they came close to breaking point with the psychological toll of fighting to keep people alive.
  • The Dirty Truth About Your Rubbish
    E3
    The Dirty Truth About Your RubbishEnvironmental journalist Lucy Siegle investigates the rise of waste incineration in the UK, examining how millions of tonnes of waste left out for recycling ends up being burned. The rise in carbon emissions from incineration is put under the spotlight, with exclusive research revealing that it is on course to become the UK's dirtiest form of energy production. The programme also looks at how councils are locked into expensive contracts with incinerator operators forcing them to burn waste for decades to come.
  • The Truth About Long Covid
    E4
    The Truth About Long CovidDispatches reports from Bradford, one of the UK's worst-hit communities during the pandemic. It's predicted that up to half a million people in the UK are now living with Long Covid. Dispatches asks if the NHS will be able to cope with the lasting legacy of the virus. Narrated by Fatima Manji.
  • The High Street Cash Crisis
    E5
    The High Street Cash CrisisAntony Barnett reports on the collapse of several of Britain's best-known brands, examining the influence of the internet and the pandemic on the decline of high street shopping. Barnett asks how much are these firms to blame for the problems on our high street, and questions whether it's fair that their owners still earned millions while tens of thousands of shopworkers lost their jobs.
  • The Black Maternity Scandal
    E6
    The Black Maternity ScandalPresenter and mother-of-three Rochelle Humes explores the shocking fact that Black women are four times more likely than White women to die during pregnancy and childbirth and up to six weeks after.
  • Low Pay Britain: Truth About Your Job
    E7
    Low Pay Britain: Truth About Your JobAs Britain’s economy feels the impact of coronavirus, lockdowns and Brexit, Dispatches examines the future of work, wages and safety in the gig economy.
  • Royals for Hire
    E8
    Royals for HireAntony Barnett goes undercover to see what some of the Queen's family might be prepared to do for money, including offers of privileged access to Kensington Palace and Vladimir Putin
  • Second Wave: Did the Government Get it Wrong
    E9
    Second Wave: Did the Government Get it WrongWith two thirds of all British Covid deaths coming after September 2020, Dispatches investigates why, and examines what role the Prime Minister's decisions of last Autumn played in there being a massive second surge in infections that saw tens of thousands of people die. As Boris Johnson's former chief advisor Dominic Cummings threatens to reveal all, reporter Antony Barnett hears from some at the heart of Downing Street discussions, and learns why the Prime Minister ignored government scientific advice and continued to battle against another lockdown. Dispatches also probes the Prime Minister's border plans to stop virus variants coming into the UK and hears from a whistleblower who fears they've failed to do the job.
  • Undercover in Africas Secret State
    E10
    Undercover in Africas Secret StateA gripping, eye-opening investigation of Eritrea, one of the world’s most secretive regimes, with shocking allegations of torture, detention and forced conscription.
  • Torn Apart: Family Courts Uncovered
    E11
    Torn Apart: Family Courts UncoveredAn unprecedented look at what's going on behind closed doors in family courts, including shocking personal testimony and footage.
  • India's Rape Scandal
    E12
    India's Rape ScandalAs more than 70 Indian politicians face charges of crimes against women, a look at two recent rape cases that have sparked allegations of a cover-up.
  • Cops on Trial
    E13
    Cops on TrialEllie Flynn reports on the true scale of sexual misconduct by serving British police officers, including personal accounts from those who presented themselves to the police as the victim of a crime, and long term partners of serving officers who have endured domestic violence and abuse.
  • Clapped Out: Is The NHS Broken?
    E14
    Clapped Out: Is The NHS Broken?Eighteen months into the worst pandemic in a century, this hard-hitting special travels the country asking some tough questions about the performance of our much-loved NHS.
  • Growing Up Poor: Britain's Hidden Homeless Kids
    E15
    Growing Up Poor: Britain's Hidden Homeless KidsAs lockdown ended and kids went back to school, in Luton, Dispatches examines the devastating impact of overcrowded, unsuitable housing on young lives.
  • How Green Is The Government?
    E16
    How Green Is The Government?As Britain prepares to host the COP26 summit, this Dispatches special investigates the PM's claim that the UK is the global leader in the fight against the climate crisis.
  • Did Brexit Work for Business?
    E17
    Did Brexit Work for Business?Is Brexit, and the new free trade deal with the EU, the huge success the Government said it would be? Dispatches meets firms struggling with increased costs and dwindling profits.
  • The Truth About Electric Cars
    E18
    The Truth About Electric CarsAs Britain frets over diesel and petrol shortages, and the Government advises the public to consider going green in all ways possible, electric cars have never been a more popular purchase. But is right now a good time to sink tens of thousands of pounds of hard-earned cash into buying an electric vehicle? Reporter and electric car owner Morland Sanders asks if Britain's charging network is good enough to keep drivers going flat-out, or set to leave them as flat as a pancake. He also looks at whether hybrid electric cars are as green as believed and considers the reliability and likely longevity of electric cars.
  • Escape From The Taliban
    E19
    Escape From The TalibanFirst-hand footage of the Taliban capture of Kabul and the subsequent flight of refugees, shot by a documentary crew that were filming in Afghanistan at the time. The film includes coverage of female rights activist Zoya Faizi's attempt to escape the country, and one of the senior figures of the Al Qaeda-backed Haqqani network visiting a prison where, until recently, he had been held.
  • The Truth about Your Chicken
    E20
    The Truth about Your ChickenMorland Sanders investigates the health and environmental impact of industrial chicken production. This undercover investigation asks serious questions about supermarket chicken, animal welfare, environmental standards, and the impact that these farming techniques may be having on the British countryside.
  • Vaccine Wars - The Truth About Pfizer
    E21
    Vaccine Wars - The Truth About PfizerPfizer's Covid vaccine has saved the lives of millions around the world and the Government has chosen the Pfizer jab over the much cheaper Oxford AstraZeneca for its autumn roll-out of boosters. However, as Pfizer hikes up the price of its vaccine and enjoys record-breaking profits, questions are mounting over the pharmaceutical company's behaviour. Reporter Antony Barnett considers whether its is unfairly profiteering from the pandemic, whether it has always played by the rules, and whether it is doing enough to stop people in poorer countries dying from Covid-19.
  • The Truth About Disability Benefits
    E22
    The Truth About Disability BenefitsAn investigation into a series of deaths, including suicide, by disabled benefits claimants. What impact did government failings have on those who died?

 

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