Spotlight
Season 2023
BBC Northern Ireland weekly current affairs programme.
Where to Watch Season 2023
14 Episodes
- Seán’s Story: Death on the Ward
E1Episode 1Seán’s Story: Death on the WardSean had a history of drug use and mental health problems when doctors decided to detain him in a psychiatric unit for his own good. Hours later, he managed to evade supervision and ultimately take his own life inside the hospital. Alan Haslam speaks to his grieving mother and investigates what lessons have been learned. - Lethal: The Secret History of Plastic Bullets
E2Episode 2Lethal: The Secret History of Plastic BulletsIn 1970 the army invented a new weapon for Northern Ireland, one intended to save lives and keep peace - the rubber bullet. But after 17 people were killed by that weapon and its successor, the plastic bullet, Stephen Dempster investigates claims that the government knew of their deadly potential. Spotlight speaks to the soldiers who fired them, the families who lost loved ones and those still searching for answers. - I Spy
E3Episode 3I SpyThe true story of an American trucker who became one of MI5’s most important spies. Just when the Real IRA was bombing Britain and threatening to wreck the Northern Ireland peace process, the group’s boss was spilling his secrets to David Rupert, who passed everything on to the FBI and MI5. In a broadcast exclusive, Rupert tells his extraordinary story to Jennifer O’Leary. - Murder on the Streets
E5Episode 5Murder on the StreetsConor Spackman hears chilling testimony from relatives of those slain in a spate of gun murders in north and west Belfast over the past five years. He examines links between the killings and investigates a shadowy dissident republican group claiming to be on ceasefire. - The Price of Justice
E7Episode 7The Price of JusticeThe criminal justice system in Northern Ireland is burdened by long delays in cases getting to court. Murder and rape cases can take five years or longer to conclude. Reporter Stephen Dempster investigates why cases are taking so long, talks to victims who have found themselves in what they call a 'traumatic, nightmare situation', and hears from experts who fear the system is at breaking point, with potential consequences for the rule of law. - The Electric Road Test
E9Episode 9The Electric Road TestThe government has pushed back a ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035. Will more time make a difference to the electric car revolution? Conor Spackman investigates how ready Northern Ireland is for the switchover, and examines whether the public charging network is fit for purpose. - How Do We Fix Our Waiting Lists?
E10Episode 10How Do We Fix Our Waiting Lists?NHS waiting lists in Northern Ireland are the worst in the UK, with patients waiting for more than half a million hospital appointments. Lyndsey Telford hears some of their stories, including a four-year-old boy who’s been waiting half his life for surgery on his hips, and a woman who has saved to go private. She asks a panel of some of the UK’s top health experts how we fix this healthcare crisis. - Inside the Policing Crisis
E11Episode 11Inside the Policing CrisisThe crisis that took down a chief constable: starting with a massive data leak, followed quickly by a court ruling that sparked a row over political interference in policing. As a result, the Police Service of Northern Ireland wound up without a leader. BBC NI’s crime and justice correspondent Julian O’Neill investigates inside the crisis that rolled over the PSNI in a matter of weeks. - Rogue Doctor: Patients Who Died
E12Episode 12Rogue Doctor: Patients Who DiedIn the wake of the discredited neurologist Michael Watt being struck off the medical register, Conor Spackman investigates the death of a patient under his care, claims of a cover-up within Belfast Trust and finds thousands of cases are still awaiting review. - The Fear Inside
E13Episode 13The Fear InsideA family’s story of domestic abuse. Mandy McAuley investigates the hidden toll of women who take their own lives after enduring violence in the home. She hears calls for the law to change to hold abusers to account for those deaths, and pleas for the issue to be recognised in Northern Ireland’s suicide-prevention strategy for the first time.
