Dispatches (Season 26)

An in-depth look at news stories. Documentaries that take you behind the scenes giving an insight into people's lives or institutions.

  • Poster for Olympic Tickets for Sale

    Olympic Tickets for Sale (Episode 1)

    Air date: 2012-02-13

    Overview: A look at who got tickets for the London 2012 Olympic games and whether private companies are profiting.

  • Poster for The Great Ticket Scandal

    The Great Ticket Scandal (Episode 2)

    Air date: 2012-02-23

    Overview: An investigation into two major 'fan-to-fan' ticket exchange websites to investigate who is selling via their websites and why so many tickets appear at over the face value so soon after the box office sells out.

  • Poster for Watching the Detectives

    Watching the Detectives (Episode 3)

    Air date: 2012-05-14

    Overview: Revealing how easy it is to buy our most personal and confidential information.

  • Poster for Beating the Recession - Cash vs Cards

    Beating the Recession - Cash vs Cards (Episode 4)

    Air date: 2012-05-21

    Overview: Investigating whether cutting up our credit cards and paying for everything in cash could leave us with more money in our pockets

  • Poster for The Real Mr & Mrs Assad

    The Real Mr & Mrs Assad (Episode 5)

    Air date: 2012-05-28

    Overview: Investigates the extent of the Assad family's culpability and the chains of command that link the President and select inner circle to the brutal crackdown.

  • Poster for Murdoch, Cameron and the £8 billion deal

    Murdoch, Cameron and the £8 billion deal (Episode 6)

    Air date: 2012-06-11

    Overview: Investigates just how close the Prime Minister got to the Murdoch empire. Did the Tories agree to help the mogul secure a business deal worth £8 billion?

  • Poster for Let Our Dad Die

    Let Our Dad Die (Episode 7)

    Air date: 2012-06-18

    Overview: Tony Nicklinson had a catastrophic stroke, which has left him utterly paralyzed. He has what is known as 'locked in syndrome' and cannot move, talk, feed himself or perform even the most basic function without help.

  • Poster for Undercover Undertaker

    Undercover Undertaker (Episode 8)

    Air date: 2012-06-25

    Overview: Lifts the lid on the funeral industry.

  • Poster for Cashing in on the Games

    Cashing in on the Games (Episode 9)

    Air date: 2012-07-02

    Overview: Reporter Morland Sanders goes in search of the people cashing in on the 2012 London Olympic Games, and questions whether the overall economic benefits of hosting the event have been oversold.

  • Poster for Secrets of the Taxman

    Secrets of the Taxman (Episode 10)

    Air date: 2012-07-09

    Overview: An investigation into tax avoidance.

  • Poster for Myths About Your 5 a Day

    Myths About Your 5 a Day (Episode 11)

    Air date: 2012-07-16

    Overview: Dispatches investigates what's happened to the five-a-day campaign, which was designed to get us all eating more fruit and veg. Reporter Jane Moore reveals how this vital health message has been hijacked as a marketing tactic.

  • Poster for Can You Trust Your Bank?

    Can You Trust Your Bank? (Episode 12)

    Air date: 2012-07-23

    Overview: Jon Snow travels around the UK, meeting consumers, businesses and bankers, to ask whether we can trust our banks.

  • Poster for Britain on the Sick

    Britain on the Sick (Episode 13)

    Air date: 2012-07-30

    Overview: Investigates the controversial processes used to assess whether sickness and disability benefit claimants should be declared fit for work.

  • Poster for Britain's High Street Gamble

    Britain's High Street Gamble (Episode 14)

    Air date: 2012-08-06

    Overview: A look at the rise in high street betting shops and the social effect they have.

  • Poster for Tricks of the Dole Cheats

    Tricks of the Dole Cheats (Episode 15)

    Air date: 2012-08-13

    Overview: Investigates Jobcentre Plus, the organization tasked with getting Britain back to work and cracking down on dole cheats.

  • Poster for Property Nightmare: The Truth About Leaseholds

    Property Nightmare: The Truth About Leaseholds (Episode 16)

    Air date: 2012-08-20

    Overview: Investigates allegations of private landlords, councils, and housing associations overcharging leasehold homeowners for housing works and maintenance.

  • Poster for The School Dinner Scandal

    The School Dinner Scandal (Episode 17)

    Air date: 2012-09-10

    Overview: Tazeen Ahmad examines evidence that strategies to improve the food served in all our schools are fast coming undone.

  • Poster for Secrets of Poundland

    Secrets of Poundland (Episode 18)

    Air date: 2012-09-17

    Overview: As other High Street retailers struggle for survival, discount leader Poundland is booming. Its pre-tax profits are up an astonishing 50% in a year. Dispatches' Harry Wallop asks how Poundland sells so cheaply, yet makes so much money.

  • Poster for Undercover Retirement Home

    Undercover Retirement Home (Episode 19)

    Air date: 2012-09-24

    Overview: Investigating the multi-million pound retirement property industry.

  • Poster for Cruises Undercover: The Truth Below Deck

    Cruises Undercover: The Truth Below Deck (Episode 20)

    Air date: 2012-10-01

    Overview: Investigate the reality of life below deck for the multi-national workforce who toil behind the scenes of luxurious ocean going holidays.

  • Poster for Secrets of Your Boss's Pay

    Secrets of Your Boss's Pay (Episode 21)

    Air date: 2012-10-08

    Overview: Follows the former Greggs chief executive Sir Michael Darrington as he launches a campaign to call a halt to corporate greed.

  • Poster for Do You Know Your Partner's Past?

    Do You Know Your Partner's Past? (Episode 22)

    Air date: 2012-10-22

    Overview: Tina Nash investigates 'Clare's Law', a new pilot scheme in which men and women are warned by the authorities about their partners' history of violence.

  • Poster for Getting Rich on the NHS

    Getting Rich on the NHS (Episode 23)

    Air date: 2012-10-29

    Overview: Morland Sanders examines whether the rapid handover of services to private contractors is really good for the public purse, and good for patient care.

  • Poster for Nuclear War Games

    Nuclear War Games (Episode 24)

    Air date: 2012-11-05

    Runtime: 45 min

    Overview: Provides unprecedented insight into Israel's internal tensions concerning an attack between Israel and Iran which, if escalates, could have major implications for global stability.

  • Poster for Chinese Murder Mystery

    Chinese Murder Mystery (Episode 25)

    Air date: 2012-11-12

    Overview: A look at the life and death of Neil Percival Heywood and whether he was actually murdered. His death, virtually unnoticed at the time, has gone on to shake China's Communist Party to the core.

  • Poster for MPs: Are They Still at It?

    MPs: Are They Still at It? (Episode 26)

    Air date: 2012-11-19

    Overview: Two years after the MPs expenses scandal, Dispatches examines whether our parliamentarians are still abusing the system. The investigation discovers a system still with problems and a lack of transparency.

  • Poster for Where Has Your Aid Money Gone?

    Where Has Your Aid Money Gone? (Episode 27)

    Air date: 2012-11-26

    Overview: Jonathan Miller travels to Rwanda - the jewel in the crown of British overseas aid - to investigate what British taxes have paid for, and to ask what our government has achieved with the influence our aid supposedly buys us.

  • Poster for The Chinese Are Coming

    The Chinese Are Coming (Episode 28)

    Air date: 2012-12-03

    Overview: As China continues to flex its financial muscle by buying into British airports, water and breakfast cereals, Dispatches investigates growing Chinese power in the UK.

  • Poster for How Safe is Your Cash?

    How Safe is Your Cash? (Episode 29)

    Air date: 2012-12-10

    Overview: Reporter Morland Sanders investigates whether security procedures that our banks tell us are impenetrable really are? He meets customers who say they have lost thousands of pounds through chip and pin fraud.

  • Poster for The American School Massacre

    The American School Massacre (Episode 30)

    Air date: 2012-12-17

    Overview: Matt Frei reports from the scene of one of America's worst mass shootings, unravelling the chain of events and asking whether this latest tragedy will lead to a real change in America's attitude to guns.

Dispatches - Movie poster from The Movie Database (TMDB)