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Season 2017 - Episode Guide

Episodes

President Trump's Dirty Secrets

Episode: 2017-01-16 | Airdate: Jan 16, 2017 (30 min)

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In the week of Donald Trump's inauguration, Dispatches investigates the controversial figures now surrounding him and their ties to powerful corporations that could have far-reaching consequences beyond America. Following promises to 'drain the swamp' of outside interests in Washington, team Trump is now stacked with 'Big Oil' and gas company favourites. While the president-elect remains unpredictable, many of these key players have made it clear exactly what they want. Antony Barnett travels to the US to discover more about Trump and his administration's funding and commercial ties to the fossil fuel industry. Examining the threats to America's Clean Air Act and the Paris Agreement on climate change, he also speaks to one prominent advisor who has helped shaped Trump's energy strategy. Among the rhetoric, ongoing drama and controversy, could this be the issue that ends up defining Donald Trump's presidency?

Undercover: Britain's Cheap Clothes - Part 1

Episode: 2017-01-23 | Airdate: Jan 23, 2017 (30 min)

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Dispatches goes undercover to investigate the textile factories in the UK making clothes for some of the biggest brands, and discovers what Made in Britain really means. In 2010 reporter Tazeen Ahmad exposed poor conditions in clothes factories located in the heart of Britain. Now she returns to find out if things have improved. She discovers workers being paid less than half the national living wage and working conditions that pose a serious fire risk. Secret cameras capture one textile boss revealing that he considers he's in direct competition with Bangladesh to meet the orders. Tazeen also meets a new breed of shopper who never leave their homes to get the latest designs quickly. The booming industry labelled Fast Fashion has changed the face of the textile market, and Dispatches discovers what it means for the workers who make the clothes.

Undercover: Britain's Cheap Clothes - Part 2

Episode: 2017-01-30 | Airdate: Jan 30, 2017 (30 min)

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In a second investigation into Britain's clothing industry, Dispatches investigates working conditions in the warehouses that service our online orders.

Undercover: Britain's Homeless Scandal

Episode: 2017-02-13 | Airdate: Feb 13, 2017 (30 min)

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With councils struggling to meet the demand for emergency housing, Dispatches investigates the impact on homeless women attempting to get off the streets.

Supermarkets: Brexit and Your Shrinking Shop

Episode: 2017-02-20 | Airdate: Feb 20, 2017 (30 min)

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From shrinking Toblerones to a Marmite price row, Dispatches investigates Brexit's impact on the prices, and sizes, of some of our favourite brands.

Inside Britain's Airports

Episode: 2017-02-27 | Airdate: Feb 27, 2017 (30 min)

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Each year Britain's airports make roughly £2 billion from shops in their terminals. Harry Wallop goes undercover to investigate the secrets of airport shops.

Under Lock and Key

Episode: 2017-03-01 | Airdate: Mar 1, 2017 (60 min)

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Thousands of young people with severe learning disabilities and autism are still locked up in hospitals, despite promises made by the government in its Transforming Care Policy. NHS commissioners continue to send these vulnerable young people to big institutions, instead of providing more bespoke care packages to meet their complex needs. This Dispatches Special from Bafta Award-winning director Alison Millar tells the stories of families whose loved ones have been locked away in one of the biggest institutions in the country, subject to restraint, seclusion and frequent sedation. The programme also shows what good care looks like, and the dramatic improvements it can make to people's quality of life. With mental health services facing a rise in demand at the same time as public spending is being squeezed, the programme asks how best to provide appropriate care for those in desperate need.

Brexit: Crisis on the Wards

Episode: 2017-03-13 | Airdate: Mar 13, 2017 (30 min)

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Morland Sanders investigates the impact that Brexit is having on the NHS, as it faces the largest nursing shortage in recent times.

Britain's Benefit Families

Episode: 2017-03-20 | Airdate: Mar 20, 2017 (30 min)

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Seyi Rhodes investigates the impact of the government's latest benefit cap and learns that its unintended consequences may push the benefits bill up in other ways.

Secrets of Coca-Cola

Episode: 2017-03-27 | Airdate: Mar 27, 2017 (30 min)

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Dispatches investigates Coca-Cola, one of the world's most iconic brands.

President Trump: How Scared Should We Be?

Episode: 2017-04-03 | Airdate: Apr 3, 2017 (30 min)

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President Trump has said that his foreign policy will be based on the principle of 'America First'. He's surrounded in the Oval Office by people who dispute the notion that the US has an obligation to maintain a stable international order. Some are hostile to the EU and attach little value to international institutions such as Nato and the United Nations. And now Donald Trump has his finger on the trigger of nearly 7000 nuclear warheads. Abi Austen travels to the US to find out what the Age of Trump means in practice for the rest of the world and asks: just how worried should we be?

Isis and the Battle for Iraq

Episode: 2017-04-06 | Airdate: Apr 6, 2017 (30 min)

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As Sunni refugees flee from Isis in Iraq, they face a new threat from Shia militia fighters. Dispatches investigates allegations of torture, execution and sectarian cleansing.

Trump, the Doctor and the Vaccine Scandal

Episode: 2017-05-08 | Airdate: May 8, 2017 (30 min)

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Donald Trump is worried about vaccines. He thinks 'big' shots like MMR may cause autism, but there's no scientific evidence for that. So who's he been listening to? In this investigation, Cathy Newman reveals the role played by the disgraced British doctor Andrew Wakefield, struck off by the GMC seven years ago, but now astonishingly resurgent in Trump's America.

Bupa Care Homes Undercover

Episode: 2017-06-19 | Airdate: Jun 19, 2017 (30 min)

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As the way we care for our ageing relatives becomes an increasingly hot topic, Dispatches goes undercover to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect at specialist dementia care homes run by Bupa, the UK's biggest name in healthcare. Bupa promises to provide person-centred, high quality care but covert footage captured in one home over three months by a Dispatches reporter raises serious questions about that commitment. Jackie Long investigates evidence of over-stretched and under-resourced care staff, questionable treatment of residents and safety worries. It's a picture that raises serious questions about how society should look after an ageing population and the quality of care provided by one of Britain's biggest brands.

Brexit - How to Get a British Passport

Episode: 2017-06-26 | Airdate: Jun 26, 2017 (30 min)

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A year on from the referendum the Brexit talks are just starting. Top of the agenda will be the status of three million Europeans living here. Many of them and their children were born in the UK or have lived here most of their lives. You may have thought that being born here would immediately guarantee them a British passport, but that's not the case. For Dispatches, Datshiane Navanayagam investigates just how hard it can be to get a British passport and the real impact that the lack of a passport has on many people's lives. Navanayagam reveals that there are already 120,000 children and young people born or raised in the UK who think that they are British but will not automatically gain citizenship. She reveals some of the huge costs involved in applying for citizenship, examines how the Home Office assesses claims and asks whether Brexit will make the situation worse.

Secrets of Your Cruise

Episode: 2017-07-03 | Airdate: Jul 3, 2017 (30 min)

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Almost two million Brits took a cruise last year, fleeing our polluted cities and towns for amazing scenery and fresh sea air. But how clean is the air you breathe on these holidays of a lifetime? Dispatches goes undercover to investigate deep concerns about the impact some cruise ships could be having on the environment and public health. Travelling as a passenger on a European cruise, reporter Tazeen Ahmad discovers more about the pollution levels some customers could be exposed to and investigates the wider impact of cruising holidays, from waste flushed straight into the sea to on-shore pollution.

Secrets of Britain's New Homes

Episode: 2017-07-10 | Airdate: Jul 10, 2017 (30 min)

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As the national spotlight falls on the need for Britain to build more high-quality affordable homes, a Dispatches investigation asks why so few affordable properties are being built at a time when housebuilders have been making record profits. Reporter Antony Barnett travels across the country revealing how property companies have failed to deliver new affordable homes and asks questions about the links between the government and the property industry. Airing in a week of programmes on Channel 4 and More4 exploring issues of housing and homelessness.

Secrets of Your New Car

Episode: 2017-08-28 | Airdate: Aug 28, 2017 (30 min)

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With new forms of finance driving Britain's thriving new car market, Morland Sanders investigates whether the bargains on offer in the showroom are all they seem. Finance schemes are making cars more affordable to more drivers than ever before. But as concern grows around household debt levels Dispatches asks whether the deals on offer are making the second biggest purchase you'll ever make a liability for your bank balance. Sanders asks if the car industry is being entirely straight with customers. Undercover filming exposes questionable sales patter and confusing advice. Sanders also talks to one driver who says she was caught out by the small print in her car finance deal. And the programme reveals one little-known way to get the car of your dreams at a lower price than the one quoted by most sales staff.

How to Get a Pay Rise

Episode: 2017-10-16 | Airdate: Oct 16, 2017 (30 min)

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This is an era of stagnant wages: British workers are going through 15 years without any real-term pay rise. Morland Sanders investigates who's responsible and whether we can turn the tables on our bosses. Sanders reveals how much British workers have suffered from low wage growth and how we fail to properly negotiate pay rises with our employers. In this Dispatches with a difference, master negotiator Dan Hughes - the expert who's training the civil servants who are representing the UK at Brexit negotiations - reveals his top tips on how to prepare for that all-important pay discussion. Dan coaches two employees, who haven't had a rise for years, on tactics and negotiating skills to help them find the confidence to ask for more. They then approach their employers to discuss their pay; can they confidently negotiate their terms? And can Dan's masterclass teach us all how to get a pay rise?

Trump and Russia: Sex, Spies and Scandal

Episode: 2017-10-18 | Airdate: Oct 18, 2017 (65 min)

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Did the Trump campaign collude with the Russians? Matt Frei investigates this epic tale of mystery and intrigue, which reads like a thriller featuring spies, models and notorious political players.

Who Deserves a Pay Rise?

Episode: 2017-10-23 | Airdate: Oct 23, 2017 (30 min)

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Dispatches investigates what life's like for police officers, nurses and other public sector workers following seven years of pay freezes and pay caps.

Is Britain Full?

Episode: 2017-10-30 | Airdate: Oct 30, 2017 (30 min)

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Is the country at breaking point? For many, high levels of immigration have caused real issues and arguably led directly to the Brexit vote. But is Britain really full? For Dispatches, Michael Buerk investigates the story behind the numbers and the impact of internal migration. New research reveals the true scale of massive movement within the UK and its impact on both overpopulated and underpopulated areas. Buerk travels to a northern English city that has almost halved in size over the years, meeting young people forming the exodus of migrants heading south for opportunity and better pay. Here he finds forgotten streets full of empty homes. The North-South divide is not just about wealth but also about numbers. Buerk asks whether we ignore the issue of internal migration at our peril and whether, with Brexit on the horizon, this issue will finally be discussed.

Trouble on the Trains

Episode: 2017-11-06 | Airdate: Nov 6, 2017 (30 min)

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Dispatches gains exclusive access to go undercover with the British Transport Police's crime unit to expose racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism by football fans on Britain's trains. Reporter Morland Sanders investigates as ordinary passengers are subjected to shocking abuse. One youth sings anti-Semitic songs, and another group of fans subject travellers to their racism - all caught on secret cameras. The cops try to track them down and put them away. Paul Crowther, the BTP's most senior police officer, discloses that anti-social and abusive behaviour on Britain's trains by football supporters is under-reported by the public because it is tolerated as part of 'football culture'.

The Great Housing Scandal

Episode: 2017-11-13 | Airdate: Nov 13, 2017 (30 min)

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Following the Grenfell fire, Theresa May dedicated her premiership to fixing Britain's broken housing market. But do the government's actions contradict her pledge?

How to Avoid the Dementia Tax

Episode: 2017-11-20 | Airdate: Nov 20, 2017 (30 min)

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Is demand for long-term nursing care about to push the NHS over the edge? Ahead of the Budget, the Chancellor is coming under increasing pressure to raise more money to fund long-term social care. As local authorities struggle to meet these huge costs, reporter Tazeen Ahmad reports on the so-called 'dementia tax'. Ahmad investigates why some dementia sufferers have to sell their family homes to pay for care while others gain access to NHS funds. And Dispatches goes undercover to reveal the advice financial experts give to potential sufferers. Dispatches asks whether the system providing care for thousands is really fit for purpose.

Al Fayed Behind Closed Doors

Episode: 2017-12-08 | Airdate: Dec 8, 2017 (30 min)

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Dispatches investigates allegations of sexual harassment against billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed.

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