Stacey Dooley - Episode Guide

Stacey Dooley explores the issue of child labour in Nepal, after being exposed to it when working in the Indian fashion industry for the series Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts.

Stacey Dooley explores the issue of child labour in the Ivory Coast, meeting children working in the cocoa plantations, often using machetes and receiving little or no money.

Stacey Dooley explores the issue of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo's civil war, where an estimated 30,000 children have been used during the 14-year conflict.

Joining the police on raids to shut down brothels and helping girls lift themselves out of the mire, Stacey Dooley presents a documentary on underage sex trafficking in Cambodia.

Stacey Dooley explores the darker side of tourism in Thailand, working as a chambermaid and discovering the sacrifices some hotel workers have to make.

In Kenya, Stacey Dooley investigates the side of tourism the average holidaymaker doesn't see, from hotels exploiting workers to tourist developments affecting the environment.

Stacey Dooley tries to find out why her hometown of Luton is known as the extremist capital of Britain, meeting both self-proclaimed radicals and those trying to counter them.

Stacey Dooley finds out what life is like for the thousands of Spanish workers who serve, police and clear up after British tourists staying in Magaluf.

Stacey Dooley investigates why Peru has become the world's cocaine capital, meeting smugglers, producers and government forces.

Documentary about the drug craze sweeping through Thailand, including a ward full of addicts, border patrols and raids on bars.

Stacey Dooley travels to Ukraine to investigate how drug cartels from South America have been using it as a transit hub to smuggle cocaine into western Europe.

Stacey Dooley reports on the party scene in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, uncovering the consequences of young Britons visiting a resort with Europe's lowest alcohol prices.

Stacey Dooley investigates a stag's last night of freedom in Prague, a no-holds-barred city littered with brothels thinly disguised as massage parlours and gentleman's clubs.

Stacey Dooley visits Cancun to discover the dark side behind the Mexican party resort, joining police and medics as they try to protect tourists and mop up the trouble they cause.

Stacey Dooley speaks to the now younger anonymous face of domestic violence, questioning victims and abusers to try and understand how deep the issues surrounding abuse are.

Stacey Dooley returns with another hard-hitting series lifting the lid on the global war on drugs. Heading to remote and hostile regions, she investigates who's really winning this cat-and-mouse battle between the drug cartels and the police. Along the way she reveals the impact that the west's insatiable desire for more potent drugs is having on the people caught in the crossfire.

To begin, Stacey is on the trail of the world's most addictive and dangerous drug. Her journey takes her to Mexico, now the world's largest producer of meth, where she discovers that the battle between the cartels, the police and vigilante groups is threatening to overwhelm the very fabric of the state.

She joins the army as they track down and destroy the meth super-labs that are now appearing across the country. But she learns that as soon as one lab is dismantled, others replace it.

She tracks down hit men and traffickers who work for the cartels and hears shocking stories of violence from the families of their victims. It becomes clear that the power of the cartels now reaches into every corner of Mexican life and the authorities are increasingly powerless to stop it. Stacey discovers that in some places local people have become so desperate that they are taking the law into their own hands and setting up their own vigilante groups to try and fight off the cartels.

With heavily-armed police, cartels and now vigilantes all squaring up against each other, Stacey reveals a country in danger of descending into chaos and disorder.

Stacey Dooley returns with another hard-hitting series lifting the lid on the global war on drugs. Heading to remote and hostile regions, she investigates who's really winning this cat-and-mouse battle between the drug cartels and the police. Along the way she reveals the impact that the west's insatiable desire for more potent drugs is having on the people caught in the crossfire.

Stacey follows the trail of the world's best-selling party drug, Ecstasy (aka MDMA), from the forests of Asia to inner-city drug dens in America.

Her journey starts in Cambodia, the source of Ecstasy's active ingredient, safrole oil. Here she joins jungle rangers as they patrol the forests to try to stop criminal gangs of loggers chopping down the trees that produce this rare but valuable oil, the raw ingredient of MDMA.

From Cambodia, Stacey follows the Ecstasy trail to Vancouver in Canada which is fast becoming one of the biggest centres of production of synthetic drugs on the planet. She joins the police who face a constant battle trying to locate and shut down the clandestine labs turning the oil into Ecstasy pills. Disturbingly, Stacey discovers that as the police get better at intercepting the shipments of oil, the cooks are turning to other chemicals to make Ecstasy, sometimes with devastating effects.

Stacey meets the family of one Canadian girl who took a pill she thought was Ecstasy, but which contained a far more powerful chemical - with lethal consequences. Across the world there's an increasing number of Ecstasy-related deaths, linked to unknown and dangerous chemicals being used in its production.

In Atlanta in the US, Stacey tracks down drug dealers selling Ecstasy from their 'trap house'. Here it's outstripping meth and crack as the most popular drug they sell, leading Stacey to conclude that what started as a party drug is now well on its way to becoming a street drug, sold by dangerous, warring gangs across the US.

Stacey Dooley returns with another hard-hitting series lifting the lid on the global war on drugs. Heading to remote and hostile regions, she investigates who's really winning this cat-and-mouse battle between the drug cartels and the police. Along the way she reveals the impact that the west's insatiable desire for more potent drugs is having on the people caught in the crossfire.

Stacey travels deep into southern Africa to investigate the new and incredibly powerful strains of cannabis that are being produced and then smuggled into Britain.

Travelling into the tiny state of Swaziland, Stacey meets the farmers growing stronger strains of skunk and confronts the smugglers who are getting rich shipping the drugs across the border into South Africa.

Shadowing the police at Johannesburg Airport, Stacey discovers how easy it is to smuggle the drugs out of the country and into Europe - she's on the spot as customs officials uncover packets full of cannabis on their way to an address in east London.

In South Africa's townships, Stacey uncovers a darker side to cannabis. Here it is being mixed with heroin and other chemicals to create nyope, a potent new cannabis cocktail that is highly addictive and is now ravaging South Africa's poorer communities.

Stacey Dooley presents the first of two hard-hitting films from the worst places in the world to be female, to investigate why some young women today live in such dangerous, desperate and degrading conditions. In this episode Stacey travels to the Philippines - fast becoming the world capital of the cybersex industry.

Here, girls who are rarely let out and often underage must perform on webcams and be photographed for a global online audience. Within the last year alone, 139 Brits were investigated for paying to watch Philippine children being abused. Stacey learns how poverty combined with cheap internet access has led to an increasing number of girls being exposed to online sexual abuse.

Discovering the harrowing truth behind this widespread exploitation, Stacey then exposes an even darker side - cybersex dens. She goes undercover for the first time and joins the police on a major sting, where she confronts the criminals behind this new and disturbing phenomenon. Stacey also follows charity workers as they intercept traffickers smuggling teenage girls into Manila for the cybersex trade.

Stacey also travels north of Manila and learns that efforts are being made to help some of the 100,000 victims of exploitation using therapy and counselling, led by psychologists who have often suffered the same abuse as the children they are helping. Stacey is overwhelmed at the sheer scale of the billion-dollar industry, but remains hopeful that if police forces across the world work together, there's a chance this secretive trade can be tackled.

Stacey Dooley presents the second of two hard-hitting films from the worst places in the world to be female, to investigate why some young women today live in such dangerous, desperate and degrading conditions.

She travels to Honduras, known as murder capital of the world, where 16 women are murdered during Stacey's short trip. In a country with little justice for women and the highest murder rate for young females, how are such endemic issues being tackled?

Violence against women is so common in Honduras that it has a special name - femicide. A woman is murdered every 13 hours here and Stacey discovers that very little is being done to address it. She meets with women who model to earn money needed to escape their violent and dangerous environments, but as Stacey discovers, it's dangerous to be a beautiful woman here.

She meets Theresa Munoz, the mother of Miss Honduras Maria Jose Alvarado and her sister Sofia, who were shot dead by Sofia's boyfriend at a party. Yet with people too afraid to come forward with testimonies, the police reveal it's likely their killer will walk free.

Stacey also meets some of the young women who've had enough and are campaigning for change, when she spends a night with a group of female students demanding more rights for women. At 3am, as they try to evade the police and put up posters before they are torn down, Stacey finds out just how difficult making a change can be.

In Honduras, the Catholic government ban on abortion and the contraceptive pill means that rape victims, often as young as 11, are forced to give birth whilst only children themselves. As the list of questions grows, Stacey visits the district attorney, only to find them unwilling to face her questions.

In Cologne, large numbers of women reported being sexually assaulted and robbed on New Year's Eve by groups of men described as of North African or Arab in appearance. First shown in 2016, Stacey Dooley travels to the city to investigate the fall-out of these attacks. She gets to the heart of both the pro- and anti-immigrant protests which have broken out in the city since the attacks, but are activists just jumping on the bandwagon to further their political agenda?

Stacey Dooley travels to Greece to follow children on the migrant trail, as they flee wars and seek new lives in Western Europe. From small toddlers travelling with families to unaccompanied teenagers journeying thousands of miles alone, Stacey witnesses their experiences first hand. During her trip, Greece closes its borders to migrants and Stacey sees the striking impact of this on the young and vulnerable.

Stacey Dooley travels to Orlando in the aftermath of the Pulse Bar shootings in 2016. She attends vigils, marches and funerals to see how America responds to this latest atrocity and she'll ask if this could be the one to finally make a difference. Stacey explores the levels of prejudice and homophobia faced daily by the LGBT community in America, levels that are often compounded if you belong to an ethnic or religious minority.

With revelations that the shooter may himself have been gay, she will also try to track down and talk with gay Muslims to understand the conflict they face between their religion and their sexuality.

Stacey Dooley embeds herself on the frontline with the extraordinary all-female Yazidi battalion, who are fuelled to take revenge against Isis.

Stacey Dooley, one of BBC Three's most popular documentary-makers fronts another powerful, hard-hitting investigation when she travels to Tokyo, Japan to look into what effect the law banning child porn has had and to see if the attitude towards the sexualisation of children has changed.

Stacey Dooley, one of BBC Three's most popular journalists, travels to British Columbia and Alberta to explore why this is happening, and investigate what is being done about it.

She starts her journey on a remote road dubbed the Highway of Tears where dozens of woman have vanished or been murdered since 1980 whilst trying to hitchhike. Determined to find out why this is happening and who is taking the girls Stacey travels to the city of Edmonton, to meet women working in the sex trade that are at high-risk, some reveal disturbing stories of violence and fear.

Stacey Dooley returns to the Philippines to make a complex and chilling film about Filipino mothers who sexually abuse children, often their own, live in front of webcams in exchange for money.

Stacey Dooley delves deep undercover into the nascent world of Britain's digital drug dealers. Using fake profiles on Instagram, Snapchat and new social app Yellow, she reveals how school children as young as 15 are selling class A drugs on social platforms. It is only a matter of seconds before Stacey is offered everything from cocaine to meth.

Stacey comes face to face with a British gang who now rely upon young digital dealers to keep their business afloat. Access to one of Britian's largest drug outfits reveals 75 per cent of their revenue now comes through digital dealers who operate remotely from the privacy of their bedroom. The fast-paced connectivity of Snapchat and Instagram means the gang can sell up to £22,000 worth of cocaine in a couple of hours.

The only way for Stacey to meet the elusive digital dealers and find out more about their world is to go undercover. After decoding their secret emoji drug code, Stacey arranges MDMA deals and confronts the dealers. Young dealers show how opportunistic individuals operating online are overpopulating an already overcrowded market. But how they reach their client base is revolutionising the game and putting more and more street dealers out of business.

As the digital drug revolution gathers pace, it runs the risk of turning into an epidemic as Snapchat, Instagram and Yellow appear to be doing very little to quash this drug dealing haven.

In the aftermath of this year's elections, Stacey Dooley heads to Northern Ireland to find out exactly who supporters of the DUP are.

She meets people who voted for a party that is both anti-Gay marriage and anti-abortion even when some don't agree, and discovers that the place is still bitterly divided years after The Troubles. Her investigation plunges her into the bitter politics of Northern Ireland where British and Irish identities coexist with unease.

Stacey Dooley travels to Florida - where sex offenders are punished forever. After serving their sentences, paedophiles and other sex offenders face legal restrictions for life.

But there is a battle raging in the American state about these laws. Do they truly protect children, or just make the public feel better? And the crucial question Stacey explores during her trip: do they ever deserve a second chance?

Stacey spends time with convicted sex offenders living in a homeless camp in Miami and an isolated community in the middle of nowhere - both consequences of strict laws preventing them from living less than 2,500ft from a place where children congregate. The offenders she meets hope to be fully reintegrated into society, having committed crimes ranging from watching child pornography to molesting children - but are blocked by the strict laws which restrict their movements for life.

She also meets with Senator Lauren Book, and her father, lawyer and lobbyist Ron Book, who have campaigned for more than 20 pieces of sex offender legislation - including the 2,500ft residency restrictions in Miami - discovering that Lauren herself was abused for six years as a child by the family's live-in nanny.

In Florida, Stacey struggles to come to a conclusion about whether sex offenders deserve a second chance, in the face of the harrowing experiences of victims and heinous crimes committed by offenders, especially when unexpected revelations along the way make her question everything she has learnt from the offenders she has got to know.

Behind closed doors, Russian society has a dark secret: it's estimated thousands of Russian women are murdered every year by their husbands or partners.

Domestic violence is so deep-rooted in Russia there's even a well-known saying, "if he beats you, it means he loves you". Despite the scale of the problem, in February 2017 the Russian government decriminalised certain forms of domestic violence.

In Stacey Dooley Investigates: Russia's War On Women, Stacey travels to Russia to explore the reasons behind this decision and the impact that the law-change is having on women.

She meets the victims forced into hiding to escape their abusive partners and comes face to face with a prolific violent offender. She visits the hard-line Orthodox Christians championing Russia's return to traditional values and spends time with the young feminists fighting for equality - despite threats and intimidation.

Stacey comes face to face with ISIS as she revisits Iraq to unearth the harrowing story of Yazidi women kept as ISIS sex slaves. She is accompanied by Shireen, a Yazidi woman who was kept as a slave in Mosul before managing to escape during the battle to regain the city. Stacey helps Shireen retrace the steps of her torturous past, revisiting parts of the city which played a significant role in Shireen's ordeal. Their journey culminates in a face to face exchange with an ISIS fighter who claims to have killed over 900 people, and raped over 250 women.

Their first stop is the house in Mosul which Shireen was taken to, held hostage and routinely raped by her captor. She shows the room in which she was held, with a curtain she fitted and the initials on the wall of her ISIS captor and his wife. Shireen takes Stacey to one of the former markets that were set up to trade the women. Although nothing but rubble is left the effect on Shireen is profound and she wants answers to why this happened.

The next day, escorted by an Iraqi Commander, they search through the decimated city to locate Shireen's escape house. However, during their hunt she is cut off from answering Stacey's questions about her experience by the Commander.

Finally their trip ends in a small room outside the city where they sit face to face with Amar, a 21 year old ISIS fighter. Anmar took part in the raid on Shireen's home city and had three Yazidi sex slaves of his own. Shireen is finally able to challenge him on why this happened, why he did it, and how he feels about the atrocities he committed now.

Hungary has more Roma gypsy kids in institutional care than any other EU country and is facing a potential crisis. Stacey Dooley meets some of the parents, kids and social workers on the frontline of Hungary's child protection system, as she investigates accusations by Roma families of widespread institutional racism in the Hungarian care system.

Against a backdrop of growing support for nationalist and far right politicians among Hungarians, Stacey questions if there is a genuine need for Roma children to be protected - or if prejudice is driving a growing trend to take Roma kids from their families.

Every year dozens of people in Northern Ireland are shot in the legs or assaulted by vigilante armed groups from their own neighbourhoods. These paramilitary-style attacks are known as 'kneecappings' when they are shootings and they can be brutal. They can leave the victims, usually young men, with lifelong physical and mental injuries. Stacey Dooley meets people who have been shot as well as people within affected communities who are standing up to the attackers, and she tries to speak to some of those behind the attacks.

Should we all be making plans for the end of the world? In America, a movement of people, called preppers, are doing all they can to make sure they survive global disaster. Stacey spends time with threeprepper communities who are gearing up for uncertain futures, with concerns ranging from civil unrest and nuclear war, to climate change and natural disasters. Some have bought bunkers to escape to, others have isolated themselves from society. Stacey explores the reasons why they are going to such lengths to protect themselves. And she asks - should I be following their lead?

Stacey Dooley discovers the shocking environmental impact of people's insatiable appetite for cheap clothing. She travels thousands of miles around the globe to see how toxic chemicals released by the garment industry are polluting waterways that millions of people rely on. She also witnesses the former Aral Sea, once one of the planet's largest bodies of fresh water, which is now reduced almost entirely to dust.

These are shocking discoveries likely to make you think twice about whether you really need those new clothes.

Stacey Dooley hears from young homeless people, giving them a chance to share their thoughts and concerns and shining a light on their struggle.

Stacey Dooley investigates bounty hunting in the USA following all-action bounty hunters as they hunt down fugitives who have skipped bail, bringing them back to face justice.

Boko Haram is ranked as one of the world's deadliest terrorist groups. It's shock tactics include the mass kidnapping of schoolgirls and the use of female suicide bombers. In the city of Maiduguri in North East Nigeria Stacey Dooley meets Falmata. She was kidnapped by Boko Haram at the age of 13, forced to marry three times and finally strapped to a suicide belt and sent out on a bombing mission. Astonishingly Falmata managed to escape to tell her painful story. But not all women in Boko have been forced to join. Some are there through choice. Ammabua believed in Boko Haram's ideology. She volunteered for a suicide-bombing mission, which she thought would send her to paradise. Fate intervened and she survived. Now separated from Boko Haram, she is trying to re-integrate into a society of people she was once willing to kill.

Stacey Dooley meets an Arms Dealing family in the USA who supply more than 100 countries with high-grade weapons. She gets a rare glimpse into this strange world – hanging out with the mum who sells all kinds of arms from grenade launchers to sniper rifles, and her son who makes thousands of bullets for the weapons his mum sells.

Stacey Dooley investigates the controversial world of whale hunting. This contentious practice has hit the headlines around the world, as whaling countries defy international pressure to ban the practice. Whalers argue it's just food like any other meat. Campaigners call it barbaric and outdated. With rare access to a Norweigen commercial hunting vessel, Stacey witnesses the killing of a Minke whale. And, on the remote Faroe Islands modern day hunters defend their tradition of whale slaughter for food, while activists from around the world say they'll keep coming to the island until they stop.

Every year thousands of young people are brought to mental health units across the UK to seek treatment. Latest estimates put the number of people who suffer from a mental health condition at one in three, and most first experience problems when they are young.

Stacey is going to work in Springfield Hospital, one of the oldest mental health units in the UK, to see what life is really like on the front line of mental health services. More than just observing, she will be working directly with staff, dealing with patients, and taking part in making incredibly tough decisions about what is best for patients.

Pornography is illegal in South Korea and 'molka' has emerged as an illicit DIY alternative. The devastating impact of molka is revealed in the increasing number of molka-related suicides. Now, criminal gangs are starting to install cameras on an industrial scale, selling people's most private moments as pornography for strangers to consume. The country's advanced technology allows criminals to stream videos live and share them at lightning speeds.

Can those fighting molka stay ahead of this quickly evolving crime? And are the ingredients that have made molka an epidemic in South Korea a warning sign for a sex crime that could soon affect us here?

Stacey Dooley investigates one of the most radical women's prisons in America. She follows eight murderers who are coming to terms with a life sentence

The presenter reports on how southern Spain has become the main gateway for drugs into Europe, leading to violent turf wars between gangs and a government crackdown as the police struggle to regain control of their streets. Stacey goes on aerial patrol with police officers guarding the strip of water between Morocco and Spain, and discovers the extraordinary lengths smugglers will take to evade them, including travelling at 100mph in speedboats during extreme weather conditions.

Stuck in her flat, Stacey Dooley is on the hunt for the everyday heroes of the coronavirus lockdown, from emergency service staff to charity volunteers.

Mental health across society has worsened since the pandemic began. Stacey Dooley returns to Springfield Hospital, and over six months, including the second nationwide lockdown, works with the team to experience first-hand how the pandemic is impacting patients in crisis. Stacey assists staff as they treat a wide range of mental health conditions and takes part in the tough decisions necessary to keep patients safe.

Stacey meets Coral, who is brought into Springfield by the police one night after attempting to take her life. Coral tells Stacey and the team about her long-running battle with anxiety and depression, which she attempts to self-medicate by drinking alcohol.

The pandemic has seen a rise in suicidal behaviour, especially amongst young people. Stacey meets Oskar, a 20-year-old university student whose struggle with intense suicidal thoughts brings him into the hospital in crisis.

For those with pre-existing mental health conditions, waiting lists and delays to treatment caused by the pandemic are pushing them to breaking point. Suziee is diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder, which causes extreme highs and lows to her moods. But with her therapy now cancelled, she is struggling to cope on her own and turns to the hospital for help.

Stacey also gets to know 21-year-old Ali, an inpatient at Springfield, which is home to the only inpatient unit of its kind in the country for those with severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Since childhood, Ali's OCD rituals have changed from repetitive tapping during stressful exams and blinking to keep her parents safe in the car to extreme bathroom routines. For severe OCD cases like Ali's, this ward is her last chance at beating this devastating condition, and over the months Stacey sees a dramatic change in Ali's obsessions.

Stacey meets victims and perpetrators of the most common type of stalking: a young mum's ex in court, a pilot claiming heartbreak and a stalker just out of prison.

Stacey embeds with a police unit focused on cases of stalking: an obsessed fan, a man fixated with a girl half his age, and an ex-prisoner sending death threats.

Stacey Dooley is spending ten days living alongside the nuns of St Hilda's Priory in Whitby.

Stacey's life is a whirlwind. She always throws herself into work and has struggled to prioritise her work-life balance. Although she is not a religious person, at the convent she is given the unique opportunity to try to connect to the rhythms of a deeper, slower, quieter and more meaningful way of being. But what are the challenges of living within the strict confines of a convent, where the women have taken vows of poverty, obedience and celibacy?

Stacey must adhere to the nuns' strict timetable, eating meals in silence, learning how to pray and singing in their choir. Very little has changed at the convent in the 115 years since its foundation, but with an ageing population and fewer women being called to the vocation, this way of life is dying out. Stacey explores how the sisters - some of whom have been at the convent for half a century - cope with the rigidity of an old-fashioned, timetabled life, which is so removed from her chaotic everyday existence. Can living with these 23 devout sisters, who have dedicated themselves to a very different set of priorities, give her new insights into her own life that might last beyond her time with them?

In June 2020, when sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman did not return from Bibaa's birthday celebrations in a north London Park, family and friends knew something was wrong and reported them missing to police. Bibaa, 46, a passionate social worker, and Nicole, 26, a talented freelance photographer, were murdered as they danced to music, enjoying each other's company. Bibaa had chosen to celebrate her birthday in the park because of restrictions imposed during lockdown. The next day, Nicole's boyfriend found the sisters' bodies after family and friends organised their own search party.

A year after the brutal murders of her daughters, retired Archdeacon Mina Smallman, who was Britain's first black archdeacon in the Church of England, invites Stacey Dooley to help her tell her story through both the trial of her daughters' killer and the trials of two Met police officers who took photographs of their bodies and shared them on WhatsApp.

Mina's faith is central to her very being, but what happens when faith is confronted by unimaginable tragedy? Stacey witnesses how Mina's faith has played a pivotal role throughout an unimaginably difficult time, helpign her to cope with her grief and anger and strengthen her resolve to fight to end violence against women so her daughters did not die in vain.

Stacey Dooley follows a squad of Ukrainian civilians from the moment they land on British soil for five weeks of gruelling training, designed to give them the skills they will need to 'survive and to be lethal' in the war against Russia.

Hidden in a secret location in England, Stacey has exclusive access to the British Army's combat programme turning raw recruits into frontline soldiers.

Pasha is a welder who was living in Belgium when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. He swam against the tide of refugees leaving the country to return and defend his homeland. An unlikely soldier, he doesn't have long to get to grips with the reality facing him on his return.

Artem has left his partner and 6-year-old son behind near the border with Russia. Before the war, he had a thriving business making jewellery, but over the five weeks of the course he is transformed into a professional soldier. But the change puts a great deal of pressure on his relationships with those he loves.

Mykola is a florist who dreams of getting back to his garden and girlfriend. Scoring the highest possible score on the rifle range, he is determined to reclaim occupied land from the Russian troops 'centimetre by centimetre'.

Amid learning how to operate an AK-47, repel attacks and survive brutal combat in trenches reminiscent of World War I, Stacey gets to know this group of recruits, gaining first-hand insight into the psychological transformation needed to face the kill-or-be-killed reality of war.

Stacey tackles the subject of death by immersing herself in the world of undertaking at a century-old funeral director's.

The perception of how rape happens is changing, with 90 per cent of victims saying they know their attacker. Stacey Dooley meets four women who have reported being raped by someone they know - and follows their emotional journey as they fight to be believed in a system under immense strain. 

When Stacey first meets Jessie, Emma and Becca in 2022, their cases have been taken up by the Crown Prosecution Service, but they are all playing a waiting game, with delays stretching from months into years. As they navigate barrister strikes, postponed trials and long waits for their day in court, Stacey witnesses first-hand the impact this has on their lives and their loved ones around them. 

In Kent, Stacey meets Jessie, who was 22 when she reported being raped throughout their relationship by an ex-boyfriend, while she was asleep. She explains to Stacey that she had suppressed what happened to her during her relationship, and it was only after she received a Facebook message from his ex-girlfriend describing a similar experience that Jessie was able to open up about what she alleges happened to her. After waiting almost a year and a half, Jessie gets the call to say that, despite the barrister strikes, the trial is still scheduled for the following week. Stacey goes to court to listen to the opening statements, only to discover the trial has been postponed at the last minute. Stacey is at a loss as to what this means for the women. As Jessie's frustration grows, she questions whether she can cope with the process any longer, confiding in Stacey that she is close to retracting her statement. 

When Stacey meets Emma, 19, it's been two years since she reported being orally raped by a fellow student at college. Her trial has already been postponed three times when Stacey meets with her. She goes on to reveal the emotional toll the alleged assault has taken, explaining how she once blamed herself and kept the assault secret. 

Emma confided in her parents, who encouraged her to report to the police. After she has taken the stand and been cross-examined, she meets up with Stacey and explains the lengths to which the defence have tried to pick apart her credibility and questions whether the jury will believe her word against his. With the verdict in, will she get the outcome she is hoping for? 

Meanwhile, Becca, 22, reported her alleged assault eight months after it happened, supported by her new boyfriend, Joe. After finding out her trial is being postponed, Stacey calls Becca and discovers she's determined to push back. She has decided to write directly to the judge, pleading for them to help people like herself who have been brave enough to come forward but are being thwarted by the system. But will it be enough to bring her trial forward? And when will Jessie get the day she hopes for in court

As Stacey continues to follow the emotional journey of the young women who have reported rape and are now trying to navigate the justice system, we learn the statistics are stark. Less than two per cent of reported sexual assaults result in conviction, although this increases to over 50 per cent for cases that proceed to trial. As their trials near, the women learn that credibility also plays a pivotal role. 

Stacey catches up with Becca, who, having had her trial postponed, wrote a pleading letter to the judge on her case, explaining the emotional impact it's had on her. Becca tells Stacey that she's since received a notification to say that her trial date has been brought forward. Although she is pleased, it forces her to confront the reality of her day in court. She tells Stacey about her pretrial visit to the court, where she received guidance on how to present herself as credibly as possible. 

Stacey hears that Becca received advice to abstain from attending the rest of the court proceedings after her testimony and was cautioned that projecting too much confidence might adversely affect her case's outcome. Stacey is shocked by the notion that Becca has to play a certain role to be taken seriously or to be believed. 

After almost three years since reporting, the trial approaches and Becca's nerves become evident, creating a ripple effect throughout her family. Stacey finds out how the legal process has impacted Becca's boyfriend, Joe, and he shares with Stacey his experience of this difficult journey. On the stand, Becca's drama degree is focused on by the defence, in an attempt to cast doubt on her testimony. 

Stacey visits Jessie as her court dates nears. It's two-and-a-half years since she reported to the police. Jessie, too, is confronting her own struggles with the delays. Determined, however, to go through with it, she decides she doesn't want her mum, Michelle, to attend court with her and is dreading facing the defendant. Stacey chats with Michelle, who reflects on the profound changes she's witnessed in her daughter since she reported the rape to the police. 

Jessie and another woman who opted to remain anonymous are testifying against Jessie's ex-boyfriend. Stacey meets up with Lauren, who can only be a witness in the trial, as her case took place in Australia and was dropped for lack of evidence. She tells Stacey she's worried that the court will question her motives in contacting Jessie. 

As the trial unfolds, the defendant denies all allegations, maintaining that his sexual relationships with all three women were consensual. 

Now, almost three years since the women first reported, it's up to the jury.

In Britain, shoplifting is at an all-time high, incidents of violence and abuse against shop staff have skyrocketed, and a third of Brits have admitted to stealing through the self-checkouts. To understand what's causing this high-street epidemic, Stacey is meeting the people behind the crime and spending time on the shop floor with the staff who deal with shoplifting every day. 

In Manchester city centre, beauty and cosmetics chain Bodycare has one of its biggest and most shoplifted stores. Here, Stacey meets the staff at the sharp end of shoplifting, seeing first-hand the impact it has on them, while witnessing near-constant attempted thefts. Stacey sees what staff members Rachel and Dips have to deal with, and manager Dips tells her, 'It's not a victimless crime. Somebody always pays the price for it down the line. And for us, it's the staff in here.' 

Around the corner from the shop, 22-year-old 'Chloe' is window-shopping. She's a recent graduate who regularly steals skincare products and plastic jewellery. She doesn't have much love for the big chains and justifies her actions as a form of protest against corporate greed and unsustainable products. But underneath her activism, Stacey discovers there is more to her shoplifting. 

In another part of Manchester, 22-year-old 'Otto' invites Stacey to his flat, where he's cooking dinner for his friends using stolen tofu and flatbreads. He doesn't have many qualms about stealing through self-service checkouts and believes it's an act of defiance against big corporations and ultimately a victimless crime. 

Not all shoplifting is about wanting nicer things. For 20-year-old mother 'Ellie', who is trying to provide essentials like nappies for her son, stealing is about the struggle to survive. In Ellie, Stacey sees how the cost-of-living crisis may be driving some people to steal out of desperation. 

Away from Manchester, Stacey meets Bruce, who asks her whether she can tell the difference between stolen and bought items. His shoplifting started when he was signed off work sick, but now that he's grown accustomed to getting things for free, his stealing is escalating, and he's finding it hard to kick the habit. 

Stacey heads to Bedfordshire to the private site where 23-year-old Chantelle lives with her husband, Swaley. Chantelle prides herself in keeping with the ‘old' Gypsy values her granny Rita taught her and sharing them on social media, where she's blown up with nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok and 15 million likes on her page. Her chalet is where she films all her ‘Gypsy Cleaning' videos for her loyal fanbase. Chantelle shares her cleaning hacks with Stacey. 

Over two months Stacey, gets to know Chantelle and Swaley, hearing what courting looked like for this young couple, the reaction Chantelle has had to her viral videos and the vital role of family in their lives. 

Eighteen-year-old Serena and her family live in Lincolnshire and welcome Stacey into their bustling family life. Serena explains to Stacey that they've decided to invite her into their home to show people that they are normal. Serena is in the middle of planning her wedding to her fiancé, Marco. He is from a Gypsy and Traveller community too, and Serena wouldn't have it any other way. 

Spending time with Serena's sister Ivana and mum Teresa as they help Serena get organised for the biggest step in a Gypsy girl's life, Stacey learns that this community often chooses to marry within their own, as it enables them to protect the values and traditions they hold dear. 

Serena's been searching high and low for all the things she's going to need to create her new married home. 

Serena gets Stacey mucking out the horses in her stable, where Serena has taken her childhood passion for horse riding to launch her own business buying, breeding and selling horses. The Traveller community has long been associated with horses, but the business is usually left to the men; Serena is breaking the mould at just 18 years old. Stacey is surprised to hear that Serena often feels it's best to keep her ethnicity hidden when she's meeting potential clients, as she fears they may not want to do business with her. 

In Nottinghamshire, Stacey meets a young woman taking a new job in a busy, thriving salon in the ‘gorger' (non-Traveller) world. At an age when many Gypsy and Traveller women may be hoping to get married, 22-year-old Ebony is pushing ahead with her career in beauty. 

Stacey joins her for her first day at the new salon, and Ebony confides in Stacey about the compromises you sometimes have to make to fit into the ‘gorger' world. But, proud of her Gypsy heritage, Ebony has found a salon where she isn't afraid to own who she is.