Episodes

  • Impulsive: Trailer
    Feb 10 2026

    Early in 2025, BBC Investigations Correspondent Noel Titheradge published his first story about a category of prescription drug with unusual side effects.

    People who take dopamine agonist drugs for conditions like Parkinson’s disease or Restless Legs Syndrome often report impulse control disorders - problems with gambling, compulsive eating or shopping, or hypersexuality.

    He wasn’t expecting the response. After that first article was published more than 200 people got in touch - that’s me, they said, that’s my partner, that’s my dad.

    So Noel started digging.

    Details of organisations offering help and support with some of the issues raised are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

    If you have any concerns about medication you’re taking, speak to your doctor.

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    3 mins
  • The People vs McDonald's: Trailer
    Aug 11 2025

    Mark Steel introduces an extraordinary battle between two activists - a gardener and a former postman - and one of the world's biggest fast food companies. A battle over a leaflet which led to the longest trial in English history. It would bring issues like rainforest destruction and advertising to children into the mainstream. It would also be the moment our Prime Minister first comes to prominence. Ultimately, it's a story which would have connections with a dark and shameful secret at the heart of the British state - something Mark discovers he himself had been the victim of. Honestly, there are conspiracy theories less bonkers than this. Welcome to the People vs McDonald's...

    Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

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    3 mins
  • The Grave Robbers: Trailer
    Jul 3 2025

    It should be impossible to steal a home, but Sue Mitchell reveals it's all too easy. The multi-award winning investigative journalist (Intrigue: To Catch a Scorpion, Million Dollar Lover) is on the trail of an East European crime group using forged wills to 'take' the homes of the dead , stealing millions from rightful heirs and denying the Government valuable tax revenue. Sue Mitchell starts her original investigation when two sisters are denied their rightful inheritance following the death of their estranged aunt, but soon finds herself tracking a gang that are not only conning people out of property but also linked to cannabis farms, money laundering and the sale of UK work visas. Over five episodes, she goes in search of the gang members behind this elaborate scam and web of false companies, exposing the shortfalls of a creaking system which places countless others at risk. Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

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    2 mins
  • The Smuggler: Trailer
    May 19 2025

    NEW in Shadow World: The Smuggler tells the story of a former British soldier who became an international people smuggler.

    In this intimate portrait of a British people smuggler, we hear from the perpetrator directly, to uncover his motivations, methods and the consequences of risking the lives of desperate people. The investigation exposes how the smuggling techniques used are still possible today and details the ease with which smugglers can bring migrants into the UK without being caught.

    Presenter: Annabel Deas Producer: Hayley Mortimer Sound design: Neil Churchill Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Series music: Ambit Sound

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    4 mins
  • The Willpower Detectives: Trailer
    Dec 5 2024

    The hidden scandal of Power of Attorney - how one man controls the finances of scores of vulnerable people.

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    3 mins
  • Thief at the British Museum: Trailer
    May 20 2024

    The inside story of how ancient treasures disappeared from one of the world’s most famous museums. And how one man believes he uncovered a thief. BBC Culture Editor Katie Razzall reveals how a Danish gem dealer almost single-handedly identified a man he believes had been stealing precious artefacts from inside the British Museum. She looks at why thefts went unnoticed for so long.

    What begins as a whodunnit turns into a global treasure hunt as Katie tries to track down the missing gems.

    Archive: Sky News Australia

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    3 mins
  • Stolen Years: 4. Closing Arguments
    May 19 2026

    Will justice finally prevail? For Shadow World: Stolen Years, the trial of Paul Quinn reaches its verdict. After more than two decades will the victim of the brutal rape finally see the right man convicted?

    And at the conclusion of the trial will Andy feel a sense of closure? With two separate investigations still examining the failures in his case, the verdict is not the end of the story.

    Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Jemma Gander Series Producer and Editor: Fran Robertson Assistant Editor: Christopher Whyte Composer: Sholto Sound design and mix: Chris Maclean Executive Producer for Goldhawk: Kate Holland Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke A Two Step Films production in association with Goldhawk for Radio 4

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    29 mins
  • Stolen Years: 3. Lucky Man
    May 19 2026

    Why did it take so long to free an innocent man? In Shadow World: Stolen Years, the case against the new suspect in the 2003 rape case gathers pace, while Andrew Malkinson finally receives good news of his own.

    But as the series turns to the role of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the appeal system, a deeper question emerges - how was he left in prison for so long?

    Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

    Presenter and Producer: Jemma Gander Series Producer and Editor: Fran Robertson Assistant Editor: Christopher Whyte Composer: Sholto Sound design and mix: Chris Maclean Executive Producer for Goldhawk: Kate Holland Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke

    A Two Step Films production in association with Goldhawk for Radio 4

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    28 mins