About this season
Long-running Channel 4 documentary series covering issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment. Known for featuring a mole inside organisations under journalistic investigation.
Episodes (30)
1. Are You Addicted to Sugar?
Aired 20 January 2014
Will eating less really help? Experts say that the real problem lies in the quantity of sugar hidden in the food we eat. So is Britain addicted to sugar?
2. Children on the Frontline
Aired 22 January 2014
The children of Syria are often the forgotten victims in the ongoing civil war. More than 11,000 children have been killed and over a million are now refugees.
3. Floods: Your Money Down the Drain
Aired 3 February 2014
The floods that recently hit Britain have caused misery for thousands, but do you know what's actually in the flood water that has engulfed our towns and streets?
4. Hunted
Aired 5 February 2014
On the eve of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia is officially welcoming gay athletes and spectators. But in a country where it's thought only 1% of gay people dare to live completely openly, it appears to be a hollow gesture.
5. Benefits Britain: The Bedroom Tax
Aired 10 February 2014
Of the welfare changes brought in by the coalition gov't, the so-called Bedroom Tax is perhaps most controversial. Thousands of people around the country have had their housing benefit reduced because of a spare room in their house or flat
6. A&E's Missing Millions
Aired 17 February 2014
With Accident and Emergency Departments under pressure, Dispatches investigates the cost and consequence of financial penalties imposed on hospitals when government targets to treat emergency cases are missed.
7. Secrets of Your Credit Rating
Aired 24 February 2014
A bad credit rating can affect your chances of getting access to bank loans, mortgages and even mobile phone contracts. But how accurate is the information used to compile your credit report, and what happens if there is a mistake in it?
8. Undercover: Hate on the Terraces
Aired 3 March 2014
Reporter Morland Sanders' investigation exposes how some supporters take part in systematic and flagrant homophobic chanting. It also raises serious concerns about the police's response to racism and homophobia.
9. Food: What's Really in your Trolley?
Aired 17 March 2014
Morland Sanders investigates the criminal gangs moving into the food business, the profits that can be made by substituting fake foods, and how the authorities are struggling to battle the rising tide of food fraud.
10. Amanda Holden: Exposing Hospital Heartache
Aired 24 March 2014
Holden investigates the treatment of some couples whose pregnancies end in failure. Mothers who tell her their experiences in the aftermath of their loss left a great deal to be desired, and seeks answers from those in authority in the NHS
11. The Truth About Low Fat Food
Aired 7 April 2014
Do you know how skinny your muffin is? Or what's in your low-fat yoghurt? As the public try to grapple with confusing messages about what's best to eat, Dispatches investigates how the food industry has reacted to our fear of fat.
12. Policemen Behaving Badly
Aired 14 April 2014
It's called the Police Federation - the police's union - and it represents the interests of 131,000 officers across the country. They never break ranks, and no one ever speaks out; until now.
13. Tricks of the Junk Food Business
Aired 2 June 2014
Do you know when an advert is really an advert? Are you sure that the game you're playing isn't trying to make you buy something? When it comes to protecting our children from sugary food, the world of online advertising is a new frontier.
14. Breadline Kids
Aired 9 June 2014
Over 300,000 children were given food aid in the UK last year. Politicians continue to argue about why many kids are experiencing food poverty, Dispatches asked three children to reveal how it feels when the cupboards are sometimes bare.
15. Secrets of the Police
Aired 16 June 2014
'Plebgate' and Hillsborough have made many in Britain question the honesty and integrity of some of our police officers. Now Dispatches investigates how they handle one of the most sensitive areas of policing: complaints of police racism.
16. How to Fix a Football Match
Aired 23 June 2014
As World Cup fever grips the globe, Morland Sanders investigates the dark side of the international game. Dispatches goes undercover to expose world football's problem with match-fixing.
17. The Cost of Cheap Alcohol
Aired 30 June 2014
There is concern that the wide availability of cheap alcohol may have a darker side. Alcohol-related crime, violence, accidents and disease are costing the country billions of pounds a year.
18. The Great British Break-up?
Aired 7 July 2014
In September Scotland will go to the polls to vote on independence, people south of the border can only watch and wait. Antony Barnett goes on the campaign trail of both sides to investigate claims of dubious tactics and misinformation.
19. Faith Schools Undercover: No Clapping in Class
Aired 14 July 2014
As the government is about to publish its report on the 'Trojan Horse' affair in Birmingham, Dispatches goes undercover to question the role of faith communities in our schools.
20. Murder in the Sky: Flight MH17
Aired 21 July 2014
On July 16 a flight full of tourists, travellers and families took off from Amsterdam en-route to Malaysia. Four hours after take-off the Boeing 777 was flying above war-torn eastern Ukraine when it lost all contact with flight control.
21. Supermarket Wars
Aired 28 July 2014
The era of domination by the big 4 - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and Asda - is waning. Profits are slumping and online shopping is transforming the market. While the big 4 struggle, discounters like Aldi and Lidl are booming.
22. Supermarkets: The Real Price of Cheap Food
Aired 4 August 2014
Morland Sanders lifts the lid on key supermarket suppliers. From field to factory, Dispatches examines hygiene, health and safety and the reality of life on minimum-wage, minimum-security, ultra-flexible contracts.
23. How to Stop Your Nuisance Calls
Aired 11 August 2014
Fed up with receiving repeated telephone calls asking for charity donations? Ever wondered why you keep getting called despite saying no? How did they get your number? Dispatches goes undercover to find the answers.
24. Are You Addicted to Your Doctor?
Aired 18 August 2014
Dispatches investigates those who are over-using our health system, from the anxious woman who calls an ambulance 20 times a year, to the young mums who head to A&E with minor ailments and illnesses.
25. Nigeria's Hidden War
Aired 18 August 2014
Dispatches reveals a dark side to Nigeria's on-going war against Islamist terror groups such as Boko Haram: a campaign by the Nigerian security forces against civilians so brutal it could be classed a war crime.
26. Benefits Britain
Aired 27 October 2014
27. Rice: How Safe Is Our Food?
Aired 3 November 2014
Dispatches investigates claims by some leading experts that some types of commonly consumed rice contain worryingly high levels of naturally occurring arsenic
28. How the Rich Get Richer
Aired 17 November 2014
Fraser Nelson, the editor of The Spectator magazine, explores the growing inequality in British society. In areas such as education, prospects and life expectancy there's a growing gulf between the haves and have not's.
29. How to Break Into Britain (II)
Aired 24 November 2014
Dispatches goes undercover inside the makeshift camps around Calais to investigate the criminal gangs that are making big money by smuggling illegal immigrants into Britain.
30. The British Property Boom
Aired 1 December 2014
Dispatches investigates the consequences of rapid house price rises for buyers, sellers and communities and examines how the property boom of 2014 is changing the face of our towns and cities.