Dispatches: 2012
Season 26 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Dispatches Season 25.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 26 Progress Shield
Olympic Tickets for Sale
Feb 13, 2012
A look at who got tickets for the London 2012 Olympic games and whether private companies are profiting.
The Great Ticket Scandal
Feb 23, 2012
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
Watching the Detectives
May 14, 2012
Revealing how easy it is to buy our most personal and confidential information.
Beating the Recession - Cash vs Cards
May 21, 2012
Investigating whether cutting up our credit cards and paying for everything in cash could leave us with more money in our pockets
The Real Mr & Mrs Assad
May 28, 2012
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.
Murdoch, Cameron and the £8 billion deal
Jun 11, 2012
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?
Let Our Dad Die
Jun 18, 2012
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 th
Cashing in on the Games
Jul 2, 2012
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 bee
Myths About Your 5 a Day
Jul 16, 2012
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 me
Can You Trust Your Bank?
Jul 23, 2012
Jon Snow travels around the UK, meeting consumers, businesses and bankers, to ask whether we can trust our banks.
Britain on the Sick
Jul 30, 2012
Investigates the controversial processes used to assess whether sickness and disability benefit claimants should be declared fit for work.
Britain's High Street Gamble
Aug 6, 2012
A look at the rise in high street betting shops and the social effect they have.
Tricks of the Dole Cheats
Aug 13, 2012
Investigates Jobcentre Plus, the organization tasked with getting Britain back to work and cracking down on dole cheats.
Property Nightmare: The Truth About Leaseholds
Aug 20, 2012
Investigates allegations of private landlords, councils, and housing associations overcharging leasehold homeowners for housing works and maintenance.
The School Dinner Scandal
Sep 10, 2012
Tazeen Ahmad examines evidence that strategies to improve the food served in all our schools are fast coming undone.
Secrets of Poundland
Sep 17, 2012
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 h
Undercover Retirement Home
Sep 24, 2012
Investigating the multi-million pound retirement property industry.
Cruises Undercover: The Truth Below Deck
Oct 1, 2012
Investigate the reality of life below deck for the multi-national workforce who toil behind the scenes of luxurious ocean going holidays.
Secrets of Your Boss's Pay
Oct 8, 2012
Follows the former Greggs chief executive Sir Michael Darrington as he launches a campaign to call a halt to corporate greed.
Do You Know Your Partner's Past?
Oct 22, 2012
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.
Getting Rich on the NHS
Oct 29, 2012
Morland Sanders examines whether the rapid handover of services to private contractors is really good for the public purse, and good for patient care.
Nuclear War Games
Nov 5, 2012 · 45 min
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.
Chinese Murder Mystery
Nov 12, 2012
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
MPs: Are They Still at It?
Nov 19, 2012
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 an
Where Has Your Aid Money Gone?
Nov 26, 2012
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 wi
The Chinese Are Coming
Dec 3, 2012
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.
How Safe is Your Cash?
Dec 10, 2012
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
The American School Massacre
Dec 17, 2012
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 Amer