Dispatches: 2013
Season 27 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 26.
- 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 27 Progress Shield
Secrets of Your Car Insurance
Jan 7, 2013
Investigates claims that major insurers cash in when you have a crash, through maximizing profits, lucrative referral fees and rebate deals, sometimes at the expense of doing what'
Sharing Mum and Dad
Jan 14, 2013
Today, 1 in 3 children in the UK grow up in a home with only one parent. Are we doing what's best for the children of separated parents? Dispatches investigates the current situati
Secrets of Your Supermarket Shop
Jan 21, 2013
A look at rising food price and the comparison between different supermarket stores, food markets and independent shops.
Weight Watchers: How They Make Their Millions
Jan 28, 2013
Investigates the UK's largest diet brand: Weight Watchers.
Britain's Hidden Child Abuse
Jan 30, 2013
In a year-long investigation, other victims of child abuse from this closed community express their anger about the lack of justice caused by their leaders' misguided approach to d
How Safe Is Your Child's Nursery?
Feb 11, 2013
As the government unveils its plans to increase the number of children each nursery staff member is allowed to look after, Dispatches investigates whether parents can really trust
The Horse Meat Scandal
Feb 18, 2013
From burgers to ready meals, Britain's horse meat scandal has grown and grown. For Dispatches, Morland Sanders asks how Britain's meat supplies became so contaminated with unauthor
Britain on Benefits
Feb 25, 2013
The Disability Living Allowance helps more than 3 million people lead useful lives. But the benefit bill has to be cut, and the gov't plans to take more than half a million claiman
Death on the Wards
Mar 4, 2013
Dispatches investigates the truth behind allegations that tens of thousands of seriously ill people have been put on a pathway to death. That doctors have callously killed off pati
Undercover Designer Dogs
Mar 11, 2013
Designer dogs are all the rage with celebrities and many animal lovers. But Dispatches has discovered a darker side to this canine phenomenon: thousands of puppies are being import
Rich and on Benefits
Mar 18, 2013
In budget week Michael Buerk investigates claims that Britain's pensioners are part of an untouchable group when it comes to government welfare cuts and that some should not be rec
The Truth About Junior Doctors
Mar 25, 2013
Three years ago, European regulations were brought in to limit hours and to protect both doctors and patients. In this Dispatches, Dr Christian discovers that junior doctors across
Immigration Undercover
Apr 15, 2013
In this report Morland Sanders investigates whether Britain's immigration system is fit for purpose with reports that tens of thousands of files sit uncleared in the system and a l
Syria: Across the Lines
Apr 17, 2013
A remarkable film from award-winning documentary maker Olly Lambert who has spent weeks living deep inside Syrian territory - with both gov't and opposition supporters - to explore
Britain's Millionaire Criminals
Apr 22, 2013
Why are some convicted criminals still enjoying luxury lifestyles funded by their ill-gotten gains? Dozens of fraudsters, drug dealers and money launderers are still enjoying the h
Secrets of Your Missing Mail
Apr 29, 2013
With shoppers increasingly relying on private parcel companies to deliver online purchases, Dispatches goes undercover to find out why couriers sometimes fail to deliver.
Murdered in Tenerife
May 13, 2013
In 2011, Jennifer Mills-Westley, a 60-year-old British grandmother, was attacked and publicly beheaded in broad daylight in Tenerife. Traumatized by the event, her family have neve
The Hunt for Britain's Sex Gangs
May 20, 2013
Three years ago Telford police allowed cameras to start filming what became one of the biggest child sex abuse cases in the UK. The investigation, Operation Chalice, encompassed ov
Boston, Woolwich & the New Terror
Jun 3, 2013
On 15 April two bombs exploded at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon. Just over a month later a British soldier was run over and hacked to death on a London street. The imag
Diets, Drugs and Diabetes
Jun 10, 2013
Dr. Deborah Cohen, investigations editor at the British Medical Journal, examines a new generation of diabetes drugs that some drug companies hope could also be a magic treatment f
How Councils Waste Your Money
Jun 17, 2013
Councils across the UK have annual budgets in the tens of billions of pounds. But do you know what they really spend it on?
The Police's Dirty Secret
Jun 24, 2013
Dispatches exposes the shocking story of Britain's secret police and how undercover officers reportedly used sex and lies to spy on members of the public. Dispatches reveals the na
The Prince and His Secret Properties
Jul 1, 2013
Last year Prince Charles earned more than £18 million from the Duchy of Cornwall, but how much do we know about this secretive estate? A hugely profitable property empire and the a
South Africa's Dirty Cops
Jul 15, 2013
With South Africa's future under the spotlight, Channel 4 Dispatches examines allegations that the country's police have become a brutal and corrupt force.
Taliban Child Fighters
Jul 22, 2013
More than 200 children convicted of fighting for the Taliban are currently being held in special prisons across Afghanistan. Their crimes include the laying of improvised explosive
NHS Undercover
Jul 29, 2013
Two undercover reporters reveal worrying failings in the new NHS 111 call system. Working as trainee call handlers, the reporters filmed evidence of patients left waiting, concerns
Celebs, Brands and Fake Fans
Aug 5, 2013
Dispatches investigate what's real and what's fake in the brave new world of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, exposing new tricks used by marketers to plug brands, from buying fake F
Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit
Aug 12, 2013
Channel 4's flagship current affairs programme: Dispatches, hears from pilots of Europe's biggest airline about their concerns around passenger safety.
Secrets of Your Pay Packet
Oct 21, 2013
Morland Sanders meets employees at some of Britain's biggest businesses who say they're paying for the bosses' cost-cutting measures and, while profits have gone up, their working
The Property Market Undercover
Oct 28, 2013
Reporter Antony Barnett secretly films the latest tactics used by estate agents to secure sales and commissions and asks whether some agents are even willing to lie to seal the dea
Energy Bills Exposed
Nov 4, 2013
Energy bills are on the rise and in the news. Consumers are furious. The Labour Party wants a price freeze. John Major wants a windfall tax. But the big six energy firms say it's n
Can You Trust Your Surgeon?
Nov 11, 2013
Dispatches reveals that failing doctors routinely slip through the system. We've been filming secretly in GP practices and have uncovered concerning evidence of misdiagnosis by doc
North Korea: Life Inside the Secret State
Nov 14, 2013
North Koreans are breaking down the barriers of the gulag state. Following covert filmmakers, this doc shows real life under the new leader Kim Jong Un, highlighting the contrastin
What's Your Pension Really Worth?
Nov 18, 2013
Michael Buerk investigates the pensions crises facing us all. As the cost of living rises faster than many pay packets and life expectancy increases, he asks what your pension is r
Britain's Big Fat Bill
Nov 25, 2013
As Britain gets fatter, Channel 4 Dispatches investigates what the real cost is to the nation. The programme follows the treatment of some of Britain's morbidly obese patients to r
Secrets of the Discount Stores
Dec 9, 2013
Lifts the lid on the shops promising luxury labels for less.