The BEST episodes of Dispatches season 2013

#1 - The Hunt for Britain's Sex Gangs

Season 2013 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/23/2013

In 2010 Telford police allowed cameras to start filming what was to become one of the biggest child sex abuse cases in the UK. The investigation, Operation Chalice, eventually encompassed over 100 victims, and around 200 suspected perpetrators. The Hunt for Britain's Sex Gangs follows - with unprecedented access - a live police investigation, showing just how difficult it is to secure justice for victims of sexual abuse, especially when some girls were just 11 when they were first abused. Gaining the trust of victims - who as a result of the grooming process, don't see themselves as victims - is key to the success of the case, but it takes months for the police to win their trust and keep them on board as they prepare for the harrowing process of going to court. As the police work with the victims, they begin to understand a vicious cycle of grooming, which starts with flattery and friendship, then moves on to a more overtly sexual relationship, and finally becomes exploitative as the groomers pass the girls around their networks of friends and family for sex.

#2 - North Korea: Life Inside The Secret State

Season 2013 - Episode 33 - Aired 11/13/2013

Kim Jong Un rules the world's most secret and repressive state. But thanks to the digital revolution, Kim can no longer keep the world from seeing the reality of life in North Korea - or stop his own people from discovering that everything they have been told about the outside world is a lie.

#3 - How Safe Is Your Child's Nursery?

Season 2013 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/11/2013

As the government unveils plans to increase the number of children each nursery staff member is allowed to look after, Dispatches investigates whether parents can really trust their child's nursery. The programme goes undercover to expose the shortcoming that means some prospective parents are not able to see a comprehensive history of previous complaints, and hears from parents badly let down by those who are supposed to care for their children.

#4 - The Police's Dirty Secret

Season 2013 - Episode 23 - Aired 6/24/2013

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. The programme reveals the names of high-profile targets spied on by the police. Through the personal testimony of a whistleblower who operated deep undercover for four years, the film examines the ethically dubious tactics of a clandestine unit within the Metropolitan police. Tasked with infiltrating political campaigns and protest groups, it operated under the unofficial motto 'By any means necessary'. The programme speaks exclusively to the women who say their lives have been wrecked after being spied upon; and who reveal how they were duped into sexual relationships with men they didn't even know were cops. One of the women reveals the heart-wrenching story of how she was also deceived into having a child with a police spy.

#5 - Diets, Drugs and Diabetes

Season 2013 - Episode 21 - Aired 6/10/2013

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 for obesity. Millions of prescriptions of it are given out every year, but are they also associated with an increased risk of cancer? The drug companies hope to expand, but lawyers in America are bringing legal action on behalf of some people who claim that their health has suffered. Some scientists say they've found new evidence that suggests there are cases where the risks might outweigh the benefits. Dispatches explores the argument that drug companies should be made to share all their research with the public.

#6 - Can You Trust Your Surgeon?

Season 2013 - Episode 38 - Aired 11/11/2013

Channel 4 Dispatches investigates the case of surgeon Ian Paterson, who is accused of performing inadequate operations on hundreds of NHS breast cancer victims, putting them at risk of a recurrence of their cancer. Paterson also faces allegations that he performed unnecessary procedures at private hospitals on many more women who didn’t have cancer. Reporter Tazeen Ahmed reveals the missed opportunities to stop women being put in danger by his unapproved procedure, the so-called cleavage sparing mastectomy. Paterson is currently suspended and is facing four separate investigations. In a health system which is supposed to be increasingly transparent, Tazeen asks why it took seventeen years to stop this surgeon.

#7 - How Councils Waste Your Money

Season 2013 - Episode 22 - Aired 6/17/2013

Councils across the UK have annual budgets in the tens of billions of pounds. But do you know what they really spend it on? About 60 per cent of council budgets come from central government, with the remainder raised by business rates and council tax payers. Much of this is spent on vital and valuable services such as social care and education. But an investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches reveals some spending that local authorities across the UK wished you didn't know about, from expensive cars to foreign trips and from five-star hotels to golf lessons. The programme's findings are based on hundreds of Freedom of Information requests, which offer a glimpse into how councils spend our money. Reporter Antony Barnett interviews Lord Hanningfield about his extravagant spending during his time as the Essex council leader. The programme reveals the councillor who lives 70 miles from his constituents but whose party still claims an allowance, and also discloses the millions spent on gagging council workers so they don't spill the beans.

#8 - The Prince and His Secret Properties

Season 2013 - Episode 24 - Aired 7/1/2013

In 2012 Prince Charles earned more than £18 million from the Duchy of Cornwall, but how much do we know about this secretive estate? A Channel 4 Dispatches investigation reveals the scale of its hugely profitable property empire and looks at the amount of tax Prince Charles is paying. As the heir to the throne, Prince Charles inherited the Duchy of Cornwall: a vast array of farming, residential and commercial land and properties, as well as a multi-million-pound financial investment portfolio. Each year the duchy helps fund Prince Charles' princely lifestyle. While the duchy's public image is one of rolling countryside estates, organic farms and classical architecture and environment, some of its investments tell a rather different story. Reporter Antony Barnett takes a royal tour of some surprising properties that the duchy might prefer you not to know about. With the tax arrangements of wealthy individuals and major corporations making headline news, these Dispatches findings come as Parliament's Public Accounts Committee prepares to launch its own inquiry into why, unlike other commercial businesses, the duchy does not pay corporation tax or capital gains tax.

#9 - Murdered in Tenerife

Season 2013 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/13/2013

In 2011, Jennifer Mills-Westley, a 60-year-old British grandmother, was attacked and publicly beheaded in broad daylight in Tenerife. Her case was reported across the world. What is much less well known is that her killer had twice been admitted to an NHS psychiatric unit in Wales and twice released, the last time just months before the killing. Dispatches follows Jennifer's two daughters in their quest for answers, both in the UK and Tenerife, where the judge in the trial allowed Dispatches cameras into court.

#10 - South Africa's Dirty Cops

Season 2013 - Episode 25 - Aired 7/15/2013

Channel 4 Dispatches examines allegations that South Africa's police have become a brutal and corrupt force. Reporter Inigo Gilmore investigates CCTV and mobile phone footage, which, critics say, show officers beating and torturing suspects. He also interviews a 14-year-old boy who alleges he was tortured at the hands of the police. With a wave of anti-government civil protests routinely and brutally suppressed by the police, Gilmore explores the problematic relationship between those employed to serve and protect and their political masters. He speaks to the wife of Andries Tatane, an activist whose killing by police was caught on camera, and reveals compelling new evidence of the police's role during and after the Marikana massacre when 34 miners were shot and killed by police in 2012. Dispatches explores fears that under the African National Congress party - synonymous with Nelson Mandela and the struggle for freedom - the rainbow nation's police force have come to increasingly mirror the actions of its apartheid predecessor.

#11 - Taliban Child Fighters

Season 2013 - Episode 26 - Aired 7/22/2013

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 devices, ambush and the preparation of suicide missions. Dispatches has had unique access to meet the captured child fighters, to document their experiences and tell their stories.

#12 - NHS Undercover

Season 2013 - Episode 27 - Aired 7/29/2013

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 about training, and staff shortages.

#13 - Celebs, Brands and Fake Fans

Season 2013 - Episode 28 - Aired 8/5/2013

In this one hour special Dispatches goes undercover to investigate what’s real and what’s fake in the brave new world of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter

#14 - Ryanair: Secrets from the Cockpit

Season 2013 - Episode 29 - Aired 8/12/2013

Channel 4's flagship current affairs strand hears from pilots of Europe's biggest airline about their concerns around passenger safety. In interviews with reporter Seyi Rhodes, serving Ryanair pilots reveal their worries over Ryanair's fuel policy and pilot working conditions. Rhodes also examines the events of one evening last year when three diverted Ryanair planes radioed 'mayday' over an airport in Valencia in Spain.

#15 - The Paedophile MP: How Cyril Smith Got Away with It

Season 2013 - Episode 30 - Aired 9/12/2013

#16 - Secrets of Your Pay Packet

Season 2013 - Episode 31 - Aired 10/21/2013

#17 - The Property Market Undercover

Season 2013 - Episode 32 - Aired 10/28/2013

#18 - What's Your Pension Really Worth?

Season 2013 - Episode 35 - Aired 11/18/2013

#19 - Britain's Big Fat Bill

Season 2013 - Episode 36 - Aired 11/25/2013

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 reveal the spiralling cost to the NHS. Having to spend money on everything from bigger chairs and beds to expensive medication and dialysis means obesity is now costing the NHS over £5 billion a year. One solution could be weight loss surgery, a procedure that could transform up to 250,000 people's lives and save the taxpayer huge amounts of money. But Dispatches reveals that NHS England's reforms, intended to create uniform access to life-changing, money-saving operations, are in fact expected to lead to fewer rather than more procedures, a situation that could cause misery to some of the country's sickest patients.

#20 - Secrets of the Discount Stores

Season 2013 - Episode 37 - Aired 12/9/2013

Can you really buy big brand names on the cheap? Dispatches lifts the lid on the shops promising luxury labels for less. From factory malls and outlet villages to high street chains, bagging a bargain has become big business during the recession. But are the discounts sometimes too good to be true? Reporter Harry Wallop takes a closer look and asks if consumers are really getting the real deal.

#21 - Energy Bills Exposed

Season 2013 - Episode 34 - Aired 11/4/2013

60% of us have never switched energy provider. In this clip, we meet Elaine who's been with hers for 38 years... Harry Wallop investigates the big six: their market, their methods and your money. Dispatches looks at the impact of the rising fuel costs and what you need to know about cutting your bill.

#22 - Death on the Wards

Season 2013 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/4/2013

Dispatches investigates the truth behind allegations that tens of thousands of seriously ill people have been put on a pathway to death - likened to legalised euthanasia - and claims from families that doctors have callously killed off patients who could have had months or even years to live.

#23 - Secrets of Your Car Insurance

Season 2013 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/7/2013

Dispatches reveals the secrets of car insurance that all drivers should know. Harry Wallop investigates claims that major insurers cash in when you have a crash, through maximising profits, lucrative referral fees and rebate deals, sometimes at the expense of doing what's best for you and your car.

#24 - Sharing Mum and Dad

Season 2013 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/14/2013

Today, one in three children in the UK grow up in a home with only one parent. But are we doing what's best for the children of separated parents? Dispatches follows presenter Tim Lovejoy, a divorced father of two, as he investigates the current situation surrounding shared parenting following divorce or separation. Tim speaks hears a wide range of voices and explores the psychological effects of parental separation on children, talking to teenagers about their personal experiences. The programme investigates the roles of mums and dads in 2013, asking whether current legislation in this area is up-to-date with the way in which modern families operate, and exploring different ways of sharing parenting post-separation. Tim uses social media to generate debate, much of it incorporated into the film. And, in a first for Dispatches, Channel 4 is showing behind-the-scenes clips of the production process online, to help inform the debate.

#25 - Secrets of Your Supermarket Shop

Season 2013 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/21/2013

As food prices rise, what's the best way to reduce your weekly bill at the supermarket? Channel 4 Dispatches conducts a nationwide fruit and veg experiment to find out if you could save money by heading to the market stall, the shop next door, or even just a different branch of the same supermarket down the road. Reporter Tazeen Ahmad investigates the startling rise of supermarket convenience stores, and asks: are we paying a fair price for on-your-doorstep convenience, or are we being taken for a ride? Fruit and veg is being especially hard hit by food price rises, and we're now eating less and less of the good stuff. So what's the government's solution? To get the supermarkets involved. Dispatches looks at the government's plans to encourage the supermarkets to persuade us to eat more healthily. Will its flagship policy really change our eating habits for the better?