The BEST episodes of Panorama season 2020
Every episode of Panorama season 2020, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Panorama season 2020!
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme. First broadcast in 1953, it is the world's longest-running public affairs television programme.
#1 - Australia Burning
Season 2020 - Episode 38 - Aired 10/5/2020
Thirty-four people died in Australia last year as the worst bush fires in living memory swept across the country. An area roughly the size of England was devastated and thousands of homes were destroyed. A year on, Panorama hears from the people living in the path of the fires and the firefighters who risked their lives to save them. And as this year’s fire season gets underway, Clive Myrie asks if these levels of destruction are to become normal.
#2 - Lifting the Lockdown
Season 2020 - Episode 26 - Aired 7/16/2020
Panorama has been given unique access in Salford as the city lifts the lockdown and tries to get its community and economy back to work. Following the mayor and his team, this programme looks at the burden that has fallen on local councils and shows the work done by teachers, bus drivers and those helping the homeless. But for Salford it has been expensive. With the threat of bankruptcy looming, can the council provide the support and services the community needs to get them through the next phase of the health and economic crisis they face?
#3 - Britain's Coronavirus Gamble
Season 2020 - Episode 27 - Aired 7/20/2020
Politicians from the prime minister down have assured us their response to the coronavirus pandemic has been 'guided by the science’. But the science has been hotly contested. The World Health Organisation urged countries to stamp out infections as soon as they developed, but the UK government's initial scientific advice said the route out of the crisis was for most of us to catch the virus so we could develop herd immunity. Panorama reporter Dr Faye Kirkland asks whether this was a dangerous gamble with people’s lives or a sound scientific approach. Faced with a growing backlash and warnings that the NHS was close to being overwhelmed, politicians denied that herd immunity was the policy, and within a few days Britain pivoted to a new strategy – lockdown. Now, as we try to emerge from that lockdown, Panorama investigates what those early decisions could mean for our future.
#4 - China's Coronavirus Cover-Up
Season 2020 - Episode 28 - Aired 7/27/2020
Did China hide crucial information about Covid-19 from the world? What began with a handful of mystery pneumonia cases in Wuhan late last year has now left more than half a million dead worldwide. Beijing says it has been open and transparent throughout, but former BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie investigates how it delayed reporting the initial outbreak and evidence that Covid-19 could be spread by people. It also silenced doctors who tried to speak out. Panorama also hears from one high-level insider who believes the animal market at the centre of the Wuhan outbreak should have been treated as a 'crime scene' and from experts who warn that this crisis may be a 'dress rehearsal' for an even more deadly pandemic in the future.
#5 - The Forgotten Frontline
Season 2020 - Episode 29 - Aired 7/30/2020
Panorama follows the unfolding tragedy in care homes as they struggle to protect residents against the killer virus. Over several months, cameras were allowed into two very different care homes, revealing the dedication of care staff, the frustration of managers and the heartache as more and more lives were lost. Across the country, more than 20,000 residents and care workers have died with Covid-19. Reporter Alison Holt asks if care homes were abandoned to fight the virus alone.
#6 - Stacey Dooley and the Lockdown Babies
Season 2020 - Episode 30 - Aired 8/3/2020
Almost a quarter of a million babies have been born in the UK since lockdown began. Stacey Dooley reports from Bradford Royal Infirmary to find out how the pandemic is transforming the way we deal with pregnancy and birth. She meets pregnant women terrified of getting the virus, women giving birth and new mums with coronavirus who have had to isolate themselves from friends and family. Stacey also speaks to midwives and doctors who reveal how their lives have changed in order to protect mothers, babies and themselves from the risk of infection.
#7 - Has Lockdown Changed What We Eat?
Season 2020 - Episode 31 - Aired 8/10/2020
The way we eat is changing – and the way we shop for our food is too. Almost five months after the beginning of lockdown, Panorama reporter Tom Heap investigates the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Britain’s biggest manufacturing sector - food - and looks at how the way we shop, cook and consume has been transformed.
#8 - Escaping My Abuser
Season 2020 - Episode 32 - Aired 8/17/2020
Home isn’t always a safe place. Panorama investigates what the 'Stay at Home' pandemic rule meant for those trapped with an abusive partner. Reporter Victoria Derbyshire grew up with a violent father and understands the impact it can have on families. She reveals the scale of domestic violence at the height of the crisis and meets some of those who managed to escape during lockdown. And she asks if the government has done enough for those who were put in danger by having to stay at home.
#9 - Hostage in Iran
Season 2020 - Episode 33 - Aired 8/24/2020
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held prisoner in Iran for more than four years after being convicted of trumped-up spying charges. Nobody knows how many other British citizens have been imprisoned by the Iranian authorities because the UK government refuses to say. Reporter Darragh MacIntyre meets the families of some of those who have been arbitrarily detained and asks whether the payment of a historic debt could set them free.
#10 - Fighting for an Education
Season 2020 - Episode 34 - Aired 9/7/2020
For any parent, making sure a child gets the best schooling is often a worry, but when your child has complex special educational needs and disabilities, it can cause real anxiety. As most children in England return to their classrooms, reporter Sean Dilley investigates the system for supporting young people with special educational needs. He meets families who, during lockdown, struggled without any support at all, and now, as their children head back to school, fear they may not get the right support to help them learn and stay safe in their classrooms. Sean discovers an adversarial system that was supposed to put the needs of children at its heart, but instead has created what some call ‘a treacle of bureaucracy’ for parents to navigate.
#11 - Exposing the Illegal Organ Trade
Season 2020 - Episode 35 - Aired 9/14/2020
Panorama investigates one of the world’s most brutal trades - the buying and selling of human organs. The programme meets the African migrants who have been exploited for their body parts by criminal gangs. Some have agreed to sell a kidney to finance their journey to Europe, only to be ripped off by the traffickers after the operation. Other victims have their organs taken without consent. Panorama also tracks down the criminals running the trade to find out how they arrange illegal operations in hospitals and clinics.
#12 - Banking Secrets of the Rich and Powerful
Season 2020 - Episode 36 - Aired 9/21/2020
Panorama uncovers secret reports that expose how banks have failed to tackle crime. Reporter Richard Bilton also exposes the business deals billionaires would rather you didn’t know about. It’s the leak that reveals the secrets of British banking. Panorama uncovers secret reports that expose how banks have failed to tackle crime and how terrorists, money launderers and crime bosses are able to use the same banks as us. Reporter Richard Bilton also exposes the double life of the man who funded the Brexit Party, secret deals at the top of British football and the business deals billionaires would rather you didn’t know about.
#13 - Test and Trace Exposed
Season 2020 - Episode 37 - Aired 9/28/2020
Panorama hears from whistleblowers working inside the government’s new coronavirus tracking system. They are so concerned about NHS Test and Trace that they are speaking out to reveal chaos, technical problems, confusion, wasted resources and a system that does not appear to them to be working. The programme also hears from local public health teams who say they have largely been ignored by the government in favour of the private companies hired to run the new centralised tracking system. As Panorama investigates, it has left some local authorities questioning whether local lockdowns could have been handled better or avoided altogether.
#14 - How Scotland Cut Violent Crime
Season 2020 - Episode 25 - Aired 7/13/2020
While the rest of the UK has struggled to contain rising levels of knife and gun crime, Scotland has dramatically reduced violent crime in the past 15 years. But how was it done? Kate Silverton films with Police Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit, which tries to prevent crime by offering more help and compassion to those at risk of offending. They call it a public health approach, which treats crime as a disease. Panorama weighs up the evidence to see whether it really works – and if it can be transferred to the rest of the UK.
#15 - Belly Mujinga: Searching for the Truth
Season 2020 - Episode 39 - Aired 10/12/2020
The death of transport worker Belly Mujinga, following reports she had been coughed and spat on by a customer at London’s Victoria Station, was described by the prime minister as appalling and has prompted two million people to join a Justice for Belly campaign. A police investigation wasn’t launched until five weeks after the mother of one had died from Covid-19 and concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime. Now, Panorama reporter Rianna Croxford goes back over the evidence and asks whether all available lines of inquiry were followed. She also examines claims that Belly could have been better protected at work and hears calls for the circumstances of Belly Mujinga’s death to be investigated at an inquest.
#16 - Sport's Hidden Crisis
Season 2020 - Episode 40 - Aired 10/19/2020
Colin Jackson investigates the hidden world of eating disorders in British sport. Speaking to athletes from amateur to elite levels, he discusses his own problems with food when he was an Olympic hurdler and asks why those involved in sport are far more likely to have an eating disorder than the rest of the population. Speaking to the chair of UK Sport, Dame Katherine Grainger, he asks what the authorities should be doing to tackle the problem.
#17 - Has Covid Stolen My Future?
Season 2020 - Episode 41 - Aired 10/26/2020
Covid-19 has hit the whole country hard, but for the under-25s, the impact has been particularly difficult. In this programme, reporter Kash Jones investigates the long-term consequences of the pandemic on young people. He reveals exclusive research about the impact of Covid on them and the scale of the challenges ahead, meeting young adults trying to deal with the long-term impact on their education, job prospects and mental health. Many are now asking whether Covid-19 has stolen their future.
#18 - Is TikTok Safe?
Season 2020 - Episode 42 - Aired 11/2/2020
Tina Daheley investigates whether TikTok, the social media sensation of lockdown, is safe for the millions of young people who have signed up.
#19 - Liverpool: Fighting Covid
Season 2020 - Episode 43 - Aired 11/9/2020
Jane Corbin finds out how Liverpool coped with restrictions due to Covid-19 infection rates, hearing from residents worried about the second wave, business owners pushed to the brink of despair, and those who say that living under tier three rules just isn't possible.
#20 - Can Biden Unite America?
Season 2020 - Episode 44 - Aired 11/16/2020
Joe Biden has won the battle for the White House. Reporter Hilary Andersson meets the Trump supporters who believe the election was stolen and asks whether they will ever accept their new president.
#21 - Return from ISIS: A Family's Story
Season 2020 - Episode 45 - Aired 11/23/2020
The extraordinary story of one family's journey from a small town in America to the heart of the Islamic State group and back.
#22 - The Home I Can't Afford
Season 2020 - Episode 46 - Aired 11/25/2020
Panorama investigates the government's shared-ownership scheme, designed to get more people on the property ladder, but leaving some with escalating costs and huge debts.
#23 - Business on the Brink
Season 2020 - Episode 47 - Aired 12/1/2020
Panorama follows businesses fighting to survive the pandemic and sees the pressure on those trying to save jobs and livelihoods.
#24 - Britain's Wild Weather
Season 2020 - Episode 48 - Aired 12/7/2020
The UK's weather is getting wilder. This year has been a record breaker, with unprecedented rainfall, sunshine and sustained high temperatures. It's a sign that climate change is already happening in the UK – and it's going to get worse. Justin Rowlatt visits communities around Britain battered by this year's extreme weather to find out how they have coped. With access to Met Office data and experts explaining how hot and wet every part of the UK could become, he discovers a future of more heatwaves, intense storms and little snow for most of us, and asks whether we are ready for the even wilder weather that is coming.
#25 - Race for a Vaccine
Season 2020 - Episode 49 - Aired 12/14/2020
The inside story of the development of the Oxford vaccine against Covid-19. Fergus Walsh scrutinises the data that has come out of the trials, and examines the vaccination's efficacy and safety.