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!
Investigative documentary series revealing the truth about the stories that matter.
#1 - 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.
#2 - Hunting the Neo-Nazis
Season 2020 - Episode 22 - Aired 6/22/2020
Panorama investigates a global network of neo-Nazis whose aim is to destroy society and discovers that it is recruiting in the UK. Last year, a 16-year-old boy from Durham became the youngest person ever convicted of planning a terrorist attack in the UK, prompting reporter Daniel De Simone to delve deeper into this shadowy world. Police say right-wing extremism is the fastest-growing terrorist threat in the UK and that the coronavirus pandemic may be leaving young people vulnerable to radicalisation. As Daniel investigates the Durham case, he notices certain names cropping up again and again. Working with investigative journalist Ali Winston in the US, he tracks down some of the movement's most influential figures and reveals how the network operates across the globe.
#3 - 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.
#4 - The 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.
#5 - Coronavirus: When Will We Be Safe?
Season 2020 - Episode 16 - Aired 5/4/2020
As politicians decide how and when to lift the lockdown, Justin Rowlatt reports from the scientific frontline, finding out how science can help us defeat the virus. With access to key drug and vaccine trials, he reveals a race against time to help save lives, and he asks when are we likely to be able to return to a normal life.
#6 - Coronavirus: Destination New York
Season 2020 - Episode 19 - Aired 6/1/2020
Reporter Hilary Andersson travels from her home in Vermont to the dark heart of America's coronavirus crisis, New York City. Meeting despairing doctors, health workers and community activists, she asks why more than 16,000 people have died in a city with some of the best health care in the world. Donald Trump insists his own handling of the pandemic saved thousands of lives despite initially hoping it would simply go away of its own accord. But the city's leaders face criticism too. Joining food queues in the Bronx, Hilary discovers how the city's poorest have suffered the most.
#7 - Scandal at the Post Office
Season 2020 - Episode 20 - Aired 6/8/2020
Hundreds of postmasters were jailed or financially ruined after a computer system said money was missing from their branches. Now the Post Office has admitted that its Horizon computer system can make mistakes. But when did senior managers find this out, and did they continue to prosecute postmasters for stealing when they knew technology could be to blame? Reporter Nick Wallis investigates what could be Britain’s biggest ever miscarriage of justice scandal and uncovers evidence of a cover-up at the Post Office.
#8 - Coronavirus Crisis: Europe's Migrant Camps
Season 2020 - Episode 18 - Aired 5/18/2020
Panorama investigates conditions inside Greek migrant camps, locked down as coronavirus spread across the world. Refugees and migrants filming on mobile phones reveal how vulnerable people have to share taps and toilets with those who have tested positive for the virus, risking onward transmission. Strict quarantine is enforced on camps where coronavirus cases are confirmed, leading to some shortages in food, water and medical care inside. Fear of the virus and anger at camp conditions have led to violence. Panorama hears from charity and public health experts who warn that any failure to control the spread of the virus inside the camps could lead to potentially dangerous outbreaks.
#9 - 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.
#10 - 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.
#11 - Has Covid Testing Gone Wrong?
Season 2020 - Episode 23 - Aired 6/29/2020
Is the biggest mistake in the Covid-19 crisis about to happen? As the country comes out of lockdown, the UK needs a test and trace system that can stop the disease from spreading again. So is that system ready to keep us safe? Reporter Richard Bilton investigates the rapid expansion of our testing capacity and asks whether we have got the world-beating service the prime minister promised.
#12 - 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.
#13 - 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?
#14 - Lockdown: How Business is Coping
Season 2020 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/11/2020
Britain’s economy has been turned upside down by the coronavirus crisis. Many companies are struggling to stay afloat, while some have found themselves swamped by unprecedented demand. Panorama follows some of the small business owners and key workers struggling through the lockdown, from the courier whose job it is to collect suspected samples of Covid-19 to the funeral director working round the clock to collect and bury the dead.
#15 - 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.
#16 - 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.
#17 - 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.
#18 - 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.
#19 - 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.
#20 - 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.
#21 - 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.
#22 - 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.
#23 - 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.
#24 - 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.
#25 - 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.