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 - 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.
#2 - 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.
#3 - On the NHS Frontline
Season 2020 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/20/2020
Four weeks into the government’s lockdown to save lives and protect the NHS, Jane Corbin reports from the frontline to tell the inside story of a Coventry hospital coping with Covid-19. She hears from doctors and nurses saving lives and dealing with death every day and asks if there is enough protective equipment and testing to help protect them from the daily risks to their own health.
#4 - 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.
#5 - Amazon: What They Know About Us
Season 2020 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/17/2020
In a quarter of a century, Amazon has propelled Jeff Bezos from online bookseller to tech titan. He's the richest man on the planet, and the company he founded is one of the most powerful. Panorama investigates Amazon's rise to corporate superpower and asks whether there is a dark side to our love affair with the company. Former high-level insiders describe Amazon's huge, obsessive data-gathering operation, which enables the company to use what it knows about us to shape not only the future of retail but the workplace and technology too. On both sides of the Atlantic, politicians and regulators are beginning to question Amazon's power and to explore ways to rein it in. But some of Amazon's most senior executives say the company is a force for good, inventing new ways to serve customers and maintain their trust.
#6 - 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.
#7 - Lockdown UK
Season 2020 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/30/2020
Is the disease that’s threatening our families also destroying the economy? Panorama investigates the financial impact of Covid-19. The programme follows workers, supermarkets and manufacturers struggling to survive as food runs short, jobs are lost and panic sets in. Reporter Richard Bilton tells the story of the fight to save the UK's economy from an unprecedented threat.
#8 - Has the Government Failed the NHS?
Season 2020 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/27/2020
Doctors and nurses have been warning for weeks that they don’t have enough protective kit to stay safe. So has the government let down the health workers leading the fight against the coronavirus? Reporter Richard Bilton investigates the delays and mistakes that may have put the lives of NHS staff at risk.
#9 - 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.
#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 - 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.
#12 - 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.
#13 - 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.
#14 - Coronavirus: The Most at Risk
Season 2020 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/6/2020
More than one-and-a-half million people have been told they have to stay at home for at least the next three months because they are most at risk from coronavirus. The government has promised to do whatever it takes to support them. Richard Bilton hears from some of the most vulnerable about how their lives have changed and the people trying to help them.
#15 - 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.
#16 - Britain's Bus Crisis
Season 2020 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/16/2020
Across the UK, bus use has plummeted in recent years. Outside the capital, thousands of routes have been cut and bus pass use is down. The prime minister has pledged billions to revitalise the bus network, but is it enough? Panorama's Richard Bilton travels coast to coast across the north of England to see the reality of Britain’s battered bus network. From rising fares, congestion and abandoned services to hi-tech, green buses and overcrowding, Panorama finds out what people want to see changed.
#17 - George Floyd: A Killing That Shook the World
Season 2020 - Episode 21 - Aired 6/15/2020
Thousands of people have joined marches against racism after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Clive Myrie asks if this event could change race relations in America for good.
#18 - 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.
#19 - 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.
#20 - 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.
#21 - 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.
#22 - 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.
#23 - 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.
#24 - 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.
#25 - 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.