Dispatches poster

TV series

Dispatches

1987TV-PG40 seasons6.5 / 10

An in-depth look at news stories. Documentaries that take you behind the scenes giving an insight into people's lives or institutions.

Availability

Not streaming in United States

Checked Jul 22, 2026

Dispatches premiered October 30, 1987. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.

Synopsis

An in-depth look at news stories. Documentaries that take you behind the scenes giving an insight into people's lives or institutions.

Season 15 episodes

Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.

← Season 14

Episode 1

Bloody Foreigners

'Bloody Foreigners' is Andrew Smith's investigation into the British attitude towards asylum seekers and immigrants who live and work in the UK. It exposes the culture of hypocrisy under which xenophobia proliferates to such an extreme that asylum seekers are physically and verbally abused on a daily basis. It underlines the fact that these very people are working illegally for well under minimum wage, to line the pockets of seemingly legitimate British businesses. Part one reveals the scam behind a government-funded housing project in Liverpool. The owner receives millions from the council for ostensibly offering accommodation to asylum seekers. Yet the blocks of flats are in a shocking state of disrepair, conditions are freezing - not to mention the treatment the occupants receive from the locals. Secret camera footage shows the assault and harassment of inhabitants, regularly inflicted by neighbouring youths.

Episode credits

Directed by Andrew SmithGuest stars Goran Gocić

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Episode 2

Bloody Foreigners: Part 2

Part two deals with illegal workers who are employed by apparently respectable companies as waitresses, cleaners, and builders, to name but a few, without any legal documents or insurance, and paid as little a £20 for a long day. The final section uses hidden cameras to show the trade in forged passports which is rife in Finsbury Park Mosque, north London.

Episode credits

Directed by Hilary ClarkeGuest stars Omid Djalili

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Episode 4

Unforgiven: The Boys Who Murdered James Bulger

The documentary covers the outcry from the population after hearing about the release of the two boys who killed 2 year-old James Bulger in 1993. Presenting the protests against their release from an institution, the film also gives a background about the killers, their terrible violent act and the impact it caused in UK.

Episode credits

Directed by Gerry TroynaGuest stars Denise Fergus, Laurence Lee, Dominic Lloyd, Jim Fitzsimmons, David James Smith, James Bulger, Ralph Bulger, Pete Price

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Episode 5

Beneath the Veil

British journalist Saira Shah travels to Afghanistan with a camera crew to document the realities of life under the Taliban. Filmed just months prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the footage reveals the chilling brutality of a fledgling government made up of radicalized followers of Osama bin Laden.

Episode credits

Directed by Cassian HarrisonGuest stars Saira Shah

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Episode 6

Outbreak: The True Story of Foot and Mouth

A critical look at the handling of the Foot-and-mouth outbreak from February 2001 until June 2001.

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Episode 8

Unholy War

Reporter Saira Shah returns to Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorists attacks. She reunites with three Afghan girls who were forced to watch as her mother was executed by Taliban soldiers. She also tours Northern Alliance fortifications and profiles an aid worker from the United States.

Episode credits

Directed by James MillerGuest stars Saira Shah

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Episode 10

Down the Tube

Episode credits

Directed by Paul SenGuest stars Ken Livingstone, Bob Kiley, Nick Raynsford

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Episode information updated Jul 25, 2026

More about Dispatches

Cast

Arthur Scargill
Gerry Adams
Margaret Thatcher
Peter Mandelson
Bernard Ingham
Ken Livingstone
Donald Trump
David Canter

Production details

Status
Returning Series
Series type
News
Episodes
1,029
Original language
English

Networks & production

  • Channel 4United Kingdom
  • ITN ProductionsUnited Kingdom
  • Bigger BangUnited Kingdom
  • Hardcash ProductionsUnited Kingdom

Themes

current affairsexposeinvestigative journalismsecret filming