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 2 episodes

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

← Season 1

Episode 1

The Miner's Debate

45m

A question of concern, doubt and safety of mine workers from around Britain.

Episode credits

Guest stars Arthur Scargill

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Episode 2

Waiting for the Consultant

45m

Documentary report which looks at the suitability of doctors' work practices to the needs of the modern National Health Service.

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Episode 3

Danger! Men at Work

45m

An investigation over sexual harassment at work, the women behind it and what had been done to justify as a court offense.

Episode credits

Directed by Dennis Jarvis

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Episode 4

Interview with John Stalker

45m

Interview with John Stalker who recently resigned as Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester. He was removed from an investigation of police and army tactics in Northern Ireland, and has now written a book about his experiences.

Episode credits

Guest stars John Stalker

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Episode 5

Iran: A Widening Gulf

45m

Tim Hodlin reports on Iran and it's current state.

Episode credits

Guest stars Ali Khamenei

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Episode 6

Palau: Paradise Lost

45m

Documentary report on US policies in the Pacific island of Palau and the seeking of an agreement with the islanders, despite their non-nuclear constitution, to bring nuclear weapons to the island.

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Episode 7

Working for Welfare

45m

Report on the US system of making the unemployed work for their benefits, called Workfare

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Episode 8

Radioactive Britain

45m

A report on the Radioactive Substances Act, which permits over 7000 premises throughout Britain to handle radioactive material.

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Episode 9

The Lobby

45m

Investigation in to the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), known as "The Lobby", in the United States.

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Episode 10

Charity Fraud

45m

Report into a number of case histories of alleged charity fraud, which leads to an examination of the loopholes in existing charity laws.

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Episode 11

Single Union Deals With Employers

45m

Documentary about how the big unions present themselves to potential new employers in contests to sign single-union deals.

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Episode 12

Cuba From Inside

45m

A report on human rights in Cuba

Episode credits

Directed by Michael Chanan

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Episode 13

Talking to the Terrorists

45m

Documentary report in which former members of the West German terrorist group, the Red Army Faction, talk about their pasts and their hopes for an amnesty which will let them back into society.

Episode credits

Guest stars Astrid Proll

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Episode 14

Cancer Research

45m

A look at cancer research, and the lack of evidence that there has been much progress over the last 50-60 years. Some researchers think that there is no cure in sight. Why is so little research done into cancer prevention?

Episode credits

Guest stars Richard Thompson

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Episode 15

Freemasonry

45m

The Freemasons have invited cameras into the Grand Lodge at Covent Garden for the first time.

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Episode 17

War in the Desert

45m

The first documentary about a war that has been going on for 13 years in the Sahara Desert between Morocco and a rebel army known as the Polisario.

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Episode 18

NATO's Nuclear Programme

45m

Documentary investigation into the nuclear capacity of NATO.

Episode credits

Directed by Beryl Richards

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Episode 19

Illegal Betting

45m

Documentary report about illegal gambling, worth £400-600 million annually. Hidden cameras are used in pubs and clubs from London to Liverpool.

Episode credits

Directed by Jamie Doran

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Episode 20

What's Best for the Children? : Coventry

45m

Documentary about a model system in Coventry which has been set up to deal with child abuse, and which it is hoped will avoid most of the problems that occurred in Cleveland.

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Episode 21

The Raid on San Fernando: Communist Rebels in The Philippines

45m

Documentary made by Nick Downie about the time he spent with the Philippine Communist guerrillas, the New People's Army.

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Episode 23

The Hashish Connection

45m

Documentary filmed in the Bekaa valley about Lebanon's powerful drug clans.

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Episode 24

Disciples of Chaos

45m

Documentary report about the National Front, which will be 21 years old this year. They now work mostly underground as a subversive organization. Also reports on Roberto Fiore in Italy.

Episode credits

Guest stars Leon Brittan, Roberto Fiore, Leonard Zeskind

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Episode 25

Trouble on the Waterfront

45m

Port employers and the government want to scrap the Dock Labour Scheme, but there is great opposition amongst dockers.

Episode credits

Directed by Alan Hayling

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Episode 26

The Two State Solution

45m

Documentary report on the attitudes of Israelis and Palestinians to the future of the occupied territories. A look at the idea of forming two separate states, however, people on both sides are opposed to this.

Episode credits

Directed by Victor SchonfeldGuest stars Martin Jarvis

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Episode 27

Turkey: Trading with Torture

45m

Documentary report on the continued use of torture in Turkey, despite its desire to join the EEC, which bans such practices. Includes graphic personal accounts.

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Episode 28

Exporting High Technology from West to East

45m

Documentary report about the measures taken by the United States to ensure that their high technology is not exported to the Soviet bloc.

Episode credits

Directed by Jamie Doran

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Episode 29

Tibet - A Case to Answer

45m

Documentary examining the destruction of the landscape, and the rights and religion of the people of Tibet, which has been ruled by the Chinese for 40 years.

Episode credits

Guest stars Tenzin Gyatso

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Episode 30

The Day the Dream Died

45m

25 years after the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, British Channel Four's Dispatches asks the following still unanswered questions: 1) Our evidence points to an inescapable conclusion - this casket is empty. The question is, why? 2) Lyndon B. Johnson - what did this man stand to gain from the death of President Kennedy? 3) Who was this man [at the scene]? 4) Why did all these witnesses have to die? 5) Why was Lee Harvey Oswald arrested so quickly? 6) Who set Jack Ruby up to kill Oswald? 7) Why was it necessary to alter Kennedy's body before the official autopsy in Washington? 8) Why did the Dallas doctors change their testimony the very next day? 9) Why was Kennedy's brain missing at the autopsy in Washington? 10) Why did the Warren commission deceive the world?

Episode credits

Guest stars John F. Kennedy, John Connally, Jesse E. Curry, Lee Harvey Oswald

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Episode 31

The Winds of Death

45m

Documentary report on the Iraqi army's poison gas attacks on Kurdish villagers

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Episode 32

The Battle for Stone Bassett

45m

Documentary investigation into the controversy surrounding the plan to build a new 6000 houses town, Stone Bassett, in rural Oxfordshire.

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Episode 33

The Countertraders

45m

Documentary examination of the growth of "Countertrade" deals - compensatory agreements made between a government and a foreign company to offset the effects of placing an order overseas.

Episode credits

Guest stars David Horowitz

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Episode 34

A Very Polish Secret

45mfinale

Documentary about the previously untold story of a 1945 massacre of Polish partisans by Russian troupes and pro-Russian Polish security forces.

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Episode information updated Jul 26, 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