The Cook Report

This U. K. TV series ran from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.

Roger Cook was an investigative journalist who was not afraid to take some really tough subjects.

The show's format was to have undercover journalists investigate a case from the inside and record secret footage. When they had enough evidence, Roger would appear with a camera crew and confront the perpetrators - who would deny the allegations and often lash out at Roger. He would then turn the footage over to the relevant authorities to investigate.

Some of the subjects he tackled were particularly harrowing (child pornography, the ivory trade and big game hunting) and some took years to come to justice (Hillsborough and the contaminated blood scandal). These programmes showed that the people behind the scandals would not go unchecked.

I can't believe that ITV stopped commissioning this programme (for budget reasons). Ross Kemp hosted a similar, modern day programme (Ross Kemp on...) but Roger's personality and tenacity are what made The Cook Report so watchable.