Series synopsis
ITV Exposure is a British documentary television series that premiered on ITV1 on September 26, 2011. It was created by Matan Cohen, Jordan Bryon.
Exposure is a current affairs strand, broadcast in the United Kingdom on the ITV network. The programme brings together six films made by different producers exploring and investigating foreign and domestic topics, reporting on issues and telling human stories.
The series was commissioned for ITV by Peter Fincham, ITV Director of Television and is a sister show to year-round current affairs strand Tonight. It made its debut on Monday 26 September 2011 - airing at 22.35, directly after ITV News ...
Premise
Exposure is a current affairs strand, broadcast in the United Kingdom on the ITV network. The programme brings together six films made by different producers exploring and investigating foreign and domestic topics, reporting on issues and telling human stories.
The series was commissioned for ITV by Peter Fincham, ITV Director of Television and is a sister show to year-round current affairs strand Tonight. It made its debut on Monday 26 September 2011 - airing at 22.35, directly after ITV News at Ten.
Cast and characters
Guest cast
Episodes
This series spans 16 seasons with 91 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 6 | September 26, 2011 | October 31, 2011 |
| Season 2 | 9 | September 26, 2012 | December 11, 2012 |
| Season 3 | 5 | October 2, 2013 | October 30, 2013 |
| Season 4 | 4 | February 6, 2014 | July 15, 2014 |
| Season 5 | 8 | January 19, 2015 | August 12, 2015 |
| Season 6 | 5 | March 22, 2016 | December 12, 2016 |
| Season 7 | 3 | November 9, 2017 | December 13, 2017 |
| Season 8 | 5 | February 19, 2018 | October 29, 2018 |
| Season 9 | 6 | March 4, 2019 | November 17, 2019 |
| Season 10 | 5 | April 19, 2020 | November 1, 2020 |
| Season 11 | 5 | October 25, 2021 | November 14, 2021 |
| Season 12 | 9 | April 24, 2022 | November 14, 2022 |
| Season 13 | 7 | February 9, 2023 | November 13, 2023 |
| Season 14 | 6 | January 16, 2024 | October 27, 2024 |
| Season 15 | 6 | February 16, 2025 | November 10, 2025 |
| Season 16 | 2 | March 8, 2026 | March 22, 2026 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Gaddafi and the IRA Detailed evidence of how the IRA got arms from Libya in order to defeat the British in Ireland. |
September 26, 2011 |
| 2 |
The Factory ArcelorMittal is the worlds biggest steel company and is headed by Britains richest man, Lakshmi Mittal. Exposure looks at how its Czech Republic steel plant is making Ostrava one of the most polluted cities in Europe. Last year it produced over 1,000 tonnes of gases including a dangerous cancer causing substance, benzo(a)pyrene. This combines with other sources of pollution and produces smog, so bad that in winter, school children, the elderly and vulnerable are forced to stay indoors. The Factory investigates the lives of residents in two districts which lie in the shadow of the ArcelorMittal steel plant. |
October 3, 2011 |
| 3 |
Heart Hospital More than a million people are currently being treated for heart failure in the UK and there is a critical shortage of donor hearts. This film follows three patients as they take the long and uncertain road towards a life-saving operation. |
October 10, 2011 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The British Way of Death An investigation into the unregulated world of the funeral industry, with some shocking undercover footage |
September 26, 2012 |
| 2 |
The Other Side of Jimmy Savile Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas conducts an investigation into allegations that Sir Jimmy Savile sexually abused vulnerable teenage girls. |
October 3, 2012 |
| 3 |
No Bribes Please, We're Britsh The Bribery Act bans British business from buying its way into overseas contracts. Exposure investigates what has happened since the law changed. |
October 10, 2012 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Predators Abroad | October 2, 2013 |
| 2 | Forced to Marry | October 9, 2013 |
| 3 | Britain's Booming Cannabis Business | October 16, 2013 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Fashion Factories Undercover The appalling loss of life at Rana Plaza last April exposed the dangers of Bangladesh's vast garment trade to the world when more than a thousand people were killed when a factory building collapsed. |
February 6, 2014 |
| 2 | Inside the Diplomatic Bag | March 26, 2014 |
| 3 | Who's Driving on Britain's Roads? | April 10, 2014 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Britain's Secret Slaves Exposure hears the stories of women who should be protected by British law, but live in fear. |
January 19, 2015 |
| 2 |
The Kill List Former Special Forces soldiers have for the first time spoken on TV about how they hunted down "insurgents" on a so-called "kill list" during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts by pinpointing their location from their mobile phones. |
February 11, 2015 |
| 3 |
Charities Behaving Badly An ITV documentary has revealed hatred and extremist views in registered charities. |
February 18, 2015 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saudi Arabia Uncovered | March 22, 2016 |
| 2 | Abused and Betrayed - A Life Sentence | June 15, 2016 |
| 3 |
Islam's Non-Believers This documentary investigates the lives of ex-Muslims, who face extreme discrimination, ostracism, psychological abuse and violence as a result of leaving Islam. |
October 13, 2016 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undercover: Inside Britain's New Far Right | November 9, 2017 |
| 2 |
White Right: Meeting the Enemy Emmy award-winning film-maker Deeyah Khan joins the front line of the race wars in America, sitting down face-to-face with Neo-Nazis and fascist |
December 11, 2017 |
| 3 |
Who Cares? Children's Homes Undercover Exposure presents the results of a year-long undercover investigation into privately-run children's care homes, examining the standard of care provided and asking where the money is spent. |
December 13, 2017 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Boarding Schools: The Secret Shame An ITV Exposure documentary has revealed the true extent of sexual abuse at the UK's boarding schools, with hundreds of people accused of carrying out sexual attacks in recent years and dozens of ongoing police investigations. |
February 19, 2018 |
| 2 |
Great Ormond Street: The Child First and Always? An investigation into the renowned children's hospital, uncovering why the Gastroenterology Department has stopped taking new referrals for most conditions. |
April 18, 2018 |
| 3 |
Prisons Uncovered: Out of Control? The inside story of the prison system using footage filmed in jails by inmates. HMP Birmingham became the scene of Britain's worst prison riot for 25 years as staff lost control and up to 600 prisoners were let out of their cells. |
June 10, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Brexit Online Uncovered John Ware investigates "hate tweets" sent to MPs. |
March 4, 2019 |
| 2 |
The Priory: Teenage Mental Health Uncovered A documentary revealing evidence of serious failures of care for teenage patients at a high dependency mental health unit - several years after a girl committed suicide by ligature there. |
April 18, 2019 |
| 3 |
Undercover: Inside China's Digital Gulag This documentary goes undercover inside a secretive province in China to provide a vivid insight into how its government is holding an estimated million or more Muslims in detention camps without trial. |
July 15, 2019 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
White Collar Boxing Undercover An undercover documentary using secretly shot footage has raised concerns about the safety of 'white collar' boxing in Leeds. |
April 19, 2020 |
| 2 |
In Cold Blood The programme features new evidence unearthed by Jason Evans, a campaigner whose father died from Hepatitis C and AIDS, including receipts for the destruction of files relating to an alleged government cover-up of the prescription of tainted blood products. |
September 27, 2020 |
| 3 |
Hunting the people smugglers This program goes undercover to reveal the truth about the gangs behind thousands of people being packed into flimsy dinghies to cross the Channel and claim asylum in the UK. |
October 15, 2020 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Secure Hospital Uncovered Reporter Carlo Lavarini goes undercover at a secure hospital in this investigative doc. Are the standards of care at this hospital really as 'world class' as its owners claim? |
October 25, 2021 |
| 2 |
Britain's 'Virginity' Clinics Uncovered Investigative documentary exposing the lucrative industry of so-called virginity testing and repair procedures. Discover the clinics that campaigners condemn as a violation of human rights. |
November 1, 2021 |
| 3 |
The Missing Children Telling the extraordinary and moving stories of some of the children who survived life at the Tuam mother and baby home in Ireland. |
November 7, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Falklands: Island of Secrets A journalist who travels to the Falkland Islands to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a soldier in 1980 uncovers a history of historical child abuse on the island, within a secretive and uncooperative community. |
April 24, 2022 |
| 2 |
Afghanistan: No Country for Women After the Taliban's public promises of change, Ramita Navai goes undercover to powerfully exposes the reality of life for women under their rule. |
May 8, 2022 |
| 3 |
Bodies of Evidence: The Butcher Surgeon How Birmingham surgeon Ian Paterson led patients to believe they had breast cancer and performed unnecessary surgeries on them. |
June 12, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Women & the Police: The Inside Story A shocking expose of the misogynistic culture that exists inside many UK police forces. |
February 9, 2023 |
| 2 |
The Clinic This timely documentary tells the definitive television story of the Tavistock Centre's Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), from its creation to disbandment. |
June 24, 2023 |
| 3 |
Catching My Rapist Intimate documentary following one woman's extraordinary, five-year struggle to bring the man who raped her to justice - culminating in a landmark trial in 2022. |
July 17, 2023 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Trump The Return As electioneering for the 2024 American presidential election starts with Donald Trump having a healthy lead, Robert Moore examines what Trump has described as his 'final battle'. |
January 17, 2024 |
| 2 |
Gymnastics: A Culture of Abuse This powerful film chronicles the fight for justice by former gymnasts who say that they were physically, emotionally or sexually abused by their coaches in the UK. |
February 22, 2024 |
| 3 |
Stalking: State of Fear Victims of stalkers speak about how being targeted has destroyed their lives, and how some women under threat are taking on the criminal justice system to hold the culprits to account. |
May 1, 2024 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Inside China: The Battle for Tibet A missing boy, a culture under threat - undercover cameras expose China's control over Tibet as the ageing Dalai Lama's succession nears. |
February 16, 2025 |
| 2 |
Our Land: Israel's Other War A documentary, told through the stories of an Israeli settler and those of a Palestinian family, that offers insight into the hostile reality of life in the occupied West Bank. |
March 30, 2025 |
| 3 |
America's Veterans: The War Within Acclaimed documentarian Deeyah Khan travels across the United States to explore the dehumanising effects of war and its long-term social impact on America and beyond. |
June 15, 2025 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Faked: Hunting My Online Predator A powerful documentary following a five-year hunt for answers and justice by three women who were portrayed as offering sexual services in deepfake profiles online. |
March 8, 2026 |
| 2 |
In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal Revealing how toxic PFAS "forever chemicals" contaminated a UK town, leaving residents and workers with staggering blood test results. |
March 22, 2026 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ITV1 |
|---|---|
| First aired | September 26, 2011 |
| Last aired | November 10, 2025 |
| Status | Returning Series |