The Cook Report (partially lost episodes of ITV investigative documentary series; 1987-1999)

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Thecookreport1.jpg

Logo for the show.

Status: Partially Lost

The Cook Report is an ITV investigative documentary series. Airing for 130 episodes between July 1987 and August 1999, it was presented by Roger Cook as he and his crew investigated scandals, criminal actions, corruption and mysterious occurrences. The episodes often contained a "sting" element as key evidence of wrongdoing was collected during undercover research, allowing Cook to directly confront the individuals with his findings. It is alleged that the show's master tapes were lost in 2006 following a fire at a London data storage facility.

Background

Even before The Cook Report, Roger Cook had established himself in the BBC Radio 4 investigative programme Checkpoint.[1][2] His number of high-profile exposures, as well as an unfortunate encounter with a fake antiques dealer,[3] convinced Central Television to produce a full ITV series starring Cook.[1][2] Titled The Cook Report, the programme examined injustices across British society and across the world.[1] In Series 1 alone, Cook tackled the appalling abuse of mental health patients after they were discharged, the grim world of child sexual abuse material (CSAM),[4] and how paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland were extorting cash via offering "protection" at building sites.[5][6]

The show debuted on 22nd July 1987 with an episode titled "Costa del Crime".[7][2] It explored how notorious British fugitives, including Ronnie Knight,[8] Clifford Saxe and John Corsecadden, were escaping justice by hiding in Costa del Sol under the knowledge that British-Spanish extradition requests generally failed to materialise.[9][7][5] Face-to-face confrontations with Sachs and Corsecadden resulted in Cook suffering a black eye and a concussion, the latter caused by being whacked over the head with an umbrella by Corsecadden.[5][9][7] Ultimately, Cook earned the last laugh as Knight, Corsecadden and others eventually were returned back to the UK to face justice.[10][9][8]

Format and Notable Episodes

The programme was famous for two key elements; the first was how it conducted sting operations to gather critical evidence.[11][1] This included capturing footage of illegal transactions,[4] installing a tracking device on a car vulnerable to being stolen,[12] and gaining documents that alleged Gladiators stars Michael "Wolf" Van Wijk and Helen "Panther" Madderson were taking anabolic steroids.[13][14] Cook would subsequently confront connected individuals with his show's findings, in a process known as doorstepping.[11][1][2] Whereas Cook would remain calm and no-nonsense, the put-on-the-spot targets would often turn violent after being unable to honestly answer Cook's queries.[5][1][11]

Two famous examples of this came in the episode "Child Pornography", where Cook exposed how it was shockingly legal to possess CSAM in the UK by 1987.[4][5] The first saw him enter the home of a man called Keith Fraser, who dealt in the depraved material. Cook ordered Fraser to burn his collection before turning the rest to the police for investigation.[15][4] Fraser later received a 12-month conditional discharge and a £210 fine for showing indecent photographs.[15] Cook also travelled to Amsterdam to confront Justin, a "loathsome creature" who was captured on camera selling CSAM films under the counter, a practice made illegal in the Netherlands a year prior. Unable to defend himself upon being confronted at his sex shop, Justin called his boss and the pair forced Cook and co. out via lit cigars and a billiard cue. Cook and his crew were saved when performers of a live sex show also angrily confronted Justin about his reprehensible trade.[16][4] Following the broadcast, Amsterdam's illegal sex shops were shut down by Dutch police and two online CSAM bulletins were closed.[10][16] While Britain finally made CSAM possession a crime,[2] a 1993 episode helped close a loophole that meant CSAM images could be legally stored via a computer.[17][18][19]

Cook's no-nonsense doorstep approach, combined with his willingness to confront criminals despite typically risking serious injuries, swiftly made him a household name.[1][2][11] The 6th April 1991 issue of the Daily Mirror described Cook as "the most fearless crime-fighter since Batman".[20] At its peak in the early-to-mid-1990s, it was not uncommon for The Cook Report to be seen by over ten million viewers.[21][2] This included the episode "Pity Polly", which exposed the exploitative and illegal wild bird trade in the UK,[22] and was seen by over 11.5 million people in 1992.[21] By pretending to be exotic bird dealers, Cook and his crew were inundated with a record amount of mail from those seeking to profit from the trade.[23][21] Cook's popularity sometimes affected his reports; once, Cook's plan to hide in a nearby bush for a confrontation ended badly because he was suddenly bombarded by fans seeking his autograph.[10] Cook has regularly downplayed his legacy in interviews, insisting that he was simply fulfilling the role of a investigative journalist and that his main goal was to resolve injustices.[5][10]

Another notable episode saw Cook interview Željko "Arkan" Ražnatović,[24] the notorious paramilitary leader of the Serb Volunteer Guard aka The Tigers, who under his leadership engaged in the ethnic cleansing of both Croatians and Muslims during the Croatian and Bosnian Wars.[25][26][27][1] Cook travelled to Belgrade for this interview and directly asked Arkan on whether he was carrying out ethnic cleansing, using photographs illustrating the Tigers' atrocities.[28][24] The programme's broadcast in October 1992 - and the transferring of the full interview transcript to the International War Crimes Tribunal - led to Arkan being indicted for war crimes which completely annihilated his ideal public image as a patriot.[26][27] The episode, which marked the first British programme to land an on-screen interview with Arkan,[1] also represented ITV at the 1993 Monte Carlo Film and Television Festival.[21] 25 years of investigative journalism additionally enabled Cook to win the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards' Special Award in 1998.[29]

The Cook Report was not immune to controversy and occasional blunders. Following the show's two-part 1990 investigation into the National Union of Mineworkers' President Arthur Scargill and his alleged mishandling of critical funds,[30][31] Cook was himself doorstepped by Channel 4 Dispatches reporter Lorraine Heggessey and Yorkshire Miners' Association Vice-President Ken Capstick,[32] who both accused him of presenting false information.[1][2] This included the now-debunked claim Scargill paid off his mortgage via Libyan funds, which were intended for miners' strikes.[2][32] The show's November 1994 episodes on cot death, which linked infant mortality to the fire-resistant chemicals contained within cot mattresses,[33] received criticism when it was revealed the programme had withheld its findings until the intended broadcast.[34] An independent study on PVC mattresses later found no evidence to support the show's claims.[35] One of the show's most poorly aged programmes was a 1996 documentary on Colin Stagg, which attempted to determine whether Stagg was responsible for the murder of Rachel Nickell.[36][37] In actuality, not only was Stagg uninvolved,[38] but the police and media's focus on him enabled the actual killer, Robert Napper, to carry out the slayings of Samantha and Jazmine Bissett a year later in 1993.[39]

The Cook Report's final special in 1999 exposed several doctors, all of whom continued practising because the General Medical Council had failed to strike them off the Medical Register for unacceptable conduct. Among them included Dr. Kolatur Unni, a sexual predator; Dr. Wayne Heaven, a serial stalker; Dr. Jonathan Levy, who had caused a fatal road rage crash; and Dr. Mark Lister Patterson, who was convicted for several crimes including selling tons of outdated blood.[40][41][42] Shockingly, the show captured Dr. Unni attempting to sexually assault an undercover researcher.[40][41] The programme's findings led to more complaints against Dr. Unni, resulting in him being fully struck off at the fourth time of asking and sentenced to 18 months behind bars.[43][41] It also prompted a reform that ensured doctors could only be potentially reinstated on the Medical Register after five years of being struck off.[41]

20 years after the show's debut, Cook presented Roger Cook's Greatest Hits which provided follow-up accounts of the programme's most notable investigations.[44][45] In the run-up to the special, Cook also admitted that he received numerous death threats during his career.[46][45] This included a £20,000 bounty placed by gangster John "Goldfinger" Palmer, who was exposed by Cook for money laundering.[46] Hence, the show's legacy remained secured despite facing false allegations by News of the World that some of the programmes had been faked.[47] The show's sting-based reporting would be later incorporated into other investigative programmes like Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator.[48]

Availability

130 editions of The Cook Report were produced.[49] The master tapes were supposedly stored at the Iron Mountain data centre in London, which caught fire on 13th July 2006.[50][51][49] Consequently, it is believed every tape of The Cook Report was destroyed.[52][53][49] Some have questioned why the tapes were placed in a site devoted to storing business records,[52] though Cook himself reportedly confirmed the story in a now-deleted interview.[53] As a result, an independent YouTube channel called Roger Cook Reports has attempted to recover all 130 episodes. As of August 2024, it has uploaded 80 programmes, primarily sourced from VHS and DVD recordings sent in by devoted fans.[49] This included the Arkan episode, which the channel has now made private. However, it was reuploaded to YouTube by Thunderous One.[24] A few other episodes have been recovered by users like Martin Wellbourne and Steve Johnson, including an exposure on loan sharks and the aforementioned Stagg special.[54][36]

Among the missing programmes are several two-parters. For instance, only part 2 of "The Cot Death Poisonings" is currently available on YouTube.[33] Another partially lost two-part documentary is "Putting the Record Straight", which investigated allegations of chart-rigging in 1997.[55][56] The investigation was especially elaborate; the show adapted a 1973 Limmie & Family Cookin' single called "You Can Do Magic",[57][58] which featured Debbie Currie and The Mojams.[56] While The Mojams was a legitimate pop band,[58] Currie was actually a trainee journalist, and, by her own admission, lacked talent in both singing and dancing.[59][55] The show's efforts to promote the faux single, including producing a music video,[60] meant You Can Do Magic ranked 86th in the UK singles charts.[61][56] Though publications like Music Week believed the experiment was a failure,[56] Cook insisted the single could have ranked even higher had the show pumped more money into it.[55] Only part 2 of the investigation has publicly resurfaced.[55] The music video was itself lost media until it was uploaded to YouTube by Love This on 14th January 2019.[60] However, Currie's live televised renditions of the single have not yet been found.[62]

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 British Film Institute biography on Cook. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Independent detailing the legacy of The Cook Report by 1995. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  3. ↑ Cook's famous confrontation of an antiques dealer as part of a Checkpoint and Newsnight investigation. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 The Cook Report episode "Child Pornography". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 22nd July 1987 issue of Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph previewing Series 1 of The Cook Report (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 9). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  6. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Worse than the Mafia". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Cook Report episode "Costa del Crime". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Guardian obituary for Ronnie Knight, who was exposed on The Cook Report's very first episode. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist where Cook discussed the "Costa del Crime" confrontations and the injuries he subsequently suffered (p.g. 105-113). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 26th April 1988 issue of Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph previewing Series 2 of The Cook Report and providing updates on "Costa del Crime" and "Child Pornography" (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 11). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 The Television Handbook summarising The Cook Report's sting operations (p.g. 145). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  12. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Car Sharks". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  13. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Dying to Look Good". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  14. ↑ 16th May 1994 issue of Wolverhampton Express and Star reporting on the Sports Council being set to drug-test Gladiators stars after an exposure by The Cook Report (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 15). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 29th January 1988 issue of Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette reporting on Keith Fraser being sentenced following The Cook Report's sting operation (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 10). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist where Cook discussed busting Justin for selling CSAM films in the Netherlands (p.g. 113-114). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  17. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Computer Porn". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  18. ↑ More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist where Cook discussed how his documentary on CSAM meant the UK finally closed loopholes regarding CSAM possession (p.g. 124-125). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  19. ↑ 27th July 1993 episode of Sandwell Evening Mail previewing "Computer Porn" (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 18). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  20. ↑ 6th April 1991 issue of the Daily Mirror which positively compared Cook to Batman (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 33). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 9th January 1993 issue of Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette summarising The Cook Report's ratings success and how the Arkan documentary represented ITV at the 1993 Monte Carlo Film and Television Festival (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 15). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  22. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Pity Polly". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  23. ↑ 18th April 1992 issue of Nottingham Evening Post previewing "Pity Polly" (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 18). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 The Cook Report episode "Arkan". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  25. ↑ The Guardian detailing Arkan's brutal legacy in his involvement in ethnic cleansing during the Croatian and Bosnian Wars. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist where Cook discussed his interview with Arkan (p.g. 281-284). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27th October 1992 issue of Newcastle Journal previewing the Arkan episode (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 11). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  28. ↑ Rolling Stone summarising some of the infamous photos of the Bosnian War and how Cook used them to confront Arkan about his ethnic cleansing activities. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  29. ↑ BBC News reporting on Cook winning BAFTA's Special Award in 1998. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  30. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Where Did the Money Go? Part 1". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  31. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Where Did the Money Go? Part 2". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 British Film Institute synopsis of the Dispatches programme "The Arthur Legend", which challenged The Cook Report's allegations against Arthur Scargill. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 The Cook Report episode "The Cot Death Poisonings Part 2". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  34. ↑ 17th November 1994 issue of Wolverhampton Express and Star reporting on The Cook Report receiving criticism for withholding its findings on cot death (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 5). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  35. ↑ Independent reporting on an independent study ruling out The Cook Report's allegations surrounding cot death. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 The Cook Report episode "Prime Suspect". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  37. ↑ 25th November 1996 issue of Shropshire Star previewing the Colin Stagg documentary, which included Stagg passing a lie detector where he denied killing Rachel Nickell (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 15). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  38. ↑ The Guardian detailing the controversial actions by police and media, including The Cook Report, on initially pinning Colin Stagg as the man responsible for Rachel Nickell's murder. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  39. ↑ The Guardian detailing how police incompetence enabled Robert Napper to murder Rachel Nickell and Samantha and Jazmine Bissett. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 The Cook Report episode "Doctors From Hell". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist where Cook discussed the exposure of several disgraced doctors (p.g. 381-387). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  42. ↑ 25th August 1999 issue of Grimsby Daily Telegraph reporting on the "Doctors From Hell" episode (found on The British Newspaper Archive, p.g. 5). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  43. ↑ BBC News reporting on Dr. Kolatur Unni being sentenced to 18 months for sex attacks. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  44. ↑ Roger Cook's Greatest Hits. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 The Guardian reporting on Cook presenting Roger Cook's Greatest Hits and how he received several death threats during his career. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Daily Mail article where Cook discussed some death threats against him, including one by John "Goldfinger" Palmer. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  47. ↑ The Guardian reporting on News of the World retracting its claims that some of The Cook Report episodes were faked. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  48. ↑ NBC News documenting the typical sting operation of a To Catch a Predator investigation. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 49.3 Roger Cook Reports providing an archive of The Cook Report episodes and appealing for 50 missing programmes. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  50. ↑ BBC News reporting on the Iron Mountain data centre fire. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  51. ↑ Computer World reporting on the Iron Mountain Inc. facilities in London and Ottawa being set ablaze. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Missing Episodes discussing the lost episodes of The Cook Report. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 Cook'd and Bomb'd discussing The Cook Report and its lost episodes. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  54. ↑ The Cook Report episode "Loan Sharks". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 55.3 The Cook Report episode "Putting the Record Straight Part 2". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 56.3 7th June 1997 issue of Music Week reporting on The Cook Report's investigation on chart-rigging and claiming its Currie experiment was a failure (p.g. 3). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  57. ↑ Official Charts page for Limmie & Family Cookin', whose "You Can Do Magic" single was adapted for an investigation by The Cook Report. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 The Herald Scotland reporting on Debbie Currie promoting her "You Can Do Magic" single prior to The Cook Report revelations. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  59. ↑ More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist where Cook discussed working with Debbie Currie on "You Can Do Magic" (p.g. 339-340). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 The full music video of "You Can Do Magic". Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  61. ↑ Official Charts page for "You Can Do Magic" featuring Debbie Currie and The Mojams. Retrieved 18th Aug '24
  62. ↑ More Dangerous Ground: The Inside Story of Britain's Best Known Investigative Journalist providing a photo of Debbie Currie performing "You Can Do Magic" on live television (p.g. 388). Retrieved 18th Aug '24
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