Exposure (British TV series)

Colonel Gadaffi gave the IRA enough weapons to turn a militia into an army. Exposure's first film examines his support for the Republicans and investigates the continuing danger of his legacy. Narrated by Paul McGann.

In this episode, ITV mistakenly presented footage taken from the game ArmA 2 as footage of a 1988 IRA attack. The broadcaster apologised, blaming human error.[4] A spokesperson for ITV commented on the error and said:

"The events featured in Exposure: Gaddafi and the IRA were genuine but it would appear that during the editing process the correct clip of the 1988 incident was not selected and other footage was mistakenly included in the film by producers. This was an unfortunate case of human error for which we apologise."[5]

Former police officer Mark Williams-Thomas investigates sexual abuse of underage girls by Jimmy Savile. Five women (two of whom waived their right to anonymity) all state that they were assaulted or raped by Savile.[7]

The programme was born out of an aborted investigation by the BBC's Newsnight in late 2011, on which Williams-Thomas had worked as a consultant,[8] with reporter Liz MacKean and producer Meirion Jones.[9]

Williams-Thomas took a leading role in the programme, having pitched a proposal to ITV after the BBC dropped the Newsnight investigation; he has praised MacKean and Jones for allowing him to do so.[10] He says he researched the piece as if he were running a police investigation and admits that he was worried that both he and the programme-makers would be heavily criticised if other victims hadn't come forward in the wake of the broadcast.[10]

The piece came within the usual budget for Exposure, costing around £170,000 for the ten-month investigation. It was broadcast in a later-than-usual timeslot of 23.15, but still attracted 2.5 million viewers (including time-shifted viewing) and a 23% audience share.[1]

The edition won Royal Television Society awards in 2013 in the Current Affairs (Home) and Scoop of the Year categories.[11] It was also given a Peabody Award in 2012.[12] The programme gave ITV News a platform for extensive follow-up reports on the subject, which resulted in ITN winning the News Coverage (Home) category in the RTS awards in 2013.[11]

The story of Banaz Mahmod, who was 19 years old when she became the victim of a so-called honour killing ordered by her own family. The programme features footage from a police interview with Banaz, who says she is being followed by members of the Kurdish community from which she originates, having walked out on an abusive forced marriage and pursued a relationship with another man.[13]

The programme is a shorter version of the film Banaz: A Love Story, produced by Fuuse Films created in collaboration with Hardcash Productions for Exposure.[11] Banaz won a Peabody Award and International Emmy Award in 2013,[12] but lost out to another Exposure film, The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, at the Royal Television Society Journalism Awards in 2013.[14]

Mark Williams-Thomas revisits his investigation into Jimmy Savile, which dominated the news in the weeks after it was broadcast. Set against a backdrop of the criminal and institutional investigations which had been launched in the intervening seven weeks, this programme features testimony from more victims and explores how Savile ingratiated himself with politicians and royalty.[15] It also considers the question of how Savile was able to gain widespread access and power within NHS institutions, in spite of being unqualified for any of the roles which he purportedly fulfilled there.[16]

An investigation uncovers pressures, abuse and violence - as well as locked fire doors and lies about health and safety - behind the closed doors of Dhaka's sweatshops. Presented by Laura Kuenssberg, who had provided extensive coverage in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory disaster in April 2013 as ITV News Business Editor. This programme was broadcast shortly after Kuenssberg had departed ITN to rejoin the BBC,[20] but she made appearances on ITV News bulletins throughout the day, trailing the edition. It was the first standalone edition in what had been billed as an eight-episode run when the series returned in autumn 2013.

ITV News presenter Julie Etchingham fronts an investigation into forced domestic servitude. The programme includes interviews with those who have experienced modern-day slavery after being brought to the UK. It also considers how changes to visa rules, designed to toughen the immigration system, could be responsible for trapping victims in slave-like conditions[23] and features an undercover sting on a recruitment agency which promises non-existent jobs to foreign domestic workers in return for a fee. The culmination of the sting sees a producer on the programme confront the woman who had been secretly filmed.

The lack of pictures resulting from the need to obscure identities and provide an appropriate visual accompaniment to disturbing cases studies is addressed with the use of still drawings of the situations under discussion.

This edition reveals how real-time information from mobile phones was used by coalition forces to target suspected insurgents during conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the height of the military action, up to a dozen addresses were raided per night in an effort to capture or kill the individuals concerned.[24]

Some senior military figures involved in the operations defend their use and effectiveness, while other analysts suggest they hampered efforts to negotiate an end to the conflicts - perhaps even improving the gene pool of insurgent fighters, making them more difficult to defeat militarily.[25]

An investigation into charities alleged to be promoting extremist views, including white supremacy, anti-semitism and jihad.[26]

This edition explores a condition known as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which can affect the offspring of women who consume alcohol during pregnancy. It focuses on the apparently contradictory advice given to pregnant women in the UK about a 'safe level' of alcohol intake.[27]

The programme features several sufferers of FASD and follows the progress of one child with severe behavioural and developmental problems whose adoptive parents are seeking a definitive diagnosis. They are given access to advanced facial profiling techniques which aid in confirming the condition.[28]

Research is revealed from the United States which claims an analysis of various studies shows alcohol to be a greater risk factor to unborn babies than heroin.[27]

Good Morning Britain and ITV News presenter Ranvir Singh presents and takes on an active reporter role, conducting the majority of interviews, including a combative encounter with a consultant obstetrician.