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Rogue Traders (television)
Encyclopedia
Rogue Traders is a prime-time BBC One
presenter-led investigative consumer affairs television series starring Matt Allwright
, an investigative journalist
and presenter and his side-kick, Dan Penteado
who also works as a private investigator
around Europe and the UK. Rogue Traders began in 2001 and has run for nine series on BBC One
. Allwright and Penteado film and script much of the series themselves, resulting in an improvised, 'on the hoof' feel to the show. An occasional catchphrase used during the show is "We never give up."
The pair secretly film unscrupulous door-to-door tradesmen and salesmen using hidden cameras and actors playing the "victim" (often elderly widows) and then use their evidence to confront them at the end of the programme. They usually use an honest tradesman to provide expert knowledge. Using this technique the programme has "named and shamed" many businesses and individuals who had previously evaded sanction.
Among others, they have investigated the dubious working practices of double-glazing companies, second-hand car dealers, gas fitters, mechanics, roofers, plumbers and domestic rubbish collectors.
Allwright and Penteado originally used a Honda
Super Blackbird
motorcycle to travel from one place to another, and they are usually wearing biking leathers throughout the half-hour programme. The bike has now been changed to a Kawasaki ZZR1400.
In the fourth series, Allwright upped the stakes by using a disguise, being made up as a seventy-year old Welsh man, Roger. He therefore fooled the "rogues" that he was Roger for some time before revealing his true identity. From the fifth series onwards, Matt Allwright
has gone one step further and now has a choice of disguises. He can be made up into 22 year-old rocker Joe, middle aged eco-warrior Bob, the elderly Stan, or Jimmy, a "non-specific Eastern European builder".
On 2 August 2008, a six-part spin-off show was launched called Rogue Restaurants, where Matt Allwright
and Anita Rani
investigate and secretly film restaurants across the UK in order to expose illegal and dangerous practices by restaurant managers and staff.
Since 10 September 2009, a new one-hour revamp of the programme Watchdog
began airing, incorporating Rogue Traders investigations into it.
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
presenter-led investigative consumer affairs television series starring Matt Allwright
Matt Allwright
Matthew Allwright is a British television presenter and journalist who specialises in consumer affairs. He is best known for presenting shows such as Watchdog and Rogue Traders and for being The One Show's consumer advice reporter...
, an investigative journalist
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
and presenter and his side-kick, Dan Penteado
Dan Penteado
[Dan O Penteado is a Portuguese TV presenter best known for his role on the British consumer watchdog television show Rogue Traders as sidekick to host Matt Allwright...
who also works as a private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
around Europe and the UK. Rogue Traders began in 2001 and has run for nine series on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. Allwright and Penteado film and script much of the series themselves, resulting in an improvised, 'on the hoof' feel to the show. An occasional catchphrase used during the show is "We never give up."
The pair secretly film unscrupulous door-to-door tradesmen and salesmen using hidden cameras and actors playing the "victim" (often elderly widows) and then use their evidence to confront them at the end of the programme. They usually use an honest tradesman to provide expert knowledge. Using this technique the programme has "named and shamed" many businesses and individuals who had previously evaded sanction.
Among others, they have investigated the dubious working practices of double-glazing companies, second-hand car dealers, gas fitters, mechanics, roofers, plumbers and domestic rubbish collectors.
Allwright and Penteado originally used a Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
Super Blackbird
Honda CBR1100XX
The CBR1100XX Super Blackbird is a Honda motorcycle made from 1996 to 2007. The bike was developed to challenge the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-11 as the world's fastest production motorcycle, and Honda succeeded with a top speed of . Two years later the title passed to the Suzuki Hayabusa, which reached...
motorcycle to travel from one place to another, and they are usually wearing biking leathers throughout the half-hour programme. The bike has now been changed to a Kawasaki ZZR1400.
In the fourth series, Allwright upped the stakes by using a disguise, being made up as a seventy-year old Welsh man, Roger. He therefore fooled the "rogues" that he was Roger for some time before revealing his true identity. From the fifth series onwards, Matt Allwright
Matt Allwright
Matthew Allwright is a British television presenter and journalist who specialises in consumer affairs. He is best known for presenting shows such as Watchdog and Rogue Traders and for being The One Show's consumer advice reporter...
has gone one step further and now has a choice of disguises. He can be made up into 22 year-old rocker Joe, middle aged eco-warrior Bob, the elderly Stan, or Jimmy, a "non-specific Eastern European builder".
On 2 August 2008, a six-part spin-off show was launched called Rogue Restaurants, where Matt Allwright
Matt Allwright
Matthew Allwright is a British television presenter and journalist who specialises in consumer affairs. He is best known for presenting shows such as Watchdog and Rogue Traders and for being The One Show's consumer advice reporter...
and Anita Rani
Anita Rani
Anita Rani is an English born ethnic Indian radio and television presenter and journalist.-Early life:Rani was born and raised in Bradford in Yorkshire, to a mother of Sikh origins, and Hindu father...
investigate and secretly film restaurants across the UK in order to expose illegal and dangerous practices by restaurant managers and staff.
Since 10 September 2009, a new one-hour revamp of the programme Watchdog
Watchdog (TV series)
Watchdog is a BBC television series that investigates viewers' reports of problematic experiences with traders, retailers, and other companies around the UK...
began airing, incorporating Rogue Traders investigations into it.