The Cook Report
Encyclopedia
The Cook Report was a British
current affairs television
programme shown on ITV
, produced for the network by Central Television from 1987 to 1998.
travelling the world to investigate serious criminal activity, injustice and official incompetence. But it is perhaps best remembered for its ground-breaking undercover 'stings' and for Cook's trademark confrontations with his targets, during which he (and sometimes the film crew) could suffer verbal and physical abuse. In its time, The Cook Report was by some margin the highest rated current affairs programme on British television, with audiences peaking at more than 12 million. It was credited with helping to achieve numerous criminal convictions and a number of changes in the law.
Amongst the many subjects tackled, the programme has exposed Northern Ireland
protection rackets, baby trading
in Brazil & Guatemala, canned hunt
ing in South Africa
, loan shark
s, the ivory
trade, people smuggling
, drug dealing
, mock auction
s, counterfeit consumer goods
, manipulation of the UK Singles Chart
, war criminals
in Bosnia
and the Russian black market in weapons-grade
plutonium
.
published a series of front page allegations claiming that The Cook Report had faked a number of programmes and thereby deceived its millions of loyal viewers. Roger Cook and members of the relevant production teams issued writs for libel. The newspaper demanded an investigation by the then regulator, The Independent Television Commission, which, after an eighteen month investigation, exonerated the programme. The Newspaper initially dismissed the Commission’s findings as ‘a whitewash,’ but another year down the line, and after key witnesses for the defence had voluntarily retracted their paid-for testimony, The News of the World reluctantly had to agree with the ITC’s conclusions and made a statement to that effect in open court. “The News of the World accepts that neither Mr Cook nor Carlton [TV] nor the editors, producers, legal advisers and researchers were a party to any fakery or deception.” It was also accepted that the allegations were false and should never have been published, but the subsequent short correction was printed on page 38.
The programme did return for a one-off, 90-minute special, Roger Cook's Greatest Hits, on 30 October 2007. This update episode was produced by ITV Productions
and Interesting Films.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
current affairs television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programme shown on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, produced for the network by Central Television from 1987 to 1998.
History
For sixteen series over twelve years the programme featured Roger CookRoger Cook (journalist)
Roger Cook is an investigative presenter, reporter and broadcaster.- Early life :His parents were New Zealanders, but he was was brought up in Australia, and began his career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter and newsreader on both radio and television.In 1968, he moved to...
travelling the world to investigate serious criminal activity, injustice and official incompetence. But it is perhaps best remembered for its ground-breaking undercover 'stings' and for Cook's trademark confrontations with his targets, during which he (and sometimes the film crew) could suffer verbal and physical abuse. In its time, The Cook Report was by some margin the highest rated current affairs programme on British television, with audiences peaking at more than 12 million. It was credited with helping to achieve numerous criminal convictions and a number of changes in the law.
Amongst the many subjects tackled, the programme has exposed Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
protection rackets, baby trading
Trafficking of children
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receiving of children for the purpose of exploitation....
in Brazil & Guatemala, canned hunt
Canned hunt
A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill...
ing in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, loan shark
Loan shark
A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
s, the ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
trade, people smuggling
People smuggling
People smuggling is defined as "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents"...
, drug dealing
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, mock auction
Mock auction
A Mock auction is a scam usually operated in a street market, disposal sale or similar environment, where cheap and low quality goods are sold at high prices by a team of confidence tricksters. In 19th Century New York, mock auctions revolved around the sale of cigars, horses and high quality...
s, counterfeit consumer goods
Counterfeit consumer goods
Counterfeit consumer goods, commonly called knock-offs, are counterfeit or imitation products offered for sale. The spread of counterfeit goods has become global in recent years and the range of goods subject to infringement has increased significantly...
, manipulation of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, war criminals
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and the Russian black market in weapons-grade
Weapons-grade
A weapons-grade substance is one that is pure enough to be used to make a weapon or has properties that make it suitable for weapons use. Weapons-grade plutonium and uranium are the most common examples, but it may also be used to refer to chemical and biological weapons...
plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
.
The one that got away
In 1994, The Cook Report worked in co-operation with The Guardian newspaper on the infamous cash for questions story and had filmed a lobbyist claiming that he ‘used MPs like taxis’ and paid them to ask questions in parliament on behalf of clients. The programme arranged a sophisticated sting operation to see if this claim was justified, but by the end of the then current series filming was incomplete. The Guardian subsequently decided to go it alone. Since the story would have been very tired by the time the programme was back on air nearly six months later, it was cancelled on a purely pragmatic basis. It was the only film out of the 130 produced which suffered this fate.Cook Report Specials
The Cook Report ran regularly for two seven-part series each year until 1997, when the programme reached its 122nd edition. It was then replaced by a number of hour-long Cook Report Specials including:- DOCTORS FROM HELL (24/08/1999)
- LOCKS, STOCKS, BURGLARS AND FENCES (23/04/1999)
- The DODGY MOTOR SHOW (03/12/1998)
- The ANTIQUES ROGUE SHOW (19/08/1998)
Newspaper allegations
Overall, the programme was reckonned to have fared pretty well in the press. A number of the stories it broke were followed up in print and most reviews were favourable. However, in 2000, over four weekends, The News of the WorldNews of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
published a series of front page allegations claiming that The Cook Report had faked a number of programmes and thereby deceived its millions of loyal viewers. Roger Cook and members of the relevant production teams issued writs for libel. The newspaper demanded an investigation by the then regulator, The Independent Television Commission, which, after an eighteen month investigation, exonerated the programme. The Newspaper initially dismissed the Commission’s findings as ‘a whitewash,’ but another year down the line, and after key witnesses for the defence had voluntarily retracted their paid-for testimony, The News of the World reluctantly had to agree with the ITC’s conclusions and made a statement to that effect in open court. “The News of the World accepts that neither Mr Cook nor Carlton [TV] nor the editors, producers, legal advisers and researchers were a party to any fakery or deception.” It was also accepted that the allegations were false and should never have been published, but the subsequent short correction was printed on page 38.
The end of the road
The Cook Report came to an end in 1999 when ITV, which had previously cancelled a number of current affairs programmes made for the channel (including World in Action) was faced with dwindling budgets and had focussed on other kinds of programming. So the Network Centre decided to concentrate its current affairs efforts on Tonight - which, though it attracted fewer viewers, was said to be significantly less costly to make. Roger went on to work on other projects and is also Emeritus Visiting Professor at the Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism at Nottinhgham Trent University. He was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters in 2004.The programme did return for a one-off, 90-minute special, Roger Cook's Greatest Hits, on 30 October 2007. This update episode was produced by ITV Productions
Granada Productions
Granada Productions was a British commercial television production and distribution company. The company took its name from the successful ITV franchise, Granada Television....
and Interesting Films.
Awards
The programme and its production team won eleven national and international awards, culminating in a British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) special award for its presenter in 1997 'for 25 years of outstanding quality investigative reporting.'External links
- Roger Cook Profile
- http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/6511 : The full list of episodes
- http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/21509 : The full list of Special episodes