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BBC Radio 4

News-making original journalism documentary series, investigating stories at home and abroad.

File on 4

White disadvantaged girls are being overlooked, school leaders are warning. Whilst white working-class boys remain one of the worst performing group in their GCSEs, white girls from low income homes aren’t much further behind them. 

File on 4 Investigates has worked with the BBC Data team to compare 2025's GCSE results in England with those of 2019. The team found that white working class girls in England have seen some of the biggest declines in attainment since 2019 - with just 38 percent of these students passing their English and Maths exams. All girls are down by 1.6 percentage points at GCSE but low-income white British girls are down by 6.4 percentage points. Cutting the link between 'background and success' and halving the 'disadvantage gap' is something the Department for Education has pledged to tackle. 

In this programme we examine what is behind the decline for this group of girls and meet school leaders who are working to reverse it. 

Reporter: Hayley Mortimer
Producer: Ashley Kennedy
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Are white working class girls falling behind?

What happens when the sperm or egg donor you choose isn’t the one you get? Northern Cyprus is a sun-soaked haven for affordable IVF. But behind the glossy clinic websites, parents are discovering their chosen sperm or egg donors might not have been used. For File on 4 Investigates Anna Collinson follows parents searching for answers and children wondering where they have come from. 

File on 4 Investigates Sunshine & Secrets: The hidden side of IVF

Producer: Jo Adnitt
Executive Producer: Rob Brown
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Details of organisations offering information and support with infertility are available on the Pregnancy related issues page at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Sunshine and Secrets: The hidden side of IVF

The UK was once a world leader in heart and lung transplantation. Pioneering surgeons attracted patients from all over the world. But the NHS has not kept pace with medical and technological developments and today the UK lags far behind most similar countries. It carries out fewer transplants and a lack of resources mean it doesn’t routinely use modern technologies. Many of the health service’s leading surgeons have left to work overseas in recent years, frustrated, they say, at the lack of attention transplant services have received from NHS England. 

Through speaking to patients, surgeons and experts, File on Four Investigates looks at what the UK needs to do to update and transform this life-changing service. 

Reporter Michael Buchanan
Producers: Adam Eley & Paul Grant
Technical Producer: Nicky Edwards
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

The battle for hearts and lungs: Transplants in trouble.

President Donald Trump won multiple elections thanks to support from the Maga movement - but cracks have begun to emerge in the broad coalition of America's political right. 

The schism first emerged online as Maga supporters-turned-detractors began to criticise President Trump, saying he has failed to deliver on campaign promises they voted for. Maga congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene - once one of President Trump's most vocal supporters - quit Congress last year after becoming increasingly critical of the president over issues such as continued US involvement in foreign wars, the failure to tackle the cost of living in America - and failure to release all of the FBI's files on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. 

But two months prior to her quitting, it was the murder of conservative influencer, Charlie Kirk, which really sent a shockwave through the movement. A power vacuum at the top has been filled by some curious characters, as other activists have fought for control of the space Kirk once dominated. 

And when former Fox News host Tucker Carlson - perhaps the most influential thought leader in conservative America - invited Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes onto his podcast, a vicious debate kicked off which continues to this day. 

Some Maga influencers say they'll welcome anyone into the fold, but more mainstream Republicans continue to call for the rejection of these elements - and are concerned they could cost the party votes in November's midterm elections. 

Warning: This programme features and discusses some anti-Semitic and racist points of view. 

Presenter: Mike Wendling
Producer: Lucy Proctor
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith

Fight on the Right: The MAGA Civil War

As the government’s flagship Employment Rights Act (2025) comes into force, File on 4 Investigates a loophole worrying experts: bogus self-employment. We discover hundreds of workers on government contracts are said to be wrongly classified as self-employed. This we are told is the tip of the iceberg as more employers increasingly choose to put workers on self-employed contracts rather than employing them as staff, without all the rights, bolstered under the new laws. 

Some are suggesting that recent changes to National Insurance have meant more business owners are keeping workers off payroll to keep running costs down. We will look at small businesses where it’s become increasingly difficult to employ staff in the traditional way and find that some workers in hospitality for example like the flexibility that job apps can give them when picking up casual freelance work.

Presenter: Tom Wall
Producer: Rob Byrne
Technical producer: Cameron Ward
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley 
Editor: Tara McDermott

Bogus self-employment - who pays the price?

Sexual harassment and assault on the rail network is on the rise across England, Wales and Scotland but a lack of CCTV evidence is preventing justice for victims in some cases. 

Claire Jones examines how broken cameras and train companies not retaining CCTV footage for long enough has been hampering police investigations.
 
She goes on patrol with British Transport Police on the London Underground, speaks to police and victims about how frustrating it can be when key evidence cannot be accessed and sees some of the newest surveillance technology, currently not available on trains, in action. 

Details of organisations offering help and support for anyone affected by sexual violence are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline
 
Reporter: Claire Jones
Producer: Nicola Dowling
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

No CCTV: When train attacks go unrecorded

Boxing is on the rise with streaming giants now broadcasting major fights and heavy investment from Saudi Arabia reshaping the sport. But for boxers facing money or health problems out of the ring, help is not always easy to come by. As File on 4 Investigates discovers, some in boxing are now working towards a unified approach across the sport, which would help fighters throughout their careers, but can they make it work?

Reporter: Kal Sajad
Producer: Ashley Kennedy
Additional research: Clive Hammond
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Co-ordinators: Ellis Goodwin & Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Details of organisations offering help and support for the issues raised are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Can boxing look after its own?

Virtual Wards, where patients receive hospital care at home, were heralded as one solution to help deal with the bed crisis in NHS hospitals. The system is popular with patients and has had successes, but some health boards in England have put the brakes on and the number of virtual beds has stalled in the last 12 months. Jane Deith meets the doctors on the front line of providing care to patients with acute conditions in their own homes and the people who benefit from being able to stay out of hospital.

Supporters of virtual wards or hospital at home say it's better for patients, saves money and prevents a significant number of hospital admissions. But some doctors question whether the system can make much difference unless it is introduced at scale.

District nurses are the original method of keeping people well and out of hospital. But in the last fifteen years, their number in England has almost halved - down 43 percent. Jane goes out with one nurse on a shift to see the work they do and hears from nurse leaders about concerns that district nurses are overstretched, leading to concerns about patient care.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Paul Grant
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Is the answer to the NHS bed crisis virtual?

File on 4 Investigates: Missing Billions examines the changes to the financial system over the past ten years, including bank branch closures and the digitisation of the finance industry which has led to many financial assets being lost, mislaid or forgotten. It examines the scandal of £100 billion belonging to you and me, but kept by Britain's trusted financial institutions. 

The documentary solves the mystery of some missing church silver, helps a frustrated ambulance worker hunt an elusive pension and hears from the valiant individuals leading the charge to make changes to the finance industry. 

Featuring contributions from: Steve Webb (Former Pensions Minister), Helen Boyd (Reclaim Fund Ltd), Derek French (Campaign for Community Banking Services), Duncan Stevens (Asset Tracing Service Gretel), Tom Storey (Vaults Group), Les Clarke (Assets Recovered Ltd) plus responses from the NHS, South East Coast Ambulance Service, Santander UK and Lloyds bank.

Presenter, Simon Barnes
Readings, Russell Bentley, Olivia Mace
Research, Bethanie Depreaux
Editor, Ross Burman
Producer, Ashley Golder
Executive Producer, Kris Dyer

A Rakkit production for BBC Radio 4

Missing Billions

When a woman reported an allegation of rape against a serving police officer, she found herself in the dock, charged with perverting the course of justice. File on 4 Investigates hears how she went from being a potential victim to a suspect accused of lying. 

Over the past decade, hundreds of rape complainants in England and Wales have been investigated for making false allegations. The programme examines when and why the justice system turns on those who come forward, and asks whether the safeguards meant to protect potential victims are being properly applied.

Producer: Hayley Mortimer
Presenter: Rebecca Woods
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Details of organisations offering help and support for the issues raised are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Are white working class girls falling behind?

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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