Inside Britain's Children's Services

In a unique and important investigation, Dispatches has gone undercover inside one of Britain's largest and worst performing children's services departments, where social workers are battling to keep vulnerable children safe. For several years, Birmingham City Council's Children's Services has been criticised for failing children, and in 2013 was described by Ofsted's Chief Inspector as a 'national disgrace'. Birmingham has faced 27 serious case reviews over the last 10 years. Earlier this month, a woman was found guilty of brutally murdering 18-month old baby Keegan Downer, who Birmingham's Children's Services had placed with her after Keegan was removed from her drug-addicted birth mother. Keegan is just the latest of several children killed in the city in recent years by those supposed to be caring for them. Birmingham City Council has insisted that sorting out its Children's Services is a top priority, and claims that substantial improvements have been made.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows

The Bold and the Beautiful
They created a dynasty where passion rules, they are the Forresters, the first name in Fashion. The Bold and the Beautiful, a world of fashion, glamor and romance. A place where power, money and success are there for the taking in a city where dreams really do come true. Follow the lives and loves of the Forresters on The Bold and the Beautiful...

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Jimmy Carr hosts as Sean Lock and Jon Richardson play the words and numbers game.

Murder Most Puzzling
When a strange murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury. The local police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body.
With their case going nowhere, they turn reluctantly to Cora Felton, a recent arrival in Bakerbury; whose fame as the eponymous Puzzle Lady suggests she can help DCI Hooper and the Bakerbury police solve its first murder case. But the eccentric Cora isn't who she claims to be, and as she throws herself into a murder case that has the town's residents baffled, she starts to gather allies and enemies in equal measure.

My Life Is Murder
Investigator Alexa Crowe, cannot help fighting the good fight – whether it is solving murders or combatting the small frustrations of everyday life. Fearless and unapologetic, Alexa's unique skills and insights into the darker quirks of human nature, allows her to provoke, comfort and push the right buttons as she unravels the truth behind the most baffling of crimes.