S6 E1 • Saudi Arabia Uncovered

Access to an underground network of young activists helps to reveal the hidden reality of life in Saudi Arabia, one of the world's strictest and most secretive regimes. Footage sheds light on largely unseen corners of life in the Kingdom, focusing on prisons in chaos, poverty on the streets and the religious police enforcing fundamentalism. Combining shocking undercover footage and heartbreaking personal stories with interviews from senior British and American figures, the film asks whether it is time to reassess our relationship with Saudi Arabia.

Première diffusion : 22 mars 2016

S6 E2 • Abused & Betrayed: A Life Sentence

Exposure talks to those who have kept their childhood sexual abuse by someone trusted in their family circle a secret for decades. Among them are two women who talk of being groomed and abused by the late MP and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud. Presented by Julie Etchingham.

Première diffusion : 15 juin 2016

S6 E3 • Islam's Non-Believers

"I remember saying to my mum, ‘I don't think I believe in God any more,' And her saying, ‘You can't tell anybody else because they'll kill you, we are obliged to kill ex-Muslims,' and that it would put me at extreme risk if anybody else was to find out, so that conversation ended there." - Sadia, a former Muslim This new documentary in the Exposure current affairs strand investigates the lives of ex-Muslims, who face extreme discrimination, ostracism, psychological abuse and violence as a result of leaving Islam. Featuring contributions from British and Bangladeshi ex-Muslims, Islam's Non-Believers paints a vivid picture of the dangers facing those who renounce their faith. Some are at risk of suicide, or self-harm, or have been physically and psychologically abused by their closest family members. Most are terrified of being shunned by their own family and friends if their true beliefs become known. Made by award-winning film-maker Deeyah Khan, who also directed the acclaimed Jihad - A British Story and Banaz: An Honour Killing for ITV, the programme finds that many young British ex-Muslims live in the shadows hiding their true beliefs, running huge risks if they ‘come out' as atheists within their religious communities. Some of those who speak in the programme have asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. The film follows the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, a volunteer support group led by Iranian-born activist Maryam Namazie which supports ex-Muslims, often referred to as apostates or unbelievers, both in the UK and abroad. Maryam says: "They see us as people who are troublemakers, deviants, apostates and blasphemers… There is nothing, nothing more intolerant than religion." One ex-Muslim, Sadia, talks about her brother Razaa, who killed himself. She says it was partly because he felt sidelined and misunderstood by his community all his life, one reason being his atheism. She says: "I feel like when you leave Islam, your intelligence gets attacked. They make you feel like you're stupid for making such a decision, which he felt like his entire life. Leaving Islam, becoming an ex-Muslim, all of a sudden you feel like you're dirty, and you become unimportant within the community." Dr Omer El-Hamdoon from the Muslim Association of Britain says people can leave the religion of their own free will and should not be punished. But he says it is not surprising that those who do leave are shunned. He says: "The Muslim community is a community based on religion, so if a person chooses to stop being a Muslim they can't really expect that the Muslim community is still going to say to them, ‘You are still part of our community.'" The programme also reports on how the danger for ex-Muslims who live in Islamic countries can be even higher. Apostasy carries the death penalty in a dozen Islamic countries. Atheists face a double threat - persecution by their own government, and the risk of murder at the hands of Islamist gangs. Bonya Ahmed, whose writer and blogger husband Avijit Roy was brutally killed in the streets of Bangladesh, speaks about the attack and how she is trying to rebuild her life in America. Avijit was murdered because he spoke out against religious fundamentalism. They are just two of many atheist bloggers and intellectuals who have been attacked by Islamist gangs wielding machetes in Bangladesh. Also featured is an international network of atheist writers, bloggers, academics, intellectuals and artists who form a resistance movement against what they see as the growing oppression, violence and political power of Islamic fundamentalists. Many live in Muslim countries where leaving Islam carries the risk of prosecution and discrimination. Arif Rehman, a Bangladeshi blogger now in hiding in London, says he sees bloggers as a resistance movement against religious extremism. He says: "When we started writing in 2006, we did not think the people would be killed over this. And in 2013 our first colleague Ahmed Rajab Haidar, he was an architect, was hacked to death in front of his house. That was the first time we realised this was real this could potentially happen." The programme finds that a number of senior British Bangladeshi imams, mainstream figures in society, have called for the execution of atheist bloggers in Bangladesh, claiming they have insulted Islam, and making a number of anti-atheist statements. Imad Habib, from Maryam's organisation, is filmed on his way to help two girls escape from their Muslim family while they are on holiday in London. He says he had undertaken a similar journey - after he came out publicly as an ex-Muslim, he had to leave Morocco to escape prosecution by the authorities and attacks by religious extremists. He says: "First of all you suffer, you suffer, there is no one to help you, if you speak out at any moment you are going to be at risk, you speak out you feel afraid that anyone might find out who you are really, it is a really risky journey that those people take." This documentary sees how ex-Muslims continue to struggle to be heard and to express themselves, with radical Islamist protesters often trying to shut down their talks and events. Deeyah identifies these as a part of a growing international movement which is confronting radical Islam both in the UK and the Islamic world. Maryam says they remain defiant: "The internet and social media is doing to Islam what the printing press did in the past to Christianity, because it's one way in which masses of people can connect with each other, can hear ideas that are taboo and forbidden."

Première diffusion : 13 octobre 2016

S6 E4 • Britain's Adoption Scandal: Breaking The Silence

In the 30 years after the Second World War, half a million women had a child adopted – most were babies born to unmarried mothers. This documentary special in the Exposure strand reveals the stories of some of the many thousands of women pressured by Church and State into giving up their babies for adoption. Decades later, women are breaking the silence to tell the truth about this injustice.

Première diffusion : 9 novembre 2016

S6 E5 • Undercover: Life and Death in a Homeless Hostel

This new documentary in the Exposure current affairs strand goes undercover to investigate the troubled world of supported housing. Footage secretly filmed in hostels for vulnerable people around Britain finds filthy living conditions, and inadequate support for residents. Produced by Hardcash, who made the acclaimed Saudi Arabia Uncovered, Charities Behaving Badly and Banaz: An Honour Killing for ITV, this programme reveals troubling evidence of neglect, and the death of a former policeman in a homeless hostel.

Première diffusion : 10 novembre 2016

S6 E6 • Hillsborough: Smears, Survivors & The Search For Truth

Nearly three decades after the Hillsborough disaster, reporter Peter Marshall - who was there on the day 96 people died - examines new evidence behind some of the shocking headlines and stories that smeared the Liverpool fans in 1989. In a special edition, this documentary in the Exposure strand also investigates concerns about how survivors, witnesses and their testimony were treated.

Première diffusion : 12 décembre 2016