Breakin’ the Cycle is the story of two feared London gangsters, Colin and D, who, in the early 2000’s decide to try and escape the cycle of crime by making a movie based on their own lives as gang leaders and drug dealers. But the lines between fact and fiction quickly begin to blur, when they take a star-studded cast and a largely white, middle-class film crew into their world, in an attempt to make the UK’s first authentic hood film. Accidental stabbings, drug dealing on set, and even a real-life shootout. Amongst the chaos, they're faced with the realities of leaving gang life behind, and the constant temptations of their old life threatening to drag them back in. Breakin’ the Cycle is a series about friendship, guns, drugs, money and the sacrifices required when leaving one life behind in pursuit of another.

Early in 2025, BBC Investigations Correspondent Noel Titheradge published his first story about a category of prescription drug with unusual side effects.

People who take dopamine agonist drugs for conditions like Parkinson’s disease or Restless Legs Syndrome often report impulse control disorders - problems with gambling, compulsive eating or shopping, or hypersexuality.

He wasn’t expecting the response. After that first article was published more than 200 people got in touch - that’s me, they said, that’s my partner, that’s my dad.

So Noel started digging.

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

If you have any concerns about medication you’re taking, speak to your doctor.

Mark Steel introduces an extraordinary battle between two activists - a gardener and a former postman - and one of the world's biggest fast food companies. A battle over a leaflet which led to the longest trial in English history. It would bring issues like rainforest destruction and advertising to children into the mainstream. It would also be the moment our Prime Minister first comes to prominence. Ultimately, it's a story which would have connections with a dark and shameful secret at the heart of the British state - something Mark discovers he himself had been the victim of. Honestly, there are conspiracy theories less bonkers than this. Welcome to the People vs McDonald's...

Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

It should be impossible to steal a home, but Sue Mitchell reveals it's all too easy. The multi-award winning investigative journalist (Intrigue: To Catch a Scorpion, Million Dollar Lover) is on the trail of an East European crime group using forged wills to 'take' the homes of the dead , stealing millions from rightful heirs and denying the Government valuable tax revenue. Sue Mitchell starts her original investigation when two sisters are denied their rightful inheritance following the death of their estranged aunt, but soon finds herself tracking a gang that are not only conning people out of property but also linked to cannabis farms, money laundering and the sale of UK work visas. Over five episodes, she goes in search of the gang members behind this elaborate scam and web of false companies, exposing the shortfalls of a creaking system which places countless others at risk. Shadow World: Gripping stories from the shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

NEW in Shadow World: The Smuggler tells the story of a former British soldier who became an international people smuggler.

In this intimate portrait of a British people smuggler, we hear from the perpetrator directly, to uncover his motivations, methods and the consequences of risking the lives of desperate people. The investigation exposes how the smuggling techniques used are still possible today and details the ease with which smugglers can bring migrants into the UK without being caught.

Presenter: Annabel Deas Producer: Hayley Mortimer Sound design: Neil Churchill Editor: Matt Willis Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke Series music: Ambit Sound

The hidden scandal of Power of Attorney - how one man controls the finances of scores of vulnerable people.

The inside story of how ancient treasures disappeared from one of the world’s most famous museums. And how one man believes he uncovered a thief. BBC Culture Editor Katie Razzall reveals how a Danish gem dealer almost single-handedly identified a man he believes had been stealing precious artefacts from inside the British Museum. She looks at why thefts went unnoticed for so long.

What begins as a whodunnit turns into a global treasure hunt as Katie tries to track down the missing gems.

Archive: Sky News Australia

Production on Breakin’ the Cycle is falling apart - actors are injured, the crew is out of its depth, and Colin and D realise their director can’t capture the reality they lived.

As D faces court and confronts the police corruption that shaped his life, he and Colin make a life-changing decision — to finally commit to breaking the cycle, shutting down their criminal operation, and betting everything on film.

Gripping stories from the Shadows - BBC investigations from across the UK.

Presenter and Producer: Lewis Albrow Series Producer: Emma Barnaby Producer: Louis Hollis Assistant Editor: Georgina Savage Sound Designer, Composer, and Mix Engineer: Axel Kacoutie Script Editor: Jason Lewis Fact Checker: Jessica Hatcher-Moore Production Manager: Anna-Marie Batho Production Executive: Letisha Kidza Head of Production: Nicky Murphy Production Support: Emma Wood and Olivia Bouton Executive Producers for Raw: Deborah Dudgeon, David Waters, and Tim Wardle. Business Affairs: Amy Ofori-Attah, Clotilde Leroux, Damian Kent, and Emma Ong. Commissioning Executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

A Raw production for BBC Radio 4