So - some big changes...Watchdog on The One Show!

Hey all!

Interesting times over the last few months, charting a change from Watchdog and Rogue Traders having their own slot, into being part of the One Show.

It’s been a really good move. As twelve hour-long shows a year, six in Spring and six in Autumn, Watchdog’s power to achieve proper, positive change was severely limited. All a company had to do was to sit it out and ignore the bad publicity until we went away again.

They don’t have that luxury any more. We’re on their case all year round, with an audience which has a real passion for our stories, and plenty of new material for Nikki Fox and me to get stuck into. I will always want more time and focus on journalism which I believe can change lives for good, but under the current restrictions this is a great platform for getting those stories out, and chasing them like a terrier, week after week. We’ve got a great team that knows these stories inside out, Alex and the One Show crew are consistently brilliant.

We are already breaking stories. We were the first to recognise that travel companies were leaving customers unprotected by issuing vouchers in exchange for their ATOL- protected holidays. As the first companies go bust in COVID-19, it’s a test of the country’s leadership to see whether those customers will be left out in the cold. We’ve also looked at wedding companies, home deliveries, school exams and trips and broadband speeds to name a few, and kept up the pressure to improve the service we’re all getting in all these areas.

None of these stories happens without you getting in touch, and it’s no lie to say that I’ve noticed a real upswing in the numbers of people doing just that since the shift to Wednesday One Shows. That can only be a good thing, and I want to use this to improve things wherever we can.

Thanks for your support and loyalty.

Stay safe,

Matt

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