Roger Cook, the investigative journalist best known for the ITV current affairs programme The Cook Report, has died at the age of 83, his family has confirmed.
Early Life and Career
Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Cook began his broadcasting career there before relocating to the United Kingdom in 1968. He created the BBC Radio 4 show Checkpoint in the 1970s, which established his distinctive style of investigative journalism, characterised by confronting and exposing criminals and conmen.
Cook is credited with pioneering the television doorstep confrontation format, which later became a staple of on-screen news reporting.
Family Statement
Cook's family announced that he died peacefully on Saturday after a short illness. In a statement, they said: "Alongside a distinguished and award winning career in journalism, Roger was first and foremost a beloved husband and father. He will be deeply missed by all of us, and we ask for privacy as we navigate this difficult loss."
The Cook Report and Notable Investigations
In 1981, while reporting for BBC Newsnight, Cook was beaten with a metal bar by an antiques dealer he had exposed through an undercover investigation. He later brought his journalism to television screens with The Cook Report, which launched on ITV in 1987 and ran until 1999. Over 16 series, the show attracted up to 12 million viewers at its peak and exposed a wide range of corruption and injustice.
Notable investigations included programmes on protection rackets in Northern Ireland, the adoption trade in Guatemala, and the infected blood scandal. His undercover stings led to police investigations and criminal convictions, including an exposé on a money laundering scheme by notorious criminal Johnny "Goldfinger" Palmer, which contributed to an eight-year jail sentence for timeshare fraud.
Awards and Legal Battles
In 1997, Cook received a special Bafta award for 25 years of outstanding investigative reporting. He later became a target of the tabloid press and sued the News of the World in 2000 over claims that he had faked scenes in his programmes. He settled the libel action two years later after the newspaper admitted its reporting was wrong.
Tributes
ITV paid tribute, stating: "In a career spanning an incredible five decades, Roger Cook's ground-breaking approach to investigative journalism made him one of broadcasting's most trusted and respected figures. On his eponymous current affairs programme, The Cook Report, Roger worked tirelessly to expose criminal wrongdoing and injustice, helping to drive important and lasting changes in the law. His fearless contribution to journalism will long be remembered."
