Legendary ITV broadcaster Roger Cook dies aged 83
Roger Cook, the award-winning ITV investigative journalist who fronted The Cook Report, died on 13 June 2026 aged 83 after a short illness, his family said. Roger Cook launched The Cook Report in 1987 and became known for confrontational doorstep investigations that exposed consumer fraud, rogue traders and other criminality. Roger Cook regularly faced threats and physical attacks while reporting, including a 1981 incident when an antiques dealer struck him with a metal bar. His undercover work and high-risk confrontations helped shape modern British investigative television and set the template for consumer watchdog reporting.
Roger Cook got death threats from some of the vilest people in the world. The fact he's died peacefully after a short illness at the age of 83 feels like he won, ultimately. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
rob6He also made a number claims that turned out to be false, ie, He & The Daily Mirror accusing Arthur Scargill of paying off his mortgage with money donated by Libya during the 1984-85 strike. Only 12 years later, did he tacitly acknowledge the claims to be untrue.
Barry R5"His bold and influential reporting style was often parodied by comics including Reeves and Mortimer, and Sir Stephen Fry." ummm and Chris Morris. Ted Maul has that report.
Me & Taylor5Odd that no-one investigates rich criminals any more . . .
RIP Roger Cook - What an absolute legend of journalism.
Gilliganista!™️5Apologies, I had to look him up. It sounds like he served the public’s right to know admirably. www.bbc.com/news/article...
alisoncitrine.bsky.social4He really was, RIP Roger
Jeremy Griffiths2Utterly fearless. We need more like him.
dorsetfella.bsky.social2I was listening to a report earlier from 1981 where Roger confronted an antique dealer selling fake stuff. He said the dealer invited him to 'step outside to talk things through, but his means of communication proved to be a metal bar'. 🤯 Roger got 3 cracked ribs doing that story. Legend!
Sad news. The Cook Report was extreme TV journalism. I've never seen anything else like it. The people and stories Cook unearthed were so outrageous that the first time I saw a clip from one episode I mistook it for Brass Eye. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Chris Baraniuk11No question that Brass Eye riffed on it, of course. But Cook was the real deal! He faced personal injury and very serious threats doing his work. Lifted the veil on some extremely shady criminal activity, and I don't think we have an equivalent lens today, tbh.
Whisperin’ Bob Chuckle Snr2He had balls of steel
