Spotlight - The Babymaker Uncovered
For years, the Babymaker sold hope to thousands of couples struggling with fertility. The prices were eyewatering, but the results were miraculous. Combining cutting edge medical innovation with ancient South American healing, Ruth-Ellen Logan was a fertility consultant with a lucrative business and a devoted following. There was just one problem – the clinic was a scam. Using undercover journalists, a whistle-blower from within the clinic, and testimony from former patients, Spotlight exposed the truth about what was going on inside the clinic and about the woman behind it: an unqualified fertility consultant, giving out real prescription drugs. Hundreds of devastated patients were left thousands of pounds out of pocket and frightened about the potential damage caused by the drugs they had wrongly been given. The programme’s impact was immediate – hundreds of current and former patients have come forward to share their stories. Many of these former clients expressed appreciation of this programme and praised The Babymaker Uncovered for its sensitivity in handling potentially traumatic stories similar to their own experiences. The first transmission was seen by 34.9% of the available audience, including a high proportion of younger viewers and a majority of C2DE viewers. The clinic has since shut down following police searches with a criminal investigation ongoing. After broadcast, the UK’s fertility regulator, the HFEA, issued a statement expressing strong concern about the evidence obtained by BBC Spotlight. The Department of Health and other medical regulators have also announced investigations into specific areas of the clinic’s practice. The programme is shortlisted in the investigative documentary category of the AIB awards (Association for International Broadcasting) and in the British Journalism Awards. The reporter and producer subsequently made a podcast about the Babymaker for the Assume Nothing strand, available on BBC Sounds.
- Festival
- Dungloe 2023
- Title
- Spotlight - The Babymaker Uncovered
- Entry Category
- Current Affairs (Screen)
- Produced By
- BBC Northern Ireland
- Producer
- Patrick Fee
- Directed By
- *REPORTER* Jennifer O'Leary