1. Warning Signs

2. Wonder drugs


3. Dopamine Hits


4. Big Pharma, Big Secret


5. Restless


6. Chasing Losses


16 February 2026


When Freddie's daddy Bill is detected with Parkinson's, his medication offers him a new lease of life. He begins ticking things off his retiree container list - travelling, skydiving, golf.


But then Freddie notifications that his formerly sensible father has begun behaving abnormally.


BBC Investigations correspondent Noel Titheradge has invested more than a year talking to individuals whose behaviour changed radically after taking a classification of prescription drugs called dopamine agonists.


These drugs increase dopamine activity in the brain - they were recommended more than 1.5 million times in the UK last year to deal with Parkinson's illness and other motion disorders.


But they have well established side impacts - around 1 in 6 individuals who take them establish impulse conditions, which can consist of hypersexuality, binge consuming, compulsive gambling and shopping.


If these negative effects have been known about for years, why weren't some clients and their families effectively warned or monitored?