Doctors from Hell

The Cook Report, ITV, 9 00 pm Tuesday 24 August

“Would you let any of them treat you?” challenges Roger Cook, after reeling off a list of “doctors from hell,” and quickly provides the answer: “Tonight we go undercover to examine the scandal of the doctors you'd never want to treat you or your family.”

Cook is an avenging angel of gargantuan proportions, and crooks and swindlers of every hue are his target. Why, then, should miscreant doctors be spared? Lulled into a soft admission or compromising position, Cook's quarry seldom know what to do when confronted by his robust inquisition and a microphone thrust in their direction. Fight or flight? Silence is the usual answer, but the verbal battering from Cook leaves little doubt as to the culpability of the accused.

His huge frame undoubtedly helps—usually deterring a direct assault, although Cook has taken blows in the past. Little matter, it all makes for great television, and Cook knows he can push his trial by camera to the limit. The other advantage of …