What You Need To Know

ITV News

The quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories. Our team of specialist correspondents plus guests bring you information and analysis you can trust so you get What You Need To Know in minutes.

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705 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes705

Newest first

Jul 9, 2025 · 19 min
Who hacked M&S?
How much do you think your personal information is worth to criminal gangs? Millions of customers details were stolen when Marks and Spencer was hacked in April, bringing much of its online business to a standstill for weeks. So how much damage has it done and who are DragonForce, the group the Marks and Spencer chairman said is believed to be behind it? Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Lucy Watson What You Need To Know.
Jul 7, 2025 · 14 min
Is there a glaring flaw in the disposable vapes ban?
One month into the ban on disposable vapes, how much waste is being cut and what environmental impact is it actually having? The all-important refillable pods are in scarce supply, so is there a massive flaw in the rules? Digital Reporter Sam Leader tells Lucy Watson What You Need To Know.
Jul 4, 2025 · 15 min
Amanda Knox: How I tell my kids mummy was jailed for murder
Amanda Knox's every move has been scrutinized for nearly all of her adult life. The murder of Meredith Kercher and the subsequent arrest, trial, conviction, imprisonment, acquittal and release of Knox, then her retrial, second conviction, and ultimately her definitive exoneration by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2015 is a story that has made headlines around the world for almost twenty years. Amanda is now 37, a wife to author and podcaster Christopher Robinson, and a mother of two children, Eureka and Echo, but still - as she puts it to ITV News' Lucy Watson - she is "forever branded the girl accused of murder." Amanda Knox speaks to Lucy Watson for ITV News' What You Need To Know. Full interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RlcpJ_2L3c0
Jul 2, 2025 · 15 min
What is 'Baby Botox' and why is it booming? With ex Love Islander Faye Winter
Ever heard of Baby Botox? The latest desirable injections. Their popularity is booming - young people, some still in their early 20s are buying into the promise of being unwrinkled for life. But behind the satisfying selfies lies a much darker truth: with many risking lasting damage to their faces by choosing cheap deals online. So what is driving the trend? How do you spot counterfeit botox? And who should and shouldn’t do the injections? Faye Winter is an influencer and former Love Island contestant who has been open about her own damaging botox experience. She joins ITV News Digital Reporter Cree-Summer Haughton to tell Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Jun 30, 2025 · 14 min
The epilepsy drug behind a scandal 'bigger than Thalidomide'
It's been called a bigger scandal than thalidomide but one you may never have heard of. For decades women were taking an epilepsy drug during pregnancy, without being told it could harm their babies. How long were the dangers known about - and why weren't they told? ITV Meridian Social Affairs Correspondent Christine Alsford tells I'm Lucy Watson and this is What You Need to Know. --- For more of our reporting: https://www.itv.com/news/topic/sodium-valproate
Jun 27, 2025 · 11 min
Parking QR codes and other scams: how to avoid them
Hundreds of fake companies. Thousands of scams. An estimated billion euros swindled. But just one entity apparently behind it all. ITV News has helped uncover a global scamming network - targeting victims around the world - which appears to use ordinary suburban homes across the UK to hide their operation. Sam Holder and Daniel Boal tell Sally Biddulph What You Need To Know.
Jun 25, 2025 · 13 min
Why 12 year-olds are taking ketamine
When were you first offered drugs? Uni? Sixth form? Well, when it comes to Ketamine - children as young as 12 are getting hooked on the horse tranquilizer. Why are they taking it, how are they getting it and what's it doing to them? George Hancorn tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Jun 23, 2025 · 17 min
Why Antarctic explorers are retracing Shackleton's epic rescue mission
Stranded on the Antarctic ice, their ship sunk - how did Ernest Shackleton's crew survive for two years before being rescued? ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew is on his way to the scene of that mission impossible - more than a hundred years ago. And from penguins to chimpanzees - conservationist Jane Goodall tells us why what happens in Antarctica impacts all of us. Martin tells Lucy Watson and this is What You Need To Know.
Jun 20, 2025 · 14 min
Why the UK can't deport fugitives wanted for murder and child rape
A motorbike mechanic is working freely in London, despite being wanted for murder. Another man was working as a delivery driver despite being convicted of child rape. Both men are from Brazil and authorities there have requested and been denied their extraditions. So why have judges here ruled that would infringe their human rights? How many more alleged criminals are walking our streets, avoiding justice in Brazil and beyond? ITV News UK Editor Paul Brand tells Lucy Watson what you need to know...
Jun 18, 2025 · 18 min
How Israel's plan to destroy Iran's nuclear capability could backfire
We're on Day six of a bitter new outburst of war in the Middle East. A direct confrontation between Israel and Iran emerging from a shadow war that's been going on for decades. Hundreds have been killed, with exchanges of missiles and evacuations from homes in both countries. The world has long worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions and Israel has seized its moment to end them. But with Iran now feeling more insecure and under threat than ever, could it actually have the reverse effect? Lucy Watson and ITV News International Affairs Analyst Rageh Omaar discuss what could happen next.
Jun 16, 2025 · 18 min
Why scientists are tracking penguin poo in Antarctica
A group of scientists are currently on journey to the end of the world in hope of finding answers about our planet's future. And our Science Correspondent Martin Stew is with them on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The only journalist on board in fact. This week he's spoken to prime ministers, witnessed whales and even spotted penguins, whose existence is under severe threat. He tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Jun 13, 2025 · 13 min
Why thousands of energy meters are set to stop working
If you use an energy meter, it could be about to stop working. Hundreds of thousands of homes have a form of metering that will be obsolete from the end of June. How can you check if you're affected? What happens if you are? And why are so many people fuming about it? Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Lucy Watson what you need to know...
Jun 11, 2025 · 13 min
Daylight robberies: How gangs are targeting shops and workers
It's brazen, shocking and becoming more and more common. From thefts in shops and supermarkets, to hardworking people's tools being stolen in broad daylight -- thefts by criminal gangs are on the rise. Why is it getting worse? And what's being done to stop the perpetrators? Antoine Allen tells Geraint Vincent what you need to know... You can watch Antoine's investigation into the organised gangs targeting the high street and tradesmen and selling stolen goods on ITVX following the links below: Click here to watch 'Shoplifting: Stolen To Order' Click here to watch 'Tool Theft Crime Wave: Unmasking the boot sale thieves'
Jun 6, 2025 · 17 min
Why Boaty McBoatface's Antarctic mission affects all of us
Lucy Watson talks to our Science Correspondent Martin Stew in Antarctica as he joins a team of scientists on a vital research mission on the so-called Boaty McBoatface - or the Sir David Attenborough. Making history as the first British journalist to go this far south in polar winter, Martin describes the incredible, but also alarming, change unfolding around him. He also tells of the scientists’ hope that the grim prognosis for our planet can be turned around.
Jun 4, 2025 · 15 min
Michael Mosley's son on his father's legacy and risks of skinny jabs
A year on from his father's death, Michael Mosley's son is aiming to continue his father's legacy. Dr Jack Mosley says that skinny jabs are a "game changer" but warns of people using them as a quick fix, highlighting the associated risks. Dr Jack tells Lucy Watson what you need to know. ----------------------------------------------- If you've been affected by the 'skinny jab black market', please get in touch with investigations@itv.com. More support can be found at itvnews.com/news.
Jun 2, 2025 · 15 min
Halls of horror: Students 'powerless' as accommodation concerns ignored
Imagine arriving at university to find your accommodation falling apart. This is becoming all too familiar with students using privately rented accommodation, which in some cases was recommended by their university. ITV News has received complaints about substandard accommodation, which are being ignored or dismissed. Digital reporter Sam Leader tells Investigations Editor Daniel Hewitt what you need to know. ----------------------------------------------- If you've been affected by anything discussed in this episode, please get in touch with investigations@itv.com. More support can be found at itvnews.com/news.
May 30, 2025 · 15 min
Street Racing: the driving high-speed trend caught on camera
It's causing trouble across the UK's roads. Every night, as soon as it gets dark, flashy cars with loud exhausts, tinted windows and custom plates take to the streets across the nation. Is it the adrenaline? Is it the thrill? ITV News understands that there are hundreds of street racing groups set up over encrypted social media sites like WhatsApp and Telegram. ITV Central reporter, Lewis Warner tells Lucy Watson what you need to know after he spent time exposing the UK's street racing scene and its deadly impact. Click here to watch 'Street Racing: Caught on Camera - Tonight'
May 28, 2025 · 8 min
How mourners are becoming targets of funeral livestream scams
A funeral is meant to be a celebration of life, a time to reflect on lost loved ones. But mourners are becoming targets for scammers. ITV News has found hundreds of livestreaming funeral pages created by scammers on Facebook. Digital reporter George Hancorn and producer Olivia Mustafa tell Geraint Vincent what you need to know. ----------------------------------------------- If you've been affected by anything discussed in this episode click the link to get advice from Streaming provider Obitus:https://www.itv.com/news/2025-05-27/hallmarks-of-organised-crime-mourners-targeted-by-sickening-livestream-scam
May 26, 2025 · 12 min
A green invasion? The 'unstoppable' rise of parakeets
Love them or loathe them, parakeets are becoming familiar to more and more of us, with the exotic birds nesting in thousands of locations across the UK this spring. The UK population has almost doubled in the last ten years, so what does it mean for other wildlife and should the bright, long tailed birds even be returned to captivity? Chris Choi tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.
May 23, 2025 · 15 min
Revisiting the riots: are we still a nation divided?
On 29 July last year, three young girls were stabbed to death while attending a Taylor Swift dance class. Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, were killed by Axel Rudakubana, who was jailed for a minimum of 52 years. A day after the attack, riots broke out on the streets of Southport and over the coming days spread right across the nation. The protests were fuelled by false claims on social media that the perpetrator of the Southport attack was a Muslim and an asylum seeker. ITV West Country presenter, Sabet Choudhury has explored the factors behind last summer's anti-immigration riots by hearing from those who took part and those who have been left in fear. He tells Daniel Hewitt, what you need to know. Watch Sabet Choudhury's film Disunited Kingdom Are we a nation divided?: https://www.itv.com/watch/news/disunited-kingdom-are-we-a-nation-divided/cf4321c