1. Indication

2. Wonder drugs


3. Dopamine Hits


4. Big Pharma, Big Secret


5. Restless


6. Chasing Losses


16 February 2026


When Freddie's papa Bill is diagnosed with Parkinson's, his medication provides him a brand-new lease of life. He begins ticking things off his retiree container list - taking a trip, skydiving, golf.


But then Freddie notifications that his formerly practical daddy has begun acting unusually.


BBC Investigations reporter Noel Titheradge has actually spent more than a year speaking with people whose behaviour altered radically after taking a classification of prescription drugs called dopamine agonists.


These drugs improve dopamine activity in the brain - they were more than 1.5 million times in the UK in 2015 to deal with Parkinson's disease and other motion disorders.


But they have well established negative effects - around 1 in 6 people who take them establish impulse control disorders, which can include hypersexuality, binge consuming, compulsive betting and shopping.


If these negative effects have been learnt about for years, why weren't some patients and their families properly warned or kept track of?