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 father Bill is identified with Parkinson's, his medication provides him a brand-new lease of life. He begins ticking things off his senior citizen container list - travelling, skydiving, golf.


But then Freddie notices that his previously sensible dad has actually started acting abnormally.


BBC Investigations correspondent Noel Titheradge has actually spent more than a year talking to individuals whose behaviour changed drastically after taking a category of prescription drugs called dopamine agonists.


These drugs improve dopamine activity in the brain - they were recommended more than 1.5 million times in the UK in 2015 to treat Parkinson's illness and other movement conditions.


But they have well side results - around 1 in 6 people who take them establish impulse control conditions, which can consist of hypersexuality, binge consuming, compulsive gaming and shopping.


If these side effects have been learnt about for decades, why weren't some patients and their families effectively warned or kept an eye on?