ITV announces shocking British scandal documentary The Undercover Police Scandal

According to a release, the series will see the women "expose how they turned detective to uncover one of the state’s biggest secrets", which ultimately led to an almost decade-long £88 million public inquiry.

The synopsis reads: "Speaking together on camera for the first time, the creepy similarities between the women’s experiences come to light: from the way they were seduced into their relationships, to the almost identical letters they received when they were abandoned – and ghosted – by the men they loved."

It continues: "They reveal how they discovered police officers stole the identities of deceased children to create new aliases and even fathered children with the women they spied upon whilst undercover."

In addition to the women themselves, the documentary makers also had access to the Guardian journalists who broke the story and helped expose the vast scale of the operation.

"This is an inspirational, empowering story about women who refused to go away quietly, instead using their ingenuity and tenacity to expose the lies they’d been told by the men they loved, leading to a David vs Goliath battle with the Metropolitan Police," said producer Rebecca North. "We hope it brings awareness to the scandal."

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Meanwhile, ITV's controller of factual, Jo Clinton-Davis, said: "When I first learnt about this story, I was determined it needed to be made for a TV audience – and made for ITV.

"That these five women finally agreed to give ITV and RAW up close and personal access is testament to their courage and resilience.

"They have been up against a state-sponsored operation, and with many of them turning detective, such a twist in the story could be the stuff of a thriller – except this is all too shockingly true. It’s a British scandal of real significance."

The women who feature in the series also issued a joint statement, which reads: "We’ve been working together to expose this policing scandal since we first met in 2011.

"Our lives were devastated by the actions of undercover police and this powerful documentary highlights how we fought back against dehumanising spycops intrusion and abuse, which was sanctioned by the state for decades to undermine progressive campaigns for change.

"By shining a light on the role of these undemocratic, secret, political policing units, we hope the series is part of a dramatic shift away from the culture of misogyny that the police and security services have normalised and puts pressure on decision makers to reverse the current legislation that places undercover officers completely beyond the law."

The Metropolitan Police issued an apology in November 2015, with then assistant commissioner Martin Hewitt saying: "Thanks in large part to the courage and tenacity of these women... it has become apparent that some officers entered into long-term intimate sexual relationships which were abusive, deceitful, manipulative and wrong.

"These should never have happened. They were a gross violation of personal dignity and integrity.

"They were deceived – pure and simple. Whether or not genuine feelings were involved on the part of any officers is entirely irrelevant and does not make the conduct acceptable."

The Undercover Police Scandal: Love and Lies Exposed will air on ITV1 and ITVX in early 2025.

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