Newsbeat Documentaries

With no job and nowhere to live, Mateasa Grant went to her local council for help. All she got was some leaflets and advice on how to get benefits. A year on, with a job and home of her own - Mateasa investigates why people like her seem to be at the bottom of the pile for support. Filming undercover, she reveals how local authorities do not consider someone like her "vulnerable" enough to be offered support. She hears the stories of other young, homeless people and finds out that some of the little support that is available seems to be under threat.

Richard Hill is one of three million young adults in the UK still living with their parents. He meets others who’ve gone to extreme lengths to find somewhere affordable to live - sharing with a friend in a grotty one bedroom flat, living in an empty office block and even on a boat. With so many people like Richard unable to buy their own home, he looks at what’s being done to make housing more affordable for young people in the UK.

Rick Kelsey and Union J’s Jaymi Hensley present results of a Newsbeat survey of 3,000 18-29 year olds exploring their view on society’s attitude on race, sexuality and sexism.

Rick Kelsey and Gemma Cairney present the results of a Newsbeat survey of 3,000 18-29 year olds exploring their view on society’s attitude towards race, sexuality and sexism.

Rick Kelsey and rapper Swiss present the results of a Newsbeat survey of 3,000 18-29 year olds exploring their view on society’s attitude towards race, sexuality and sexism.

Investigating the community of Drag Kings - women who dress up and perform as men. Drag Queens are a fixture of pubs, clubs and bars across the UK - in most towns and cities, at least one night a week you’ll find a bloke in a dress belting out camp anthems and telling risque jokes. But there’s a smaller community of Drag Kings across Britain – the women who dress up and perform as men. More club nights are being put on especially for Drag Kings and more girls are getting into it. Newsbeat meet three Drag Kings to find out why they do it, and address how being a Drag Kings relates to someone’s gender, identity and sexuality.

Declan Harvey investigates why Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK to not allow same-sex couples to marry. With the recent 'yes' vote in the Republic of Ireland in favour of gay marriage and many other countries across Europe changing their laws to allow it, why is Northern Ireland different? We meet young gay people who say they're embarrassed and frustrated at their country's lack of progress and hear the strongly held arguments against change from the governing Democratic Unionist Party.

From boyband splits and health issues to being dropped from your record label, Jimmy Blake finds out what happens after the band. Founding JLS member Oritse Williams and former Kooks drummer Paul Garred lift the lid on how their time with their bands came to an end and talk openly about the difficulties of going solo. Also, from the pages of NME to the classroom, the guitarist in a band tipped for big things on what happens when it doesn't work out.

Are we falling out of love with clubbing? In 2005 there were 3,144 clubs in the UK and this year it's down to 1,733. Jim Connolly finds out why almost half of UK nightclubs have closed in the past 10 years. We go from the abandoned street where all the clubs have gone, to the main stage at one of the biggest dance festivals, to the warehouse rave going back to where it all began. We speak to Rudimental, Steve Aoki, Lohan Presencer from Ministry of Sound and Radio 1's Danny Howard... and ask where have all the clubbers gone?

Bigorexia is often referred to as the opposite of anorexia. Those living with it believe they are not muscular enough, and many go to extreme lengths to bulk up further. But in their pursuit of the "perfect body" some have gone too far, with devastating results. Known officially as muscle dysmorphia, the condition is thought to affect thousands of people, mainly men, across the UK. BBC Newsbeat joins BBC Asian Network on a journey to meet some of the people who just can't stop pumping iron, the gym owner who says it's rife, the grieving mother who believes she lost her son to Bigorexia and the medical expert who warns that this condition is being ignored.

Dating apps are changing the way people in the UK look for sex and relationships. With hundreds now available, some of them aimed at specific groups of people, Newsbeat’s been looking at what effect they can have on their users. Most use dating apps as a part of their day to day lives - for some they’re an addiction, a lifestyle choice or a lifeline. Rick Kelsey takes a look at app dating in the UK in 2015 through the eyes of users.

Newsbeat follows new recruits to the British Army from the day they join up to the day they pass out. Through drill, physical training, exercises and inspections - we see what modern army training is all about. It's a tough fourteen weeks, and not everyone will make it.