BBC to release ‘powerful’ documentary exploring Andrew Tate’s influence on young people

Controversial ‘influencer’ was indicted in June over allegations of human trafficking, rape and sexual exploitation

The BBC is releasing a new documentary about Andrew Tate, the controversial influencer who has been under house arrest in Romania since March.

The career of the former professional kickboxer has long been mired in controversy. Over the years, he has been banned from numerous social media platforms for sharing misogynistic views, and was ejected from the 2016 series of Big Brother after a video surfaced showing him hitting a woman with a belt. In a statement, Tate and the woman in the video both said the actions in the video were consensual.

In October 2022, he recorded an interview with Piers Morgan, during which the host questioning him on his views. Tate doubled down on the opinion that women “belong” to men in marriage, and said he has “managed to accumulate a large amount of affinity with the male population” because he’s echoing what “many men think and feel”.

Two months later, Tate was arrested in Romania in suspicion of human trafficking and organised crime charges. In June 2021, Tate and his brother were charged with rape, human trafficking, and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. They both deny all charges

The documentary from BBC Three and BBC Current Affairs today will explore Tate’s infamy, and “expose those helping to craft him into a global figurehead, exploring the ideologies and end goal of Tate and his circle, and revealing how his global network has left potentially hundreds of victims in its wake”.

The documentary will be led by investigative reporter Matt Shea and director Jamie Tahsin, with Shea saying: “We have now been investigating Andrew Tate and his inner circle for four years and are almost ready to reveal what we’ve uncovered.

“In this documentary we uncover Tate’s global network, which spans multiple continents, affects potentially hundreds of victims, and ultimately seek to discover who is really behind Andrew Tate.”

Nasfim Haque, Head of Content at BBC Three, said of the forthcoming broadcast: “Viewers loved Tahsin and Shea’s illuminating first documentary about Andrew Tate, this film continues their brilliant investigative work and reveals even more about how Tate and his organisation operate their global network.”

Meanwhile, Joanna Carr, News Controller, Long Form Commissioning, said: “This is a powerful film which shines a light on the activities of Andrew Tate and those who are working closely with him. It will help us to understand how and why Andrew Tate is able to influence so many young people in the UK and across the world.”

Controversial figure Andrew Tate (Tucker Carlson)

Executive Producer Mike Radford, said it is “important that as many people as possible should be made aware of the workings of him and his close associates”.

Tahsin and Shea’s previous VICE-produced Tate documentary, titled The Dangerous Rise of Andrew Tate, is currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer.