What You Need To Know

In September 2024, a man emerged from the sea in Jersey, quoting Shakespeare and claiming to be British. He said he'd swum from France. He was put in jail but with his sentence almost up, and authorities still unable to identify him - where will he go? ITV Channel's Emma Volney tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.

More and more children are not just growing up online but generating money in the process. By pulling in millions of viewers on TikTok, Twitch and YouTube, some can generate serious income. But what are the risks? And should it just be down to parents to protect them? Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda and Producer Sarah Toner tell Lucy Watson what you need to know.

In the latest episode, Consumer Editor Chris Choi brings a short update on customers' long-running battle for compensation over car loan commissions. A Supreme Court ruling means millions will miss out but the Financial Conduct Authority has now proposed a national redress scheme for those who are in line for compensation. For more background, listen to the previous episode of What You Need To Kno...

Lenders have avoided potentially needing to pay compensation to millions of drivers following a Supreme Court ruling. It ruled that lenders are not liable for hidden commission payments in car finance schemes. But it might not be as bad as it seems.... Our Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Paul Brand what you need to know. For more information on this, advice can be found on the  ITV News website

Josh is 21, and he's spent his entire adult life trapped in a hospital. He's one of thousands of people with severe learning disabilities and autism, detained on a secure unit, who do not need to be there. So why can't Josh, and so many others, leave? Peter Smith tells Daniel Hewitt what you need to know. You can read more and watch Peter's full report here .

Thousands of soldiers may be suffering from life-changing brain damage caused by blasts from the British Army's own weaponry, ITV News has revealed. It is the first time the Ministry of Defence has admitted its own weapons are leading to such damage. How now can soldiers and veterans be helped? Geraint Vincent has been meeting veterans affected and is joined by Science Correspondent Martin Stew an...

ITV Weather Presenter Lucy Verasamy joins Lucy Watson to breakdown the different types of heat - where it comes from and how that changes what it feels like.  Most importantly, will we get another heatwave before the end of summer?

The government has committed to giving 16 and 17 year olds the vote by the next general election. But exclusive ITV News polling shows that half say they do not agree with the policy. They were also polled on their top issues, favoured parties and democracy itself. Meanwhile, we have spoken to some older voters with a surprising suggestion for another change to electoral law. Westminster Digital R...

Daniel Graham, 39, and Adam Carruthers, 32, have been jailed for 4 years and 3 months for cutting down the iconic Sycamore Gap tree in 2023, in an act of "sheer bravado" according to the judge. Tom Barton is ITV Tyne Tees' Northumberland correspondent and has followed this unforgettable story and trial every step of the way. He joins Daniel Hewitt to breakdown how the damage they did and the impac...

Electric motorbikes, souped up to reach speeds of 50 and even 70mph are causing havoc in communities across the country. You might have seen them - tearing through towns, their riders often in balaclavas, riding illegally, two abreast. The police say they want to do more to stop them - so why can't they? Rhys Williams tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.

Millions of young children are being sexually abused, with perpetrators often on the other side of the world.  Online livestream abuse has become a booming global industry - with the UK the third largest consumer. How does this sick practice too often go undetected? And could AI be the solution to shutting it down? Julie Etchingham and John Tanagho, Executive Director at the International Justice...

How much do you think your personal information is worth to criminal gangs? Millions of customers details were stolen when Marks and Spencer was hacked in April, bringing much of its online business to a standstill for weeks. So how much damage has it done and who are DragonForce, the group the Marks and Spencer chairman said is believed to be behind it?  Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Lucy Wats...

One month into the ban on disposable vapes, how much waste is being cut and what environmental impact is it actually having? The all-important refillable pods are in scarce supply, so is there a massive flaw in the rules? Digital Reporter Sam Leader tells Lucy Watson What You Need To Know.

Amanda Knox's every move has been scrutinized for nearly all of her adult life. The murder of Meredith Kercher and the subsequent arrest, trial, conviction, imprisonment, acquittal and release of Knox, then her retrial, second conviction, and ultimately her definitive exoneration by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2015 is a story that has made headlines around the world for almost twenty years.  Amanda i...

Ever heard of Baby Botox? The latest desirable injections. Their popularity is booming - young people, some still in their early 20s are buying into the promise of being unwrinkled for life. But behind the satisfying selfies lies a much darker truth: with many risking lasting damage to their faces by choosing cheap deals online. So what is driving the trend? How do you spot counterfeit botox? And...

It's been called a bigger scandal than thalidomide but one you may never have heard of. For decades women were taking an epilepsy drug during pregnancy, without being told it could harm their babies. How long were the dangers known about - and why weren't they told? ITV Meridian Social Affairs Correspondent Christine Alsford tells I'm Lucy Watson and this is What You Need to Know. --- For more of...

Hundreds of fake companies. Thousands of scams. An estimated billion euros swindled. But just one entity apparently behind it all. ITV News has helped uncover a global scamming network - targeting victims around the world - which appears to use ordinary suburban homes across the UK to hide their operation. Sam Holder and Daniel Boal tell Sally Biddulph What You Need To Know. 

When were you first offered drugs? Uni? Sixth form? Well, when it comes to Ketamine - children as young as 12 are getting hooked on the horse tranquilizer. Why are they taking it, how are they getting it and what's it doing to them? George Hancorn tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.

Stranded on the Antarctic ice, their ship sunk - how did Ernest Shackleton's crew survive for two years before being rescued? ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew is on his way to the scene of that mission impossible - more than a hundred years ago. And from penguins to chimpanzees - conservationist Jane Goodall tells us why what happens in Antarctica impacts all of us. Martin tells Lucy Wat...

A motorbike mechanic is working freely in London, despite being wanted for murder. Another man was working as a delivery driver despite being convicted of child rape. Both men are from Brazil and authorities there have requested and been denied their extraditions. So why have judges here ruled that would infringe their human rights? How many more alleged criminals are walking our streets, avoiding...

We're on Day six of a bitter new outburst of war in the Middle East. A direct confrontation between Israel and Iran emerging from a shadow war that's been going on for decades. Hundreds have been killed, with exchanges of missiles and evacuations from homes in both countries. The world has long worried about Iran's nuclear ambitions and Israel has seized its moment to end them. But with Iran now f...

A group of scientists are currently on journey to the end of the world in hope of finding answers about our planet's future. And our Science Correspondent Martin Stew is with them on board the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The only journalist on board in fact. This week he's spoken to prime ministers, witnessed whales and even spotted penguins, whose existence is under severe threat. He tells Lucy W...

If you use an energy meter, it could be about to stop working. Hundreds of thousands of homes have a form of metering that will be obsolete from the end of June. How can you check if you're affected? What happens if you are? And why are so many people fuming about it? Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Lucy Watson what you need to know...

It's brazen, shocking and becoming more and more common.  From thefts in shops and supermarkets, to hardworking people's tools being stolen in broad daylight -- thefts by criminal gangs are on the rise.  Why is it getting worse? And what's being done to stop the perpetrators?  Antoine Allen tells Geraint Vincent what you need to know... You can watch Antoine's investigation into the organised gang...

Lucy Watson talks to our Science Correspondent Martin Stew in Antarctica as he joins a team of scientists on a vital research mission on the so-called Boaty McBoatface - or the Sir David Attenborough. Making history as the first British journalist to go this far south in polar winter, Martin describes the incredible, but also alarming, change unfolding around him. He also tells of the scientists’...