Rogue Traders (TV series)

Rogue Traders
Presenter Matt and (previous co-presenter) Dan
Genre	Consumer
Presented by	Matt Allwright Dan Penteado (2001–2012)
Narrated by	Matt Allwright
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
Production
Running time	30–60 minutes (Original format) 60 minutes (Watchdog format)
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	2001–2010 (main show), 2009–present (as part of Watchdog)
Chronology
Related shows	Watchdog (since 1980) Rogue Restaurants (2008)
External links
Website

Rogue Traders is a prime-time BBC One presenter-led investigative/undercover consumer affairs television programme starring Matt Allwright, an investigative journalist and (until 2012) private investigator and side-kick, Dan Penteado.

Rogue Traders began in 2001 and ran for nine series on BBC One before being incorporated into the long-running consumer series Watchdog in 2009.

Allwright scripts and films much of the programme himself, resulting in an improvised and humorous feel to the show. An occasional catchphrase used during the show is "We never give up." Another common catchphrase said by Allwright is "Not to be confused with any other companies of the same name." or a variation of it.

The programme exposes dubious working practices of tradesmen such as double-glazing salesmen, second-hand car dealers, gas fitters, mechanics, roofers, plumbers and domestic rubbish collectors.

Rogue Traders motif is to film unscrupulous door-to-door tradesmen and salesmen, using hidden cameras and actors playing the "victim" (often elderly widows) and then use the evidence to confront them at the end of the programme.

The show usually uses an honest tradesman and sometimes specialist lawyers to provide expert knowledge and commentary. Using these techniques, the programme has "named and shamed" many businesses and individuals who had previously evaded sanction.

Among others, they have investigated the dubious working practices of double-glazing companies, second-hand car dealers, gas fitters, mechanics, roofers, plumbers and domestic rubbish collectors.

Allwright and Penteado originally used a Honda Super Blackbird motorcycle to travel from one place to another, usually wearing biking leathers throughout the programme. The bike was then changed to a Kawasaki ZZR1400.

In the fourth series, Allwright upped the stakes by using a disguise, being made up as a seventy-year-old Welsh man, Roger. He therefore fooled the "rogues" that he was Roger for some time before revealing his true identity.

From the fifth series onwards, Matt Allwright has gone one step further and now has a choice of disguises. He can be made up into 22-year-old rocker Joe, middle aged eco-warrior Bob, the elderly Stan, or Jimmy, a "non-specific Eastern European builder".