Patrick Strudwick is an investigative journalist who specialises in groundbreaking stories about health, human rights, and social affairs.
His work on mental health, sexual violence, immigration, homelessness, and crime has won 13 awards, including a British Journalism Award, a National Press Award, an Amnesty International award, and has twice been shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for “exposing social evils”. He has received six awards for medical journalism.
His documentaries have been nominated for a Grierson award, an ARIA (Radio Academy Award) and an Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) award.
Over the last 20 years, Patrick’s reporting has spanned print, digital, audio and television. He produced ‘Spacey Unmasked’, the hit HBO Max and Channel 4 documentary series exposing Kevin Spacey. He hosted, wrote and produced ‘White Smoke: America’s Chemsex Killer’, a 10-part podcast series for Audible about Ed Buck, the white, millionaire political donor who was killing Black men with crystal methamphetamine in his West Hollywood home.
He produced and presented the Channel 4 documentary ‘Dispatches: Sex, Drugs and Murder’ about the use of the drug GHB by rapists and murderers. And the BBC documentary, ‘The People Vs The NHS’, based on his reporting, told the story of the homeless man who prevented thousands of HIV transmissions by importing the HIV prevention drug PrEP.
For four years, he was Special Correspondent at The i Paper, a British national newspaper, and for five years, he was the LGBT Editor of BuzzFeed News. He has written for The Guardian, The Times (of London), The Sunday Times, The Observer, the Independent and several magazines. He has given interviews on the BBC, NPR, Sky News, and Channel 4 News among others.
Although often focused on British and American stories, he has reported on Afghanistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Australia, Russia, Ireland, Bangladesh, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
He was the first reporter to expose conversion therapy in the UK, devoting years to campaigning against it after going undercover and subjecting himself to these practices. He charted the fight for access to PrEP over several years. And for a decade, he exposed the sexual violence, abuse, and crime committed in the underground chemsex scene – and the devastating impact on its victims.
This work has prompted significant change. His reporting has been credited with paving the way for the British government’s pledge to ban conversion therapy and prompted the Royal College of Psychiatrists to issue an historic apology for the harm caused by aversion therapy. His coverage helped change laws in Australia to recognise overseas same-sex marriage; changed UK government policy enabling same-sex couples to be deemed next-of-kin when travelling abroad; and helped changed UK aviation policy to allow HIV-positive pilots to fly.
His reporting focuses on long-form journalism, telling the stories of people often overlooked, and is known for its sensitivity and humanity.
Praise for ‘Spacey Unmasked’
The Guardian ****:
“Far more than a did-he-didn’t-he exposé… Spacey Unmasked adds something valuable to the wider discussion about sexual misconduct.”
The Telegraph ****:
“A sober, unsensational and relentless spool of allegations… should be commended for allowing the complainants to have their say.”
The Independent ****:
“A devastating portrayal of the power dynamics of fame”
The Observer:
“hard-hitting”.
Rolling Stone:
“The documentary is a crucial entry into the conversation around male victims of sexual misconduct — and highlights how men haven’t yet developed a vocabulary to describe or process these situations.”
Daily Mail *****:
“A disturbing portrayal of how Kevin Spacey turned his charisma on and off like a spotlight… delivered much more psychological grist than the usual exposé documentaries.”