Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley Launches on BBC One Today

Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley arrives on BBC One today, with a new six-part series investigating some of the health and wellness claims spreading rapidly across social media.

Dooley is joined by Dr Alex George and Dr Nighat Arif as the programme traces viral trends back to their origins, meets some of the people promoting or following them and examines the evidence behind the claims.

The first episode airs tonight, Monday 21 September, at 8.30pm on BBC One.

Stacey Dooley turns her attention to viral health trends

The series explores an increasingly familiar problem: health advice that reaches millions of people through TikTok, Instagram and other online platforms before many viewers have had any opportunity to establish whether the claims are supported by evidence.

Rather than simply reacting to clips in a studio, Dooley travels to meet people involved in the trends before bringing in medical expertise from George and Arif.

The topics covered across the six episodes include extreme cosmetic procedures, restrictive diets, anti-ageing treatments, testosterone, supplements and other products promoted online with potentially significant health claims.

Dr Nighat Arif has said the programme is intended to encourage viewers to question whether health information they encounter online is evidence-based and whether it could potentially cause harm. Arif is a GP with a specialist interest in women’s health, while Alex George previously worked as an A&E doctor and has built a substantial public profile around health communication.

First episode investigates cosmetic leg lengthening

Tonight’s opening episode asks whether leg-lengthening surgery is safe.

Dooley travels to Miami to observe a cosmetic limb-lengthening procedure and meets people involved in a treatment being used by some patients who want to become taller.

The programme then returns to the UK to investigate another very different social media claim involving Borax, a substance commonly sold for household purposes, after videos circulated suggesting it could be consumed to treat joint pain.

The programme examines the origins of the online claim rather than presenting it as legitimate medical advice. Dr Arif has separately warned that consuming Borax can be dangerous.

Six episodes tackle very different claims

Later episodes of Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley move through a wide range of online wellness trends.

The programme looks at the carnivore diet, anti-ageing IV treatments, testosterone use among young men and claims surrounding methylene blue.

A later episode examines online posts suggesting that animal deworming medication could be used to treat cancer, with the programme again focusing on the evidence behind a claim circulating online rather than endorsing it.

That breadth gives the series a subject far larger than any individual trend.

Social media has changed the way health information spreads. A claim once restricted to a small community can now travel internationally in hours, while algorithms can repeatedly show users similar material once they begin engaging with a particular subject.

For Dooley, George and Arif, the central question throughout the series is therefore not simply whether something is popular online, but whether the evidence supports what viewers are being told.

A new BBC role for Stacey Dooley

Dooley has spent much of her television career working in factual programming, often placing herself directly inside the subjects she is investigating.

Her previous documentaries have covered subjects ranging from mental health and family life to crime, social media and international current affairs.

Clickbait Clinic applies that investigative approach to an area audiences encounter every day on their phones.

The Guardian has selected the programme among its television highlights for tonight, while BBC listings confirm the first episode occupies the 8.30pm slot immediately before new drama The Split Up.

With health influencers, wellness products and dramatic medical claims now forming a significant part of online culture, Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley is arriving at a particularly relevant moment.

The six-part series begins tonight at 8.30pm on BBC One and is also available through BBC iPlayer.