Roger Cook, the British investigative journalist who pioneered television journalism, has died aged 83, his family confirmed on Monday.
Cook was best known for creating and hosting 'The Cook Report' and developing the 'doorstep' interview technique — the confrontational questioning conducted at subjects' homes or offices that became his signature and reshaped broadcast journalism.
"Alongside a distinguished and award-winning career in journalism, Roger was first and foremost a beloved husband and father," his family said in a statement. The broadcaster passed away after a short illness.
For decades, Cook was known for hard-hitting investigative television in the UK. His approach to exposing corruption, fraud, and injustice made him a household name and influenced countless journalists who followed.
The doorstep interview — where Cook would confront subjects directly at their homes or offices with camera in tow — became inseparable from his work. It was uncomfortable television, often explosive, and widely watched.
Cook's career spanned decades of breaking stories that others avoided. He became the standard for investigative reporters willing to challenge the powerful.
Tributes are expected from the journalism community, where Cook is remembered as a trailblazer who believed in holding power to account, whatever the personal cost.
His legacy in both the technique he developed and the stories he exposed will remain in the work of journalists willing to ask difficult questions.
