Adoption, Camille O'Sullivan, Wicked

12 snips

Nov 28, 2025

Judith Moritz, a BBC special correspondent known for her investigative work on adoption, discusses the alarming findings of over a thousand adopted children returning to care over five years. She shares personal stories highlighting the systemic issues parents face, including false allegations and the lack of support. Film critic Leila Lateef analyzes the cultural impact of 'Wicked', exploring its themes of female friendship and generational resonance, confirming how such narratives are increasingly captivating audiences.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Hidden Scale Of Adoption Breakdowns

Over a thousand adopted children have returned to UK care in five years, revealing a systemic issue.
Local authorities often fail to record these cases, so the real scale is likely larger.

ANECDOTE

Nancy And Simon's Adoption Crisis

Nancy and Simon adopted three girls but now only have the youngest living with them.
The older daughters made untrue allegations and the couple say they lacked necessary support and full medical history disclosure.

ANECDOTE

Legal Helpline For Desperate Parents

Solicitor Damien Dobson reports dozens of desperate adoptive parents calling him for legal help.
He described a mother who was briefly held in a police cell after an untrue allegation from her child.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

The complex needs of adopted children are leaving parents at breaking point as they say they are being denied support then blamed by authorities when they can no longer cope, a BBC investigation has found. A BBC Freedom of Information request revealed the scale of the crisis, and the number of families that are returning their children to the care system. Anita Rani is joined by BBC special correspondent Judith Moritz and Fiona Wells who runs PATCH, Passionate Adopters Targeting Change with Hope, a support group for adoptive parents.

For the last two years, the mystery of exactly what happened at Erin Patterson's dining table had gripped the world. And then in September this year, after a nine-week trial, Erin Patterson was jailed for life - with no chance of release for at least 33 years. Her crime: murdering three relatives by intentionally poisoning them with wild mushrooms and trying to kill another. Dubbed the ‘Mushroom Murders’, Anita speaks to Sarah Krasnostein, who wrote a book about Erin’s trial, and Dr Stephanie Brown, a historical criminologist, to understand the public view of women who poison.

Camille O’Sullivan has toured with the Pogues and was chosen by Yoko Ono to perform at Meltdown festival in the Royal Festival Hall. Now the Irish-French singer is bringing her hit show to the Soho Theatre in London. LoveLetter is a personal response to the loss of the artists who inspired her, particularly her late friends Shane McGowan and Sinéad O’Connor.

The second part of the hugely popular film Wicked - called Wicked: For good, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, continues to take the UK and the world by storm. It's already taken over $226m at the global box office. Telling an alternative version of the Wizard of Oz, it explores how our perception of good and evil can be distorted. It's also the story of the unlikely friendship between Elphaba and Glinda and the tensions that can be put on that friendship. Anita is joined by the Independent's chief album critic Helen Brown and film critic Leila Latif to discuss why Wicked has been so successful and what it tell us about female friendships today.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones