In 1976 he moved to Panorama, then the BBC’s top prime-time current affairs programme where he remained for 26 years making over 100 documentaries specialising in investigative stories. 

In 1993 his investigation into problems with the sleeping pill `Halcion’ won the Business or Consumer Investigative Reports category in the prestigious 14th Annual Cableace Awards in Hollywood. One month later he won Britain’s most coveted current affairs prize in the Royal Television Society’s Journalism Awards with his investigation into the false arrest and imprisonment for the murder of three men in Cardiff, Wales. The men were subsequently freed. 

Mangold’s investigation into a dental AIDS mystery in the United States won the bronze award in the Best Investigative Report Category at the New York Television Festival in 1996 and in 1999 he was further honoured at the Chicago International Television Competition with a Gold Plaque (the top award) in the Investigative Reporting/News Documentary Category for one of a series of two networked films on biological warfare.

In 1996, following his own copious research into the subject, he proposed a drama-documentary series to HBO and the BBC called “Hostile Waters” about a real-life Soviet/American submarine drama in the Atlantic during the dying days of the Cold War. The subsequent multi-million dollar production starring Rutger Hauer was an international success.

Mangold’s films have been syndicated around the globe. In the United States much of his work has been carried by WGBH Boston the PBS channel and more recently his material has appeared on the Learning Channel and other cable networks.

Most recently the American film rights for Tom Mangold’s Vietnam war book `The Tunnels of Cu Chi’ — an international bestseller, have been purchased by Sovereign Films. The movie screenplay has been written by Pulitzer prize winner Garry Trudeau and will be directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Filming is planned to commence in Malaysia in May 2019.

In December 2014 BBC Radio 4 twice transmitted Mangold’s special investigative documentary ‘Jeremy Thorpe — The Silent Conspiracy‘ which revealed for the first time the full extent of the steps taken by the British establishment in the seventies to hide the truth about the former Liberal party leader accused of conspiring to murder his homosexual lover. The documentary received glowing reviews. Fiona Sturges in the Independent wrote:

“Veteran journalist Tom Mangold’s documentary on Radio 4 was quite something…a meticulously researched and damning account….the programme fizzed with eye popping audio footage…this was masterful storytelling from Mangold.” 

In June 2018, Mangold’s `Lost Panorama‘ on the Jeremy Thorpe scandal which could not be shown for forty years for legal reasons was finally transmitted on BBC4. The one-hour special documentary gave the channel the biggest audience it has ever had and was received to national acclaim making headlines throughout Britain.

“Tom Mangold’s brilliant BBC Panorama film….was a compelling story, not just a human drama – it is a political scandal that merits a proper response from the authorities.” Peter Oborne Daily Mail. June 2018.

“Thank goodness for the cussedness of Tom Mangold and his like. Ordered by the then BBC Director-General to destroy his film in its entirety, he said last week : `In my house we don’t destroy books or films.’ Amen to that.” Observer June 2018.

“Mangold put together a strong piece of journalism exposing a litany of evidence of buried enquiries”… The Times. June 2018. 

“The interviews were fascinating..Mangold delivered remarkable fresh information.” The Daily Express. June 2018

Tom will be reporting later this year on the 1960’s Christine Keeler/John Profumo scandal in a special edition of BBC TV’s Panorama.”

Tom Mangold on his Jeremy Thorpe Panorama documentary 

To find out more about Tom Mangold, get in touch with Salt Partnership here.