Overview
- Cook’s family said he died peacefully on Saturday, June 13, after a short illness and asked for privacy as they mourn the beloved husband and father.
- ITV and other broadcasters paid tribute to a five‑decade career that made Cook one of broadcasting’s most trusted investigative journalists.
- He built his reputation on BBC Radio 4’s Checkpoint before fronting ITV’s The Cook Report, a show that ran across the late 1980s and 1990s and drew audiences in the millions.
- Cook is credited with popularising the confrontational ‘doorstep’ interview and routinely used filmed stings that led to prosecutions; his work exposed organised crime, corruption and other abuses.
- Reports note he endured physical attacks and threats while reporting, and some outlets say he survived past cancer battles though that detail is not widely corroborated across coverage.