Nelufar Hedayat

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Nelufar Hedayat is a British broadcast journalist, documentary presenter, and director. She has reported, produced, and presented international documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, Fusion TV, Netflix, PBS, Scripps News, Rakuten TV, and National Geographic. Hedayat is known for fronting investigative and current affairs programmes including The Traffickers (2016), Food Exposed (2018), Generation C (2020–2025), and Plastic Time Bomb (2023), the latter of which won a National News & Documentary Emmy Award. Her work has covered global issues such as conflict, climate change, human rights, and cultural heritage, and has been recognised with awards including a Gracie Award and the British Asian Media Awards.

Contents

Early life

Hedayat was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and fled the country with her family during the civil war. They sought asylum in the United Kingdom when she was a child, settling in north London. [1] She has spoken publicly about her experiences as a refugee and how they shaped her interest in journalism.

Career

Hedayat began her career with the BBC, presenting and reporting on current affairs documentaries for BBC Three, CBBC Newsround and Channel 4. Her early works include Women, Weddings, War and Me (2010), Music, Money & Hip Hop Honeys (2011) and Riots and Revolutions: My Arab Spring Journey (2012). She later reported on international documentaries such as The Children of Kabul: An Uncertain Future (2014), Vietnam’s Dog Snatchers (2014) and Vaccination Wars (2015).

In 2016, she presented The Traffickers, an eight-part investigative series for Fusion TV, Netflix and Fremantle Media, which explored global smuggling networks and won Journalist of the Year and Best Investigation at the British Asian Media Awards. [2]

She went on to host Food Exposed with Nelufar Hedayat (2018), an environmental and food documentary series, before presenting Flash Forward (Rakuten, 2021), a science and technology docuseries. [3] [4]

From 2020 to 2025 she executive produced and hosted Generation C: Rising Up in a Changed World, a four-part series examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. [5] [6]

Her subsequent work with Scripps International included producing and directing The God Thieves (2022), which investigated the illicit trade in cultural artifacts, [7] and Plastic Time Bomb (2023), a science documentary that won the National News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Science, Technology or Environmental Coverage. [8] [9]

She also co-directed Culture’s Climate Crisis (2024), filmed across Tanzania and Alaska, [10] and Museum on Fire (2025) for PBS and Scripps, which documented threats to UNESCO world heritage sites. [11] [12]

In 2025, she produced Binni’s Blades, an observational documentary set in Birmingham, and began working as a Development Producer for Firecrest Films and Channel 4.

Awards

Filmography

YearTitleRoleBroadcaster / Distributor
2010Women, Weddings, War and MePresenterBBC Three
2011Music, Money & Hip Hop HoneysPresenterBBC Three
2012Riots and Revolutions: My Arab Spring JourneyPresenterBBC Three
2013Shot for Going to SchoolReporterBBC Three
2014The Children of Kabul: An Uncertain FuturePresenterCBBC Newsround
2014Vietnam’s Dog SnatchersReporterChannel 4
2015Vaccination WarsReporterChannel 4
2016The Naked Truth: Standing RockReporterFusion TV
2016The TraffickersPresenterFusion TV / Netflix / Fremantle
2017The Naked Truth: Black Mama’s Matter/Death by DeliveryPresenterFusion TV
2018Food Exposed with Nelufar HedayatPresenter & Co-producerFusion TV / Fremantle
2018India’s Love Cheat DetectivesReporterChannel 4
2019The Story of GodContributorNational Geographic / Netflix
2020Criminal Planet: Toxic MafiaReporterViceland / Channel 4
2020–2025Generation C: Rising Up in a Changed WorldExecutive Producer & PresenterSVT / Storyfire
2021Flash ForwardPresenterRakuten TV
2022The God ThievesProducer & Co-directorScripps / Newsy
2023Plastic Time BombProducer & DirectorScripps / Newsy
2023Safety Versus Freedom in El SalvadorCorrespondentScripps Longform
2024Culture’s Climate CrisisProducer & Co-directorScripps International
2025Museum on FireCo-director & CorrespondentPBS / Scripps
2025Binni’s BladesProducer & DirectorUK (independent/Scripps)

Podcasts

Year(s)TitleRolePlatform
2019–2021Course CorrectionHost & WriterDoha Debates

References

  1. "Afghan women: 'The Taliban took away my childhood'". The Guardian. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  2. "The Traffickers". Lightbox Entertainment. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  3. Fanjul, Santiago (22 November 2021). "'Flash Forward': The four future issues we must start worrying about today". El País. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  4. "Rakuten TV Unveils Original Docuseries Flash Forward". VideoAge International. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. "Espresso Media acquires AR-style series Generation C from journalist Nelufar Hedayat". Señal News. 10 July 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  6. "Generation C". Espresso Media International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  7. "In Real Life (series overview)". Scripps International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  8. "Scripps News Grabs First News Emmy". NextTV. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  9. "Scripps News wins first national News Emmy Award". The E.W. Scripps Company (Press release). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  10. "In Real Life". Scripps International. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  11. "Museum on Fire – Documentary premiere and panel discussion". Eventbrite. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  12. "Museum on Fire". YouTube. 2025. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  13. "Scripps News Grabs First News Emmy". NextTV. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  14. "Scripps News wins first national News Emmy Award". The E.W. Scripps Company (Press release). 28 September 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  15. "The Traffickers". Lightbox Entertainment. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  16. "The Alliance for Women in Media Foundation Announces 42nd Annual Gracie Award Winners". PR Newswire (Press release). 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  17. "BBC Three wins five awards at Broadcast Digital Awards". BBC. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2025.