Abstract

The article offers an account of the author's participation in secret filming in three small residential care homes for older people. The author gained access to the homes as a resident and made video-recordings that were used as part of a television documentary in 1994 that exposed the poor practice and lack of regulation in these types of homes in England at that time. The author discusses her motivations for taking on this undercover role, and some of the unexpected ethical challenges she faced when considering the impact of the exposure of these homes for the residents, their families, the owners and the staff