Broadcast Prism — Story: Forest of Dean scientist Dr Richard Naylor sleeps with bedbugs to test products and train dogs

How it was covered

BBC One was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on the scientist's weekly bedbug sleeps, his colony and practical pest advice.
Channel 5, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
BBC News: covered online, not found on air.

The Full Story

A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.

Dr Richard Naylor, a scientist from the Forest of Dean who runs the Bedbug Foundation in Tidenham, has slept with bedbugs once a week for five years, BBC One West reported. According to the channel, he built two test bedrooms at the bottom of his garden. Each week, it reported, he releases bedbugs into one, installs a product sent for testing, gets into bed and films the result.

BBC One West reported that the bedbugs need a sleeping host. Without one, it said, they go on standby and nothing can be tested. Naylor told the programme he can now sleep in a bed with bedbugs without being bothered.

BBC One West reported that his site holds 50,000 to 60,000 bedbugs at any one time. It described the colony as the biggest producer of bedbugs in the world. It said the insects are used to train dog detection teams.

BBC One West reported that Naylor also feeds about 20,000 bedbugs with his own blood every two to three days. It said he straps pots to his arm and carries on with his work. Naylor told the programme he must have suffered millions of bites and stopped reacting long ago.

BBC One West reported that bedbugs have become resistant to spray insecticides. Naylor said no other pest had the same emotional and psychological impact. He said infestations could leave people with lasting PTSD-type symptoms.

BBC One West also gave advice on detection and treatment. It said serious infestations should be handled by professionals. For smaller ones, it suggested vacuuming cracks and crevices and brushing silica dust into hiding places. It reported that bed isolation devices can help stop the insects returning, especially in blocks of flats.

Key Claims

Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.

Claim
Only on one channel
A scientist from the Forest of Dean has deliberately slept with bedbugs for five years.
Naylor feeds around 20,000 bedbugs with his own blood every two to three days.
The bedbug colony is reported to hold 50,000 to 60,000 insects at any one time and to be the world's biggest producer.

Channel Perspectives

What each channel focused on, with key quotes.

BBC One

BBC One West framed the item as a Halloween horror story before turning it into a methodical feature on Dr Richard Naylor's unusual research. It gave most space to the weekly sleep tests, the scale of the colony and the self-feeding routine, with practical advice on detection and treatment at the end. The tone was light in the studio introduction but largely straightforward in the report.

Key Quotes:

“I can sleep in a bed now with with bedbugs and it doesn't bother me at all.”
“There's probably fifty to sixty thousand bedbugs here and it's the biggest producer of bedbugs in the world”
“I must be in the millions of bites by now”

Who was on air

People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.