Stacey You Have To Put Your Emotions To One Side

We chatted to the presenter and journalist about her ground breaking new documentary on the dark web...

- Lucy Devine

OK, we’re a little bit obsessed with Stacey Dooley. The mega-talented 30 year-old has only gone and made another incredible documentary – and we can’t stop talking about it. Delving into the dark side of digital, Stacey’s eight-week investigation explores the connection between drugs and social media – specifically how school kids are buying class A drugs online, coded with emojis (eg, a snowflake = cocaine) and via platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.

Stacey Dooley Investigates: Kids Selling Drugs Online (watch it on BBC iPlayer now), sees her go undercover, questioning dangerous drug gangs and arranging meets with dealers – one as young as 16, who turns up straight from the school playground. We caught up with Stacey last week to find out how she keeps her cool undercover and what she gets up to when she’s not tackling serious world problems. Not gonna lie, there was also a lot of gushing about our mutual love of Louis Theroux…

Hi, Stacey! Congrats on the new documentary – it’s incredible. Did you expect it to be so surreal?

I was so intrigued. We know that the dark web exists, but the fact that kids can go through perfectly legal, legit social apps to buy drugs is pretty crazy.

There’s a part in the documentary where you’re filming undercover and you confront one of the schoolboys [who was about to sell drugs to Stacey]. How did you feel in that moment? Did you feel sorry for him?