7NEWS Spotlight - Season 4 / Year 2023

He can run, but what does Australian track star, Peter Bol have to hide? After being sensationally suspended for a positive drug test earlier this year, it's the question the 800m champion finally answers on 7NEWS Spotlight. 

Back in January, the headlines screamed his guilt the world over, while Athletics Australia reluctantly forced their pin-up boy to quit all competition and training after receiving the anti-doping agency, Sports Integrity Australia, result.

His crime? Unusually high levels of synthetic erythropoietin, or EPO, in a urine sample.

The drug? The same banned blood booster used by disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong and a string of track and field stars whose reputations now lie in ruins.

Defiant in his denials, and determined to prove his innocence, Bol won a reprieve of sorts, when his B-sample testing was revealed this month – an ATF, atypical finding, neither positive or negative.

And so, the question lingers – is our national hero a drug cheat?

Now, in an explosive and exclusive interview with 7NEWS Spotlight host Michael Usher, the 29-year-old gets his chance to fight back; while his furious family unleash on the authorities who leaked Bol's original and damaging drug test result.

Brian Houston turned religion into rock and roll with his global megachruch, Hillsong. Now, the explosive secrets are coming out.

As the world prepares for the crowning of a king, the royal family's American in-laws - the Markles - unite for the first time to share their truth about their sister and daughter, Meghan Markle.

Spotlight reveals Daniel Morcombe's depraved killer should have been caught within two week of his abduction but a bungled police investigation. Also Jim Jefferies is taking the world by storm.

In the most explosive investigation of the year, Spotlight infiltrates and brings down the sophisticated British scam syndicate fleecing everyday Australians of $4 million a week.

One of the nation's greatest storytellers, Charles Wooley, presents his personal battle to save Australia's lost Amazon (Tasmania's Tarkine rainforest) from the foreign-owned mining company threatening its destruction.

Ross Coulthart exposes the impact vaping is having on our youth and what manufactures don't want you to know about the poison our kids are breathing in.

It is the most controversial legal saga that has rocked the foundations of the Federal Government in Canberra. Through it all, the man accused of a shocking sexual assault remained silent. Until now.

Spotlight uncovers the hidden secrets of notorious conman Ric Blum, who has long been in the frame for Marion Barter's disappearance. Plus Kathleen Folbigg's first taste of freedom after 20 years jail.

It's judgement day Brian Houston and Stunning revelations as the daughter of Australia's notorious Casanova con-man, Ric Blum, finally breaks her silence.

Spotlight uncovers a religious cult recruiting, brainwashing and grooming young Australian girls at shopping centres, before shipping them overseas to be sexually assaulted by its sex-crazed leader.

On 7News Spotlight Liam Bartlett delves into the latest twist in the unsolved disappearance of William Tyrell, hearing from his biological mother.

"Sadly, this is a case that, for too long, has captivated the Australian public in the worst way. Either in the hope of finding little William - or find the person or people responsible for his disappearance," Bartlett said.

"Hopefully this time the new development is not another false start - and we can be part of a discussion that may lead to a genuine solution."

The three-year-old sparked one of the biggest manhunts in living memory when he vanished outside his foster family's residence in Kendall on the state's north coast in September 2014.

The investigation that followed uncovered shocking revelations, exposed paedophile rings, flaws in the foster care system, and led to the demise of Australia's most senior homicide detective.

In the seven years since, NSW Police have publicly identified numerous persons of interest only to ultimately rule them out.

In the past fortnight, on what would have been William's 12th birthday, detectives claimed to have finally cracked the case, urging the state prosecutors to charge William's foster mother for allegedly covering up his accidental death. William's foster mother has denied any wrongdoing.

This Sunday, Liam Bartlett will be joined by a panel of leading criminal experts, including Mark Morri, News Corp's most senior crime reporter who bought to light the investigation into the foster mother, one of the country's most effective homicide detectives, Charlie Bezzina; and, investigative author Caroline Overington as they navigate through the labyrinth of twists and turns in the ongoing police investigation surrounding the baffling case.

This explosive event will examine critical new evidence, key allegations, and introduce startling revelations that could reshape the narrative surrounding William's disappearance.

And, in emotional and never-before-seen interview with William's biological mother, candid revelations will challenge long-held assumptions – including her concerns about William's foster family.

Largely banished from operating theatres at home, Spotlight follows Dr Charlie Teo as the controversial neurosurgeon treats desperate Australian patients in hospitals on the far side of the globe.

Charles Wooley returns to 7NEWS Spotlight to showcase the breathtaking landscapes, untouched beauty and hidden paradise of Australia's Top End.

Newly discovered archive video tapes lost for decades will reveal hidden moments of John Farnham's career, from phenomenal performances to interviews lost in time.

Spotlight uncovers explosive new revelations that strike at the heart of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations against Bruce Lehrmann as key witnesses break their silence.

What turned a pretty, young nurse into one of the worst serial killers in history? Spotlight investigates the love obsession behind her motive for murder.

The most controversial story of the year as Spotlight uncovers the irreparable damage being visited on a generation of confused kids wrongly diagnosed as transgender.

Football greats John Platten and Robbie O'Davis open up about the irreparable damage caused by their on-field concussions and the incomparable strength they've found in the women who stand by them. Plus Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Voyages.

The most explosive Spotlight of the year as the Yes and No campaigns deliver their final arguments ahead of the Voice referendum. Which side will win out and sway a live audience of undecided voters?

Folbigg did 20 years behind bars for crimes she has always denied. Then in 2023 she was dramatically released after new scientific evidence uncovered a possible alternative explanation for the deaths.