"World in Action" helped to pioneer the technique of using covert cameras, not just in investigative work but also in social documentary, including, from the earliest days, the treatment of gypsies, the old in care ("Ward F13") and poverty in England. The arrival of high-quality miniature cameras allowed ambitious projects such as Donal MacIntyre's award-winning programmes in October 1996 on the illegal drug trade, and the future Conservative MP Adam Holloway's disturbing reports on the reality of life among the homeless in 1991. In 1998 "World in Action" took advantage of the new technology to equip an entire house with secret cameras hidden in anything from coke tins to fish tanks to catch out shoddy builders. The success of the two-part series called "House of Horrors", produced by Kate Middleton, led not only to the ITV series "House of Horrors" and to the BBC's "Rogue Traders" but to a whole new genre of programming, around the world, based around hidden camera footage of dodgy tradesmen.