BBC’s new documentary exposes Thailand’s thriving sex trade as young British men flock for cheap sex and fantasy relationships, seeking escape from UK pressures, while Thai women face heartbreak, exploitation and the stark reality behind the facade of paradise.
A bold new BBC documentary series is turning heads in the UK as it exposes Thailand’s booming sex industry. The show pulls no punches, diving deep into the country’s thriving sex tourism trade—one that continues to lure British men in droves. These encounters are more than casual transactions; they’ve given rise to a growing number of Anglo-Thai relationships. The phenomenon isn’t new. It began in the 1960s in Bangkok and Pattaya, but decades later, it’s still alive and kicking. Despite years of feminist progress and political correctness in the UK, the allure of Thailand’s “fantasy lifestyle” remains strong. Now, amid political unrest and a brutal cost-of-living crisis at home, more British men are seeking escape. What they’re chasing isn’t just sex—it’s a throwback to a version of masculinity they feel no longer exists in Britain. And Thailand, for better or worse, is still selling that dream.
A new BBC documentary series has pulled back the curtain on Thailand’s notorious sex industry—and Britain’s disturbing role in it. Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise, a three-part series presented by former Love Island contestant Zara McDermott, explores how young British men are increasingly flocking to the Southeast Asian country to buy sex, party cheaply, and sometimes settle into fantasy relationships with Thai women. The show began airing this week, with its final episode set to broadcast on Monday.
Unlike typical travel shows, this series dives deep into a growing trend many would rather ignore. While Thailand’s beaches and nightlife attract global tourism, the documentary argues that the country’s sex trade is still a major lure for thousands of young British men.
Thai sex industry continues to thrive despite laws and attracts young British men seeking fantasy lifestyles
Although prostitution remains technically illegal, it is widely tolerated, regulated in practice, and openly promoted in resorts like Pattaya and the sois or streets of Bangkok. Crucially, the series suggests that the social, financial, and cultural shifts in the UK may be fuelling this renewed interest.
Zara McDermott begins her journey in Bangkok, where she meets sex workers face-to-face. From there, she travels to Pattaya, a city often dubbed “the sex capital of Asia.” Here, she explores the bustling red-light districts, where women line the streets and bars to attract tourists—many of them British.
These aren’t ageing sex tourists or retired divorcees. They’re often under 30, from cities like Manchester, Birmingham, or London, and many are seeking more than just a night of cheap pleasure.
In Pattaya, McDermott meets “Mac,” a 30-year-old British man from Staffordshire who has built a YouTube career by promoting Thailand’s sex scene. Mac creates virtual guides teaching men how to engage with sex workers, where to find “blowjob bars,” and how to avoid “rookie mistakes.” He has more than 60,000 followers.
British influencers are profiting from YouTube guides that teach men how to navigate Thai red-light areas
While he avoids calling it prostitution, the implication is clear. Through Mac, McDermott gains access to the underground ecosystem where British men are coached on how to navigate the trade.
Although Mac insists he’s helping the local economy, McDermott challenges his version of events. She points out the darker reality—that these bars often depend on the financial vulnerability of local women.
When questioned, Mac claims that dating Thai women is simply “more fun” and “less stressful” than dating British women. “There’s a lot of expectations that English women put on men,” he says, brushing aside the issue of exploitation. However, his girlfriend, a Thai woman known as “Beverly Hills,” remains mostly silent on the topic, other than appearing in his livestreams cooking his breakfast.
Next, McDermott interviews Loukas, a 23-year-old chef from Manchester. He arrived in Thailand for a party and ended up paying ฿1,000 —roughly £23—for sex. Although initially he saw it as a one-time experience, Loukas admits to seeing the same woman again.
Young UK men admit returning to sex workers multiple nights in Pattaya and forming emotional attachments
He says she returned the next night and, for another £23, he paid for “boom-boom,” local slang for sex. Surprisingly, she came back a third time, refusing payment. According to Loukas, that’s when many men “accidentally fall in love.”
Importantly, Loukas notes he would never behave this way in the UK. In Thailand, he says, the rules are different. “You walk past a bar, and a woman calls you handsome. That just doesn’t happen back home,” he says.
For some men, this is not just flattering—it’s addictive. They fall into what McDermott calls “a fantasy loop,” where affection can be bought and love can be mimicked.
However, McDermott doesn’t only speak to the men. She also listens to the women caught in the trade. In one of the documentary’s most emotional moments, she meets Annie (not her real name), a Thai sex worker who began working in Pattaya after her boyfriend cheated on her with her sister.
She was only 17 and caring for a two-month-old child at the time. With no prospects and no support, she turned to the sex industry, hoping to meet a foreigner who would offer her a better life.
Thai women enter the sex trade hoping for foreign relationships but often face heartbreak and betrayal
Annie fell in love with a British man who promised to send her money and take her away from it all. He even agreed to pay her a stipend so she could stop working. But soon after, she discovered he had impregnated another woman back in the UK.
“It was like the world stopped turning,” she says, her voice breaking. Her story isn’t unique. Many Thai women in the industry hold on to that same hope—only to be let down.
Throughout the series, McDermott probes the emotional and psychological drivers behind this cross-cultural dynamic. She links the rise of these encounters to larger trends—economic stress in the UK, growing resentment over feminism, and the glorification of “traditional women” abroad. For some young men, Thailand offers an escape not only from financial hardship, but also from what they perceive as social pressure and gender politics back home.
This escape, however, comes at a price. The documentary visits Bangkok’s Immigration Bureau Detention Centre, where British nationals end up when they fall foul of local laws. Some are caught in drug raids.
UK nationals risk detention and deportation for breaking Thai law amid sex tourism and drug-related arrests
Others have overstayed visas or been involved in violent incidents. Before deportation, they’re held in cramped cells in appalling conditions. McDermott notes that few young men consider this reality before boarding the plane. “It’s not a pleasant process,” she says. “And it’s certainly not a glamorous one.”
Back in Pattaya, McDermott observes that even police tried to shut down her filming. She and her crew are escorted off Soi 6 by officers after local bar owners complained. “We were stopping people from spending money,” Mac later explains. The money, it seems, matters more than the message.
Nevertheless, the documentary pulls no punches. It’s raw, emotional, and deeply troubling. It doesn’t glamorise the sex trade or excuse the behaviour of those involved. Instead, it challenges viewers to ask why this pattern keeps repeating—and who really benefits.
The show also builds on McDermott’s growing reputation as a serious investigative presenter. She has tackled subjects like revenge porn, sexual assault and online abuse.
Zara McDermott uses her series to highlight risks faced by women forced into Thailand’s dangerous sex trade
Her experience in the violence-against-women space allows her to speak with empathy, especially to the women forced into unpredictable and often dangerous work. “My aim is for these women to feel seen and heard,” she told the BBC. “Sharing stories helps give women power.”
More assault incidents linked with Pattaya Beach and transgender sex workers in the notorious resort city
Brit jailed for child sex trafficking after 2023 prostitution crackdown on Pattaya’s notorious Soi 6
Plan to bring Grab drivers and sex workers into the tax net with a bill to be laid before parliament in months
While Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise is likely to cause controversy, its message is clear. Behind the sun-drenched beaches and cheap beer lies a booming trade built on inequality and fantasy. For many Thai women, it is not paradise. For the young British men heading there, it is more than just a holiday—it is a reflection of something broken at home.
As the UK struggles to cope with rising living costs, social alienation and political discontent, more men may be tempted by the promises of Thailand. But as McDermott’s documentary shows, those promises come with consequences—often for the women left waiting at the bar.
Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here
Further reading:
Pattaya punters preyed upon by transgender sex workers in a rash of hotel robberies while showering
Australian wheelchair user cheated by Thai woman he met on Pattaya’s beachfront on Thursday morning
Death sentences for the gruesome Pattaya murder of German property mogul Mr Ralter Mack in July 2023
