Channel 4 drama from Halcyon’s Heart wades into sewage discharge scandal
Asim Chaudhry plays a sewage plant whistleblower in Dirty Business
Channel 4 (C4) has commissioned a factual drama starring David Thewlis based on a decade-long investigation into England’s water companies from the makers of Partygate.
Dirty Business (3×60′) tells the stories of whistleblowers and victims who believe their lives have been destroyed after encountering sewage-polluted water.
C4 described it as a major new factual drama investigating “one of the biggest potential corporate scandals in British history.”
It follows the story of two unlikely detectives who notice that the fish in the river running through their idyllic Oxfordshire hamlet are dying. They contact their water company to find out why, and the company’s strange and evasive reply sparks an investigation that continues to this day.
Thewlis (Harry Potter, Kaos) plays a concerned citizen and former police detective in a small town who notices his local river is becoming increasingly polluted. He teams up with a neighbour, played by Jason Watkins, who is a professor of computational biology, and they establish their local sewage works is frequently dumping raw, untreated sewage into local waterways.
Asim Chaudhry also features as whistleblowing sewage plant worker, while other cast members include Posy Sterling, Tom McKay, Jon Culshaw, Vicky Pepperdine, Craig Parkinson, Charlotte Ritchie, Chanel Cresswell, Lucia Keskin and Alex Jennings.
Dirty Business also follows the true story of the Preen family, wracked by grief when their eight-year-old daughter dies after contracting e-coli 0157, and the story of a young surfer who believes his chronic illness, Meniere’s disease, is a result of surfing in polluted water.
The show is produced by Halcyon’s Heart, which produced C4’s 2023 docudrama Partygate, about the lockdown-busting, booze-fuelled culture in Downing Street during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dirty Business is written and directed by Joseph Bullman (Partygate). The producers are Laura McCutcheon (Partygate) and Meeshan Saxena and the exec producer is Aysha Rafaele. The show was commissioned for C4 by Alisa Pomeroy, head of documentaries and factual entertainment, and commissioning editor Rita Daniels.
Pomeroy and Daniels said in a statement: “Dirty Business tells an extraordinary, urgent story about what happens when ordinary people decide to challenge a system that has failed them.
“This series exposes a scandal hiding in plain sight, combining rigorous investigation with powerful human storytelling. Our incredible cast brings both integrity and depth to this issue, an issue affecting millions across the UK.”
Bullman said: “Channel 4 was the only broadcaster that could have made Partygate, and its decision to commission Dirty Business is just as brave because it explores corporate law breaking and a national scandal which, in terms of the amounts of money extracted from the British public, has the potential to dwarf other scandals which have come to light in recent years.”
McCutcheon said: “This series gives a voice to the thousands of people up and down the country who have endured immense suffering as a result of the water companies’ illegal sewage dumping.
“Time and time again the victims of sewage pollution have been ignored, misled or had their suffering brushed under the carpet. This series shines a light on their experiences and demands accountability and change from the water companies and regulator.”
