Dirty Business - Channel 4
- Ash
- Feb 23
- 2 min read
The publicity has been exceptional but in case you haven't seen the ads,
Channel 4 will air Dirty Business, a factual drama about the sewage scandal at 9pm on Monday 23rd February, with three episodes over 3 consecutive days.
This is a powerful piece of work from a remarkable production team, cast and crew. It has received massive support from Channel 4 and you will see why.
It is a factual drama - hence it is a dramatised account of some of the many investigations and analyses conducted by two of WASP's founder members, Prof Peter Hammond and Ash Smith, since 2017. WASP is a bigger team than that, but this focuses on the early days and key events.
It is about things that really happened, but not necessarily a blow-by-blow account, which would take many hours to recount.
It is certainly not only about WASP, as you will see, as shocking and tragic events unfold.
Some of the scenes, such as public meetings, represent a combination of events and the interactions with whistleblowers are used as a dramatic device to reveal the results of WASP's own enquiries as well as the information given by brave individuals to the producers.
WASP does not discuss its engagement with confidential sources.
The WASP team engaged with the Dirty Business producers for over 2 years, providing written and photographic evidence to support all of the storylines used in the episodes, sometimes to enable the use of the exact words used by the subjects.
At the start of the process, we wondered how it would be possible to weave the narrative threads of a national scandal into a coherent, honest, and engaging piece, and now we know.
We engaged in this project because we thought it could make a difference and break the cycle of pollution for profit and promises of stronger regulation that have gone on for over 30 years. Illegal pollution, regulatory capture, government indifference and even complicity lie at the heart of this scandal, but it does not have to be this way.
What happens next is something we can all play a part in - more to come on that.
This was a powerful and eye-opening read. The way the story highlights hidden environmental issues really shows how important transparency and accountability are in industries that rely on hazardous materials. It made me think about how critical it is to use the right solutions and follow proper standards when handling and cleaning contaminated areas. Safe handling and responsible use of chemical products can make a big difference in preventing situations like the ones described. Awareness is definitely the first step, but having access to reliable industrial cleaning and maintenance solutions is just as important for long-term impact.
Thank you for all your hard work, determination, science and investigative journalism. It is disheartening the lengths you have had to go through and the years it has taken to reach this point. Journalists everywhere, do not make this yesterday’s news. I am appalled, saddened and disallusioned at the human cost of this and where we are as a country, and how complicit Governments, politicians, Environment Agency senior employees have been for decades.
Necessary viewing for anyone who uses our water system and our rivers ,lakes and seas . The extent of cyncism, circumvention of the law and complicity is astounding and a terrible indictment of those running this country. How can any water boss sleep at night ? Don' t they care about the potential harm to their own family members who use our rivers and swim off our beaches ?
A fine documentary indeed.
Let us hope that the powers that be grasp the nettle & stop this 21st century travesty.
Rivers , water sources , beach’s & coastal seas are all ours - anybody that is complicit in messing with these fountains of nature should “serve time” ! ,be sacked ! or made to recompence regardless of cost(s) !.
Yours.
I’ve just written a lengthy comment but after signing up I never received a verification code by email despite requesting it 3 times (yes I did check my junk folder). I still tried to log in and amazingly it said I submitted an incorrect password so I asked to reset it. The email promised never arrived either. I feel there would be many more comments if this was corrected. I’ll try and use another method and see if that works.