Channel 4’s new factual drama Dirty Business

Photographs taken for Helsingin Sanomat in May 2023 show campaigners Ashley Smith and Peter Hammond standing in their local river: River Windrush, examining stones covered with algae – visual evidence of the pollution they have spent years fighting. The story can also be found on my blog.

The assignment took us to Witney, where we met members of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), the grassroots campaign group founded by Smith. The pair have built a formidable reputation for holding water companies to account, leading detailed investigations into the UK’s sewage pollution crisis since 2017.

Their decade-long inquiry reaches into what many campaigners describe as one of the most significant corporate and regulatory scandals in modern British history – exposing how water companies were able to discharge sewage into natural waterways for years with limited oversight.

Their story is now the focus of Channel 4’s factual drama Dirty Business. The three-part series examines Britain’s sewage scandal and recounts the tragic case of the Preen family, who lost their daughter, Heather, after contracting E.coli.
Dirty Business premiered on Channel 4 on Monday, 23 February. Ashley Smith is portrayed by David Thewlis, with Peter Hammond played by Jason Watkins.