When sewage works become overwhelmed during periods of exceptionally heavy rainfall, operators are legally permitted to release waste into our rivers and seas – but only then – and they must report that to the Environment Agency (EA).
In fact, the series reveals there were nearly one million sewage dumps in 2024 alone. That's one every 30 seconds.
After becoming neighbours, the academic and former police detective joined forces to investigate what was really going on when they noticed the River Windrush – which runs underneath Peter's home, a converted mill in the Cotswolds – had changed colour.
If Peter and Ash's crusade is the brain of Dirty Business, Heather Preen's story is the heart. She was eight years old when she died after being infected by e-coli 0157 in 1999.
"I don't think I realised that it got to the point of people losing their lives because you assume as a lay person that things could not be allowed to get that bad," Tom McKay, who plays Heather's dad Mark, told Radio Times.
"I genuinely thought it can't possibly be that bad, and it clearly is."
"He’s managed to distil all this incredible information that Ash and Peter put together and make it not a documentary," said McKay.
For more about the true stories that inspired Channel 4's Dirty Business, read on.
Dirty Business true story
"I've never been so angry and upset reading a script. I read it on a plane and I honestly think the person next to me thought they needed to call for some help.
"The roots go so deep... it sort of did something physical to me."
As Julie explains in Dirty Business, they had chosen that particular beach for its Blue Flag status – which is supposedly awarded to those with high water quality.
She was eventually taken to a local hospital where she began fitting, before being transferred to a children's hospital and placed on a ventilator.
Her brain lost its ability to control her vital organs and they began to fail. In the end, the only option left was to switch off Heather's life support.
"Then everything that happens afterwards, all this stuff that they were subjected to was just so unnecessary and just added a wild insult to injury. Tragedy almost doesn't feel like a big enough word."
A GP, a microbiologist, council workers and members of the public – we're told at least six other children, including a seven-month-old baby, were infected with the E. coli virus after being at the beach that day – all give evidence about "big influxes of sewage debris on the beach".
They added: "The loss of a child is devastating and we recognise the lasting impact this has had on those closest to her. At the time, there was an extensive and multi-agency investigation involving public health authorities, the Environment Agency and other relevant bodies.
"More than 100 environmental and sewer samples were taken as part of the investigation. The specific strain of E. coli involved in the case was not identified in samples taken from the sewer network.
"The circumstances of wastewater infrastructure and regulation in the late 1990s were very different from today. Since then, significant investment, including through the Clean Sweep programme - which put waste treatment in fort the first time in Dawlish after decades without it.
In the drama, a representative from the EA says of the 45 samples taken from the waters around Dawlish, only two came back positive, while a Chief Scientist for South West Water blames dog poo on one specific area of the beach.
In the end, a jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure.
“One thing Julie said to me is when they put him on the stand, they really cross-examined him. They said all that stuff about fast food [contaminated food, such as raw leafy vegetables or undercooked meat, can put people at risk of E. coli] and dog poo and all this stuff, the implication always being trying to make it look like it was their fault, which, of course, is essentially making them feel like bad parents.
McKay described Julie as having "lion-hearted courage and intelligence".
"And she was so incredible. In the midst of what had happened to her, she had the intelligence and the poise to be an activist, essentially, and to go, 'This needs to stop happening, that beach needs to be shut, and we need to get to the bottom of this,' because she didn't want there to be any more Heathers. And there may have been loads of other Heathers that we just don't know about.
"There might be right now, and there could still be in the future."
Their story doesn't cross paths with Heather's in Dirty Business, but they are tied to her, as we all her, by what is happening to our rivers and seas.
"Right from the word go, we put camera traps in the garden to see what was there, and we'd get everything," Peter told Radio Times. "We had badgers, otters, foxes, deer, all the birdlife – you name it – because of the water. Lots of swans every year. We have a little island and the swans would build their nests.
"It was kind of idyllic, really. And then gradually, we lost the biodiversity."
"And because he'd done fishing and scuba diving, he knew more about what a river should look like, and he thought there was something wrong."
"He didn't know what to do with it," added Peter, which is where Peter came in.
And central to that was a 3D camera that was "as big as a Dalek".
The team developed software to analyse 3D facial scans, which they applied to profile images from prenatal ultrasound scans, which is all very impressive. But what's even more remarkable was how Peter repurposed that technology to uncover what the water companies were doing.
Peter makes it all sound so simple, although he accepts the AI algorithms they use are "sophisticated".
"One thing that shocked me was just how shoddy it was. I've supervised PhD students and if they'd come to me with data like that, I'd have said go away because that's rubbish”
"These aren’t accidents, Ash. It's policy,” says Peter in a scene from Dirty Business, set in 2019. It had become impossible to deny: the water companies were repeatedly and deliberately breaching their permits – "which means they're breaking the law".
"I said it’s 10 times worse than the Environment Agency thinks," Peter recalled while giving evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee in 2021.
Of course Peter laughed that off.
They even persuaded the former CEO of Ofwat to attend their charity cricket match.
Peter said he doesn't like the word "journey", but concedes there's no better word for it.
When Thames Water went to the High Court last year to secure emergency funding and avoid collapse, Peter and Ash intervened to represent customers. Whatever the challenge, they have risen to it – because as the website for their campaign group, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP), puts it simply: 'It doesn't have to be like this.'
"If you're looking for an overnight change, there isn't one," said Peter matter-of-factly. "But the one change that we all believe in, the groups that we mix with, is to remove the profit motive.
Thames Water is currently owned by Kemble Water Holdings Limited, which is in turn owned by a group of institutional investors, including pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.
A Thames Water spokesperson told Radio Times that they "have not seen the Dirty Business series but Thames Water is a company that takes its responsibilities to customers and the environment extremely seriously".
"We understand that all untreated discharges, even when storm overflows are permitted under the conditions of an Environment Agency Permit, are unacceptable, however it’s important to remember the sewage system was historically designed this way to prevent sewage backing up into people's homes.
"Taking action to improve the health of our rivers is a key focus for us and that is why, over the next five years, we are delivering the most significant upgrade to the wastewater network in 150 years. This includes increasing treatment capacity, reducing storm discharges, and introducing new nutrient‑reduction schemes."
"You need much stronger regulation," he reiterates. "The regulators are still playing catch-up, really, and the water companies will continue to make large profits unless the government intervenes" – something he alleges they are reluctant to do for fear of "frightening off investors".
They continued: "Our priority is always to protect the environment for people and wildlife, and the organisation has undergone significant changes in recent years to better tackle water pollution. More people, better data and increased powers mean we will always act on intelligence of potential offences.
"This year we are on track to do 10,000 inspections of water company assets, rooting out wrongdoing and driving better performance. Since 2015 we have concluded 69 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies securing fines of over £153 million."
"I occasionally express doubt about what's going on," he said calmly. It's hard to imagine Peter losing his temper, despite working at the coalface. "You get disillusioned now and then, definitely. One of the things that has upset us is seeing kids looking into the river and thinking that’s just what a river looks like: brown, murky, not many fish. They don’t know what it was like 15 or 20 years ago. And that’s a shocking shame – never mind the health issues.”
Dirty Business makes for exceptionally grim, shocking viewing – but does Peter think it can have the same impact as Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which reinvigorated the fight for justice for those affected by the Post Office scandal – including securing compensation, overturning criminal convictions and stripping the former CEO of her CBE?
McKay said that while there are "lots of parallels" between the two scandals, there's one key difference.
But it did move Peter, who really has seen it all – "I definitely had tears in my eyes in that first episode" – and he has high hopes those watching will experience similar emotions, before their despair turns to anger.
McKay also hopes that people will experience an "inferno of rage alongside the tears".
"One of Julie's fears was that Heather would just be forgotten. But I suppose that’s part of the potency of TV drama. It can be the fuel in the engine that you need to light things up and raise awareness.
Dirty Business debuts on Channel 4 on Monday 23 February.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
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