The creator of Channel 4's campaigning drama Dirty Business has warned that the raw sewage scandal could lead to public revolt unless change occurs. Writer and director Joseph Bullman told The Independent that he has received an influx of furious messages from Britons who feel powerless over water companies dumping sewage into rivers and seas.
Bullman, who also created Partygate, said the situation is 'just about the worst possible situation that we, the British people, will accept without there being some kind of revolution'. He added: 'People feel impotent. They feel like whatever we say to our political class, we get the same policies, election after election, government after government.'
The three-part drama follows two Oxfordshire neighbours, biologist Peter Hammond and ex-police officer Ash Smith, as they investigate why wildlife has abandoned the River Windrush. They uncover that water companies have been illegally pumping raw sewage into waterways, with the Environment Agency failing to act.
Bullman praised Hammond and Smith as 'national heroes' who should be knighted for their decade-long campaign. He noted that factual dramas like Dirty Business resonate with audiences because they reflect lived experiences, unlike many conventional dramas focused on serial killers or missing children.
The series includes the tragic story of eight-year-old Heather Preen, who died from E-coli after falling into contaminated water on a Devon beach. Bullman said he aimed to bring humour to the investigation, highlighting the absurdity of some Environment Agency responses.
