Channel 4's 'Dirty Business' Draws Flattering Comparisons to 'Mr Bates Vs The Post Office'
While it hasn't yet ignited the same firestorm as Mr Bates Vs The Post Office did two years ago, Channel 4's new docudrama Dirty Business has been receiving what writer/director Joseph Bullman describes as "flattering" comparisons to the groundbreaking series. The three-part investigation delves into England's escalating water pollution crisis, exposing corporate negligence that affects every citizen.
A Proud Yet Annoying Comparison
"When you make these kinds of shows, you're trying to give the campaigners and the people at the coalface – in this case, at the river banks and on the coast – a voice," Bullman explained to Metro. "Mr Bates did that, and hopefully we've done that as well. I'm really proud of the comparison."
He added with a jovial tone: "I mean, it's annoying, because we think we're really original and everyone's saying it's like Mr Bates, but it's really a nice comparison."
Exposing England's Water Pollution Catastrophe
The documentary investigates what Bullman believes could become "the biggest corporate scandal in our history." The numbers presented are staggering: an average of over 1,600 raw sewage dumps occur daily across England, with campaigners estimating there could have been as many as a million incidents in 2024 alone.
Meanwhile, water company shareholders received £1 billion in dividends from 2023 to 2024, accruing debt to afford these payouts while allowing critical infrastructure to deteriorate. No executives have faced prosecution for these systemic failures.
From Thatcher's Privatization to Financial Instruments
Bullman traces the crisis back to Margaret Thatcher's privatization of the water industry, which has since fallen under the stewardship of private hedge funds and international investment banks. "I remember thinking, what? Sorry, one of our water companies is owned by an investment bank from overseas?" Bullman recalled upon learning about Australian investment bank Macquarie's ownership of Thames Water.
"All of them have been endlessly flipped, bought and sold, extracted of value, they've become financial instruments," said Bullman, who previously directed Channel 4's Partygate docudrama in 2023.
Human Tragedy at the Heart of the Scandal
The documentary anchors its emotional weight around the heartbreaking story of Heather Preen, an 8-year-old who died of E. coli poisoning two weeks after playing on a Devon beach during a family holiday in 1999. The narrative then follows crusading retirees Peter Hammond (portrayed by Jason Watkins) and Ashley Smith (David Thewlis), who embarked on a decade-long campaign to clean up their local River Windrush.
Bullman described the pair as "national heroes" who have "effectively acted as the regulators in the absence of a real regulator for 10 years now."
Two Years of Intensive Research and Legal Scrutiny
Working with factual producer Laura McCutcheon, Bullman conducted what he describes as a "prodigious amount of research" over two years. The documentary includes copious documentation, citations, rights of reply, jargon demystification, and social media footage.
The legal process was "incredibly intense," requiring a team of Channel 4 lawyers to review every claim. "We thought very, very seriously about everything that we've said in these films," Bullman explained. "We haven't said anything that we don't know to be the truth, ultimately."
Individuals and corporations are named and shamed throughout the documentary, with everyone featured given a right of reply on the material presented.
Viewer Response: Overwhelming Fury
"Overwhelmingly, fury," Bullman said when asked about viewer reactions. "We have a lot of drama on British television, but there isn't much of it that connects to our real lives. It's mostly about serial killers and murders and investigations into murder."
"When you make something which connects to their lived experience, the response you get resonates so much more. It's so much more intense, because people can recognise their own lives in it. They look into their rivers and they look into the coast and they go on holiday and they come back ill."
Dirty Business is currently available to stream on Channel 4, offering viewers a comprehensive investigation into what may become one of the most significant environmental and corporate scandals in British history.
