Retired Gents Expose River Sewage Scandal

A new drama, 'Dirty Business,' shines a light on the pervasive issue of raw sewage being pumped into British waterways. The three-part series is based on the true story of two retired men in an Oxfordshire village who embarked on a mission to expose this environmental travesty.

Ashley Smith, a former detective skilled in uncovering corruption, and Professor Peter Hammond, an academic adept at analyzing complex data, possess the ideal skills for their investigation. They encounter industry jargon and obfuscation, uncovering that "untreated effluent discharges" is code for human waste being dumped, and "operator self-monitoring" allows companies to evade accountability.

Initially dismissed as rare, rainfall-induced incidents by water companies, the crusaders discover these discharges are, in fact, a deliberate policy. The drama draws parallels to the "Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office" series, celebrating the determination of ordinary citizens against corporate malfeasance. However, it is underscored by a tragic personal story – the E. coli infection and subsequent death of an eight-year-old girl, contracted from sewage on a beach, which deeply impacts the narrative.