Netflix's gripping new drama Toxic Town (starring Doctor Who's Jodie Whittaker) tells the story of a group of determined mothers, who were forced to fight for justice after their children were born with severe birth defects due to the mishandling of toxic waste.
Is Toxic Town based on a true story?
Yes, between 1984 and 1999, Corby Borough Council carried out the decontamination of a large industrial site to prepare it for housing, which involved moving 200 million tonnes of hazardous waste across the area, often in open lorries.
It was this toxic waste mismanagement that resulted in pregnant mothers being unknowingly exposed to harmful substances, causing their babies to be born with severe deformities, including missing limbs, malformed feet, and underdeveloped fingers. Some babies who were affected sadly passed away not long after they were born.
The condition, later known as "Corby Hand", was regarded at the time as the most significant case of child poisoning since the infamous Thalidomide scandal.
United by their shared pain and determination, nineteen women and families "took on a David and Goliath battle for justice" and uncovered a shocking truth — that their children's conditions were not a matter of chance, but the result of negligence and harmful actions.
Netflix has described the show as “a story of community resilience in the face of institutional negligence and greed — and the power of parents’ love for their children.”
Toxic Town writer Jack Thorne (Best Interests, Kiri, National Treasure) told the streaming platform: "The Corby Toxic Waste Case is one of those moments in history that is defining. It showed our ability to close our eyes and ears to the safety of our people. It also showed the remarkable way that people will fight for what's right. Toxic Town tells the story of these funny, brave, incredible women and the way they scrapped for their children."
Are the characters in Toxic Town based on real people?
In the dramatized version of events, Toxic Town focuses on three of the mothers who were affected and these characters are based on the real Susan McIntyre, Tracey Taylor and Maggie Mahon.
Council worker Sam Hagen and solicitor Des Collins were also real people.
Toxic Town cast
Leading the drama is Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who actor) as Susan McIntyre, Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education star) as Tracey Taylor and Claudia Jessie (from Bridgerton) as Maggie Mahon.
Rory Kinnear (Years and Years, Bank of Dave) plays Des Collins, the solicitor who helps the families fight for justice, and Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) plays Sam Hagen, a councillor and major whistle-blower in the case.
Downton Abbey's Brendan Coyle, who's actually from Corby himself, plays Roy Thomas, a fictional amalgamation of several people from the council.
Here's the full cast of Toxic Town:
• Jodie Whittaker (Broadchurch) as Susan McIntyre, one of the most vocal campaigning mothers
• Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus) as Tracey Taylor, mother who lives in Kettering but works for Corby waste management company
• Claudia Jessie (Line of Duty) as Maggie Mahon, mother in the case whose husband who works at the site
• Robert Carlyle (COBRA) as Sam Hagen, former councillor and whistle-blower
• Rory Kinnear as Des Collins, solicitor who Susan chooses to represent the mothers
• Brendan Coyle (Lark Rise to Candleford) as Roy Thomas, council leader who plans to redevelop former-steelworks site
• Michael Socha (This Is England) as Peter, Susan's ex and father of her two children
• Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones) as Derek Mahon, Maggie's husband who worked at the reclamation site
• Stephen McMillan (Boiling Point) as Ted Jenkins, senior engineering technician, whose dad was once in charge of the steelworks
• Lauren Lyle (Karen Pirie) as Dani Holliday, a solicitor working on the case
• Karla Crome (Carnival Row) as Pattie Walker, a pub worker and mother whose child is affected
• Toby Eden as Connor, Tracey's son, one of the children who was affected by the toxic waste
• Ben Batt as Pat Miller
• Matthew Durkan (Wedding Season) as Mark Taylor
• Simon Harrison as Bill Martin
• Jaz Singh Deol as Chief Executive
When is Toxic Town on Netflix?
Toxic Town has a Netflix release date of the 27th February 2025. All four episodes will be available to stream.
Toxic Town trailer
Where was Toxic Town filmed?
Despite being set in Corby, Netflix's Toxic Town was actually filmed in Bolton, Liverpool and surrounding locations in the East Midlands.
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and walking her three dogs.