Toxic Town, a new four-part Netflix drama out today, is a based on a sadly true story. Written by Jack Thorne (Enola Holmes, His Dark Materials), the limited series traces the child poisonings of Corby, Northamptonshire, and the long legal battle led by the families, primarily mothers, of children born with deformities caused by toxic dust from the former British Steel factory, closed in 1979.
In a heartbreaking video by Netflix, Toxic Town stars Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood spoke to mothers Susan McIntyre, Tracey Taylor, and Maggie Mahon about their experiences, growing up in Corby, and the seemingly endless fight for their day in court — as well as how their story was represented in the Netflix series.
"All the years of fighting then finding out that, yes, that the judge believed us mums and we were right, was such a big sense of relief because we didn't do anything and it wasn't our fault," says Taylor. In 2010, Corby Borough Council was found negligent for waste management at the steelworks.
In the show, Whittaker plays McIntyre, Wood plays Taylor, and Bridgerton's Claudia Jessie plays Mahon. There's a deeply moving moment between Taylor and Wood, which honours Taylor's daughter Shelby Anne, who died at just four days old. "What you have done for her I am in debt to you, because you have done her justice, and you have done us justice and we will be forever grateful," says Taylor.
Whittaker described being part of Toxic Town as "a huge honour," and championed the women who lived through the series' very real events.
"For me and Aimee Lou, we had lots of scenes together that were within the hospitals, so we could appreciate without ever knowing what you've been through, what it must’ve have been like to go day in day out in those environments. And then for someone to question the validity of your claims is unimaginable, and completely unacceptable," she said.
"This will bring attention to something incredibly shocking, incredibly heartbreaking and totally avoidable."
