Filming at Kingsgate and Louisa Bays this week is for a docu-drama on the country’s sewage scandal.
The Channel 4 programme, working title Isle of Sh*te, comes from the makers of Partygate – a factual drama telling the story of Covid from inside 10 Downing Street as staff kicked back at lockdown-breaching parties.
The latest drama, which was commissioned last year, follows the story of two unlikely detectives, who start to notice that the fish in the river running through their idyllic Oxfordshire hamlet are disappearing. They contact their water company to find out why and the company’s strange reply sparks a decade-long investigation which will uncover what may become the worst corporate scandal in British history.
Water companies have been prosecuted at least 59 times since 2015 — but discharges continue.
Rita Daniels, Commissioning Editor for Channel 4, said: “For too long, the UK water companies have been swimming in profits, whilst our rivers and seas are drowning in sewage. We are once again thrilled to be working with the exemplary team behind Partygate, and this time Isle of Sh*te (w/t) will flush out a story of corporate greed, exposing how these companies have been able to get away with polluting our precious resources for so long.”
Writer and Director Joseph Bullman added: “Channel 4 was the only broadcaster that could have made Partygate, and its decision to commission Isle of Sh*te (w/t) is just as brave because it explores corporate law breaking, and a national scandal which, in terms of the amounts of money extracted from the British public, has the potential to dwarf other scandals which have come to light in recent years.”
Isle of Sh*te was commissioned by Alisa Pomeroy, Head of Documentaries and Factual Entertainment and Commissioning Editor Rita Daniels. It is produced by Halcyons Heart and is written and directed by Joseph Bullman. The Executive Producer is Aysha Rafaele. The producers are Laura McCutcheon and Meeshan Saxena.
A report this month by the Environment Agency says water company pollution incidents across England rose sharply last year.
The report shows consistently poor performance from Southern Water and other water and sewerage companies, with serious pollution incidents in 2024 up 60% from 2023.
The Environment Agency assesses all pollution incidents, with category 1 (major) and category 2 (significant) incidents being the most serious. In 2024, 75 category 1 and 2 incidents were recorded, a steep rise from 47 serious incidents the previous year.
Most of these serious incidents – 81% – were the responsibility of three water companies – Thames Water (33 incidents), Southern Water (15 incidents) and Yorkshire Water (13 incidents). All pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) have increased by 29%: last year water companies recorded 2,801 incidents, up from 2,174 in 2023.
Southern Water was responsible for two more serious incidents than the previous year – and all its pollution incidents (category 1 to 3) increased by 32%.
The Environment Agency says reasons behind the results include persistent underinvestment in new infrastructure, poor asset maintenance, and reduced resilience due to the impacts of climate change.
