Netflix has just released a gripping new drama based on a shocking true story and it’s already climbing the streaming charts.
Starring Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker and Stockport’s Sex Education star Aimee Lou Wood, Toxic Town delves into one of the UK’s most terrifying environmental scandals for the past century.
While the series is set around the infamous Corby poisonings of the 1980s, much of the filming actually took place right here in the North West. Produced by the team behind Black Mirror, the four-part drama was filmed in late 2023, with Bolton serving as the primary location.
Jodie Whittaker and Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting) were spotted filming scenes on Le Mans Crescent, a popular spot that has also featured in Peaky Blinders and Netflix’s Missing You. The Crescent can be seen in promotional images of the show.
Another notable location is the Mosley Arms on Red Lane, also in Bolton, which was renamed the “Rockingham Arms” for the show.
Paul Longmire, marketing manager at Joseph Holt, told The Bolton News: “There’s a real buzz of excitement amongst all the pub regulars as well as all of us at Joseph Holt.”
Over the past decade, Bolton has earned a reputation as the ‘Hollywood of the North,’ thanks to its historic architecture, striking rural landscapes, and versatility in doubling for global locations. The town has previously hosted productions like Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley, It’s A Sin, and A Gentleman in Moscow, starring Ewan McGregor.
Toxic Town premiered on Netflix on Thursday, 27 February, and has already captivated viewers, with many binge-watching the entire series in one sitting.
What were the Corby poisonings?
Toxic Town tells the story of four mothers who fought for justice for over a decade after their children were born with birth defects affecting their hands and feet. The drama is based on one of the UK’s most historically significant legal cases.
In a landmark 2009 High Court ruling, Corby Borough Council was found negligent in its management of toxic waste at a former steelworks site during the 1980s and 90s. The steelworks closed in 1980, and the council began demolishing the site to repurpose it. However, toxic waste was transported through nearby towns, releasing harmful dust into the air.
Eighteen mothers claimed a link between their babies’ birth defects and the removal of this toxic waste. The council denied negligence, but the court found a “statistically significant” cluster of birth defects between 1989 and 1999. The council later agreed to pay compensation to the affected children.
Writer Jack Thorne, who penned the series, admitted he was unaware of the case until it was brought to him. He told Netflix’s Tudum: “I didn’t know the story, I’d never heard of the people involved, and I’d never heard of the case until it was brought to me. It had within it a lot of drama, whether it’s the story of the trial itself, or whether it’s the way that these women got together and battled together.”
Thorne added: “The more you look into it, the more complicated it all becomes. I’ve done legal dramas before, but this one… being taken through the actual truth of it and seeing the journey that they had to go on in order to prove this, I found very surprising and shocking.”
Star-studded cast and critical acclaim
Alongside Jodie Whittaker as Susan McIntyre and Aimee Lou Wood as Tracey Taylor, the series features Bridgerton’s Claudia Jessie as Maggie Mahon, alongside Robert Carlyle, Brendan Coyle, and Rory Kinnear.
Early reviews have praised Jodie Whittaker’s performance, with The Guardian’s Rachel Aroesti calling her “flawless” and describing the series as “a painfully sad tale of infuriating injustice transformed into something that’s just about bearable to watch.”
Toxic Town is available to stream in Netflix now.
