Jodie Whittaker headlines an all-star cast in Toxic Town, a harrowing new Netflix drama that’s being billed as ‘the UK’s Erin Brockovich’.
Based on a true story, Toxic Town is set in 1995 when dozens of babies in the Midlands town of Corby are born with disabilities as a result of an environmental catastrophe.
Here’s all you need to know about Toxic Town’s plot, cast and filming locations.
What is Toxic Town about?
Toxic Town tells the true story of a devastating environmental scandal in Corby, Northamptonshire and its lasting impact on families in the community after a link was found between 19 children born with physical abnormalities following a mishandled clean-up of toxic waste from the town’s former steelworks site.
What followed was a decade-spanning fight for justice as the families embarked on an exhausting court case battle to hold those responsible to account.
The Northamptonshire town has been a hotbed of industry but its steel worksite was closed in 1981. The local council was then in charge of its reclamation, including transporting toxic waste in a bid to revive the town.
Check out the trailer below for a glimpse of the drama.
Where was Toxic Town filmed?
Production on Toxic Town started in August 2023. While the series is set in the Northamptonshire town of Corby, much of the show was filmed in the North West, across Bolton, Liverpool and surrounding locations in the East Midlands.
Bolton
Bolton’s famous Le Mans Crescent was used as a filming location, with its distinctive curved buildings that make up the local civic centre and town hall.
The Mosley Arms, a pub in the Bolton district of Breightmet, was also used as a filming location and renamed to The Rockingham Arms for the shoot.
Bolton has previously been used as a filming location for Peaky Blinders, It’s A Sin, Happy Valley, and A Gentleman in Moscow, cementing its status as the ‘Hollywood of the North’.
West Yorkshire
The town of Holmfirth appears in Toxic Town, with film crews spotted at the Holme Valley Memorial Hospital. The building was originally a private house called Elmwood, but was later transformed into a hospital in 1920 to care for soldiers injured in World War 1.
A convenient location for lead actress Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor Who star was born in the town of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
Trafford, Greater Manchester
Jodie Whittaker was seen wearing a fake baby bump in the Sale, a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester.
Other scenes saw the actress walk through the town’s Brooklands Road as she pushed a buggy and walked alongside a child.
Liverpool
Film crews were spotted in Liverpool in September 2023 when the Town Hall was used as a filming location. The inner council chamber was transformed into a courtroom for the production.
Who is in the Toxic Town cast?
Jodie Whittaker leads the cast of Toxic Town, taking on the role of Susan, one of the mothers impacted by the scandal when her son is born with a birth defect.
Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education) stars as Tracey Taylor, with Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton) as Maggie Mahon, completing the main trio of mothers that the series focuses on – though many more were impacted.
Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) stars as local councillor Sam Hagen, with Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) as deputy council leader Roy Thomas, a character invented for the series and is an amalgamation of several of the decision makers behind the scandal.
Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat) portrays local solicitor Des Collins, who assists the mothers in their battle.
Toxic Town was penned by playwright and TV writer Jack Thorne. He is best known for writing the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the Enola Holmes movies and fantasy series His Dark Materials.
Thorne described the cast as ‘a company of dreams’. ‘I couldn’t believe that we were able to get these people, and that they were prepared to be part of this story,’ he added.
‘Each of them just brought something new that I’d never seen them do before. And when you’re with a cast that’s doing that consistently, it’s so exciting to watch and it’s so beautiful.’
Where can I watch Toxic Town?
All four episodes of Toxic Town will arrive on Netflix on Thursday, February 27.
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