Back to News
Channel 4’s Dirty Business is a clarion call to nationalise the water industry
BusinessHealth•February 23, 2026 at 9:00 PMNational

Channel 4’s Dirty Business is a clarion call to nationalise the water industry

By Sandra Laville•The Guardian - UK News

As the drama shows, private firms no longer able to pollute the coast of England of Wales just switched to rivers instead There is a moment in Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business when Julie Maughan holds the body of her dead child and lets out an anguished cry. It is as brutal as it is compelling.Her eight-year-old daughter Heather had just died in hospital, two weeks after playing in the sea on the beach at Dawlish Warren in Devon, where she contracted E coli O157, a bug which comes from raw sewage. She became ill with diarrhoea and blood loss. Transferred to Bristol children’s hospital, her parents agreed to switch off her life-support machine after she suffered kidney failure and brain damage. Continue reading...

As the drama shows, private firms no longer able to pollute the coast of England of Wales just switched to rivers instead

There is a moment in Channel 4’s drama Dirty Business when Julie Maughan holds the body of her dead child and lets out an anguished cry. It is as brutal as it is compelling.

Her eight-year-old daughter Heather had just died in hospital, two weeks after playing in the sea on the beach at Dawlish Warren in Devon, where she contracted E coli O157, a bug which comes from raw sewage. She became ill with diarrhoea and blood loss. Transferred to Bristol children’s hospital, her parents agreed to switch off her life-support machine after she suffered kidney failure and brain damage.

Continue reading...

Related News

Sadiq Khan joins Labour figures urging PM not to water down electric vehicle targets – as it happened
UK NewsPoliticsHealth

Sadiq Khan joins Labour figures urging PM not to water down electric vehicle targets – as it happened

This blog is now closedOn the Today programme this morning, the Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, a prominent leftwinger, ind...

The Guardian - UK News2 hours ago
Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills six Palestinians, health ministry says
Health

Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills six Palestinians, health ministry says

Witnesses say a missile hit a building containing the surgical wards and intensive care units at Nasser hospital, the la...

BBC News - UK3 hours ago
UK car industry to press EU for two-year delay to Brexit EV tariffs
UK NewsBusiness

UK car industry to press EU for two-year delay to Brexit EV tariffs

‘Rules of origin’ on vehicle batteries due to come into force on 1 January if deal on new delay is not reachedBusiness l...

The Guardian - UK News4 hours ago
Time running out for young people to receive meningitis B vaccines in UK
UK NewsTechnologyHealth

Time running out for young people to receive meningitis B vaccines in UK

Just 28% of 18- and 19-year-olds have received their first dose in one-off campaign, UKHSA saysThe clock is ticking for...

The Guardian - UK News6 hours ago
Poundland owner secures two extra weeks to ensure retail chain’s survival
UK NewsBusiness

Poundland owner secures two extra weeks to ensure retail chain’s survival

US investment firm Gordon Brothers is ‘taking due care’ to consider if one of three bidders has enough fundsBusiness liv...

The Guardian - UK News6 hours ago
AI helped UK defy expectations – but will economy’s resilience fizzle out?
UK NewsPoliticsBusinessTechnology

AI helped UK defy expectations – but will economy’s resilience fizzle out?

Despite John Healey’s defiance, the economy faces threats from a tech slowdown and energy bills this winterAI helps UK e...

The Guardian - UK News7 hours ago