All3 lands first global sales for Dirty Business

Channel 4 scripted series Dirty Business has made a raft of international sales, including to the ABC in Australia.

The 3 x 60-minute factual drama, which is produced by Partygate indie Halcyon Heart Films, was picked up for distribution by All3Media International and revolves around a 10-year investigation into the sewage spill cover-up, which lies at the doors of England’s water companies.

The show, which averaged 680,000 (6.3%) overnight viewers when it aired on C4 in February, tells the stories of the whistleblowers and victims affected by sewage-polluted waters at popular coastal holiday areas.

All3MI has also sold the series to Dutch public service broadcaster NPO and New Zealand’s indie film and international cinema channel Rialto Channel.

Dirty Business is written and directed by Joseph Bullman, and stars David Thewlis as retired detective Ash Smith and Jason Watkins as Oxford professor Peter Hammond, the two men who began to ask questions after their local river turned brown.

Bullman said: “None of us have experienced a reaction like this. Waves of media coverage, questions in Parliament, a meeting between a mother and the government minister, after her child died after getting into sewage-polluted water; and a petition demanding the removal of the head regulator’s knighthood.

“Dirty Business is being taught in ethics classes in schools and colleges; and a second petition, demanding a return to public ownership, is gaining a thousand signatures an hour. The surge of public anger is intense and we know Dirty Business will strike a chord in all those countries facing their own corporate crime-waves.”

All3Media International’s exec vice president of content, Maartje Horchner, added: “This is not only a brilliantly crafted series, but a vital exposé uncovering one of England’s most significant corporate scandals. It has already struck a chord with buyers across Europe and Australia, and its powerful themes resonate globally, with parallels that reach from America to Italy, and from India to France.”

Producers are Laura McCutcheon and Meeshan Saxena, exec producer is Aysha Rafaele and commissioners are Alisa Pomeroy and Rita Daniel.