Toxic Town Cast: Meet the Netflix True Story Drama's Characters

If the public response to Toxic Town, Jack Thorne’s new inspired-by-a-true-story Netflix drama, is half as energised as that of last year’s Mr Bates vs the Post Office, this won’t be the last we hear about this landmark legal case from 2009. The four-part series tells the true story of a group of mothers in the Northamptonshire town whose babies were born with upper and lower limb differences, as well as other health issues, as a result of toxins released due to negligent management of reclaimed wasteland by Corby Borough Council.

As well as an urgent story, Toxic Town has an excellent cast, featuring actors from Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Sex Education, Trainspotting and many more. Find out all about the characters and who’s playing them below.

Jodie Whittaker as Susan McIntyre

Susan McIntyre is a real Corby resident and the mother of Connor McIntyre, who was born with an upper limb difference as a result of poisons from toxic brownfield sites entering Susan’s system during pregnancy. She was one of 18 women with children harmed by the toxins who, along with solicitor Des Collins, took Corby Borough Council to court in 2009.

She’s played by former Doctor Who actor Jodie Whittaker, who flew the TARDIS between 2017 and 2022 (and continues to voice the 13th Doctor in audio stories), and who in 2023 gave an acclaimed performance opposite The Last of Us‘ Bella Ramsey in the second series of Jimmy McGovern’s prison-set drama Time. Whittaker will soon be seen alongside Suranne Jones in crime drama Frauds.

Aimee Lou Wood as Tracey Taylor

Tracey Taylor is another real Corby resident whose family was seriously affected by the toxins carried by dust from the reclaimed steelworks site. Her husband Mark is played by Matthew Durkan.

Tracey is played by Aimee Lou Wood, who established her name alongside fellow stars Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey in Netflix’s teen comedy-drama Sex Education, and has been booked and busy ever since. Wood is filming a second series of BBC comedy Daddy Issues with David Morrissey, starred with Bill Nighy in feature film Living, and is currently appearing in season three of the hottest show around, HBO’s The White Lotus opposite Walton Goggins.

Rory Kinnear as Des Collins

Des Collins is the real solicitor who led the negligence claim against Corby Borough Council alongside 18 of the mothers whose pregnancies were affected by the toxins. As mentioned in the drama, he and his firm also represented train crash victims of the Southall and Paddington rail disasters.

He’s played by Rory Kinnear, a much-loved British screen and stage actor (and incidentally, the son of another well-loved actor: Roy Kinnear) seen recently in the role of Dave “Bank of Dave” Fishwick in Netflix’s follow-up film to the first. He’s been in Bond films, played John Clare in Penny Dreadful (and came back for sequel City of Angels), recently starred in The Diplomat and played Tom Bombadil in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Brendan Coyle as Roy Thomas

Corby Borough Council Labour deputy leader and then leader Roy Thomas is a fictionalised character based, as it says in Toxic Town‘s closing credits, “…on a number of men, none of whom lived to see their plans for Corby fully realised.”

He’s played by Brendan Coyle, who’s well known for playing the Earl of Grantham’s valet Mr Bates in the Downton Abbey TV series and feature film spin-offs. In between playing Bates, he slotted in a role in BBC crime drama Requiem and film Mary Queen of Scots, and before that, he played Robert in Lark Rise to Candleford and appeared in a huge range of TV dramas from Prime Suspect to literary adaptation North and South to Dangerfield and many more.

Robert Carlyle as Sam Hagen

Sam Hagen was a real Corby Borough Councillor who raised concerns about corner-cutting in the steelworks reclamation process. Toxic Town is dedicated to his memory.

He’s played by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, who came to fame in the 1990s after TV roles in Jimmy McGovern’s Cracker and the BBC’s Hamish Macbeth, and in films Trainspotting and The Full Monty, and has since done all sorts, from Bond films to a long stint in US ABC fantasy Once Upon a Time, before returning to The Full Monty‘s TV sequel and taking the lead in Sky political thriller COBRA.

Joe Dempsie as Derek Mahon

Derek Mahon was a real employee of the company who carried out the groundworks at the former steelworks reclamation site. He and his wife Maggie Mahon (played by Bridgerton and Line of Duty‘s Claudia Jessie) had a child affected by the toxins released in the process. He’s played by Joe Dempsie, a well-known actor whose career started out in Channel 4 teen drama Skins, and who went on to play Gendry in Game of Thrones, and have prominent roles in Adult Material, Showtrial and many more acclaimed dramas. He can soon be seen in Channel 4 crime drama Get Millie Black.

Karla Crome as Pattie Walker

Actor-writer Karla Crome plays Pattie Walker, a character whose child was born with limb difference as a result of the toxins. Crome’s biggest previous roles were in Misfits, Under the Dome and Carnival Row, as well as BBC comedy-drama Am I Being Unreasonable?

ALSO APPEARING

– Bridgerton‘s Eloise Claudia Jessie as real-life Corby mother Maggie Mahon
– Domina and Our Girl’s Ben Batt as fictional business owner Pat Miller
– Boiling Point and The North Water’s Stephen McMillan as council engineer Ted Jenkins
– This is England and The Gallows Pole’s Michael Socha as Susan’s partner Peter
– Endeavour and Until I Kill You’s Simon Harrison as fictional council worker Bill Martin
– Daddy Issues’ and Outlander’s Matthew Durkan as Tracey’s husband Mark Taylor
– Karen Pirie, The Outrun and Vigil’s Lauren Lyle plays real-life case solicitor Dani Holliday
– EastEnders’ Kheerat, aka Jaz Singh Deol, plays the council chief executive
– Newcomer Ralph Falkingham plays Susan’s son Connor McIntyre

All episodes of Toxic Town are streaming now on Netflix.