--- title: "Toxic Town: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/toxic-town/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/toxic-town" critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Toxic Town (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 78 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Toxic Town, praising its account of the Corby toxic waste scandal for keeping the mothers and their fight for justice at the centre. Praise clusters around the cast, particularly Jodie Whittaker’s combination of fierceness and vulnerability, with Aimee Lou Wood also frequently singled out. The reviews value the attention paid to personal tragedy and working-class lives, finding the drama involving even when its approach feels familiar. The reservations concern how neatly that struggle is packaged. Several critics find touches of sentimentality, gloss or over-explanation, though these rarely outweigh the performances. The Telegraph finds the courtroom scenes duller than the personal stories. The Evening Standard offers the strongest reservations, arguing that soapy conventions and overly villainous characters restrict the emotional depth. The spread is largely positive rather than sharply divided: most critics accept the conventional storytelling, while the dissent questions how much feeling it allows. ## The i Paper — Emily Baker Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2025. The critic deems the series compulsory viewing for its powerful account of the Corby toxic waste scandal and the mothers' fight for justice. It singles out Jodie Whittaker's astonishing lead performance and the expertly crafted suspense for praise. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/toxic-town-netflix-review-compulsory-viewing-scandal-post-office-3555071) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2025. The critic finds the series a bittersweet, feelgood drama about mothers fighting corporate negligence in the Corby toxic waste scandal, praising the exceptional performances of Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood as the central mothers. It notes some cheesiness and spoon-feeding but values the story's humanity and timely message about fighting greed. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/feb/27/toxic-town-review-jodie-whittaker-aimee-lou-wood-netflix-obviously-award-worthy) ## The Telegraph — Anita Singh Rating 4/5. 27 February 2025. The review highlights how the drama excels at detailing personal tragedies in the Corby case but finds the courtroom scenes duller and notes Netflix feels like an odd home for such a British story. It praises the cast, especially Jodie Whittaker, and calls it very watchable overall. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/toxic-town-netflix-review/) ## Radio Times — Jack Seale Rating 7.5/10. The critic praises this as an impassioned, strongly cast true-story drama that sheds light on the little-known Corby poisoning scandal. It singles out the series for belatedly giving its working-class protagonists a powerful voice. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-6pgmsi/toxic-town/) ## The Independent — Nick Hilton Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2025. The critic sees it as another entry in the 'British injustice' genre, like Mr Bates vs The Post Office, with a fine cast bringing a historic scandal to light. It praises the engaging characters and underdog spirit but notes it can feel too glossy and sentimental at times. [Read the review](https://independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/toxic-town-jack-thorne-jodie-whittaker-b2704302.html) ## Evening Standard — Adam Bloodworth Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2025. The review calls the series decently bingeable due to its shocking true story of the Corby waste scandal and strong performances from Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood. It criticises the soapy conventionality that limits emotional depth and the overly villainous characters. [Read the review](https://standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/toxic-town-on-netflix-review-this-soapy-jodie-whittaker-timetravelling-drama-b1213357.html) ## Digital Spy — Laura Jane Turner Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2025. The series is a heart-wrenching account of mothers fighting relentlessly for justice after their children suffer birth defects from toxic waste. It stands out for Jodie Whittaker's fierce and vulnerable lead performance as the central mother driving the narrative, supported by a strong ensemble cast. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a63951344/toxic-town-review-cast-jodie-whittaker/) ## Den of Geek — Louisa Mellor Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 28 February 2025. The drama effectively dramatizes the real-life court case, emphasizing the human cost when profits are prioritized over safety and experts are ignored. It singles out the strong performances by Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood in conveying the mothers' empathy and determination. [Read the review](https://denofgeek.com/tv/netflix-toxic-town-battle-cry-experts-red-tape) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/toxic-town.md