Latest news with #BritishSteelCorporation
Wales Online
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Michael Sheen announces heartbreaking family tragedy as fans offer support
Michael Sheen announces heartbreaking family tragedy as fans offer support Michael Sheen has shared some very sad news on X Michael has announced some sad family news (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Welsh star Michael Sheen, who is known for his roles in Twilight and Good Omens, has announced some very sad family news as fans offer their support. Taking to X, Michael announced with "heartbreaking sadness" that his father had passed away. He tweeted the news on Sunday, May 11, on behalf of his family in a moving statement. Also posting a picture of his father, he said: "On behalf of my family it is with heartbreaking sadness that I mark the passing of my beautiful father Meyrick Sheen today. "We were with him throughout. There will never be anyone like him. RIP Meyrick Sheen (1940 - 2025)." In a separate tweet, Michael added: "Thank you to the amazing staff at Swn Y Mor care home and Morriston & NPT hospitals. "Your kindness made all the difference. That beautiful portrait is by Roo Lewis. He loved it and so do we. X." Content cannot be displayed without consent Article continues below Many fans offered their support and condolences in reply. For the latest TV and showbiz news sign up to our newsletter . One said: "I am so sorry and sad to hear this. Your dad was such a lovely, warm and very genuine man. "I always thoroughly enjoyed chatting to him, and he was always very generous with his time. "He really was one of a kind. Thinking of you all, especially your lovely mum Irene." Another added: "I'm truly sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family during this time." A third said: "I'm so sorry for your loss... Best wishes, resilience and warm hugs for you and your family... And may he rest in peace." Article continues below Meyrick was a British Steel Corporation personnel manager, and Michael grew up in Port Talbot with his father, his mother, Irene, and sister Joanne.
BBC News
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Toxic Town: Netflix's drama about Corby steel waste
A Netflix drama based on a town's toxic waste scandal is now available to Town depicts the real-life battle of families in Corby whose children were born with defects in what Netflix described as "one of the UK's biggest environmental scandals".Here is everything you need to know about the show and the real events in the Northamptonshire town that inspired it. What happened in Corby? Netflix said Toxic Town focused on mothers who fought a "David and Goliath battle for justice".In 1979, about 10,000 people worked at Corby's steelworks, but, with Britain experiencing a decline in heavy industry, steel production became uncompetitive, leading to the site's closure in 1980. Thousands were left unemployed, prompting the local council to launch a regeneration British Steel Corporation demolished the works, and using government and European grants, the council began reclaiming the land. The project involved moving millions of tonnes of contaminated waste to Deene Quarry, on the outskirts of the town. Years later, concerns arose when mothers living near the reclamation site gave birth to children with upper limb deformities. A 1999 Northamptonshire Health Authority study found no unusual cluster of birth defects. However, solicitor Des Collins, after reading about the cases, conducted his own investigation, revealing birth defects in Corby were three times higher than in the surrounding Collins assembled a team of experts, including toxicologists and pollution specialists, to argue that the council's mismanagement of toxic waste had spread contaminated dust throughout the town. The heavy metal cadmium was identified on the former steel site, and a medical expert cited research linking it to birth defects in a three-month civil court hearing, Justice Akenhead ruled in favour of the claimants, marking the first time a UK court recognised airborne pollutants harming unborn babies. Corby Borough Council disputed the verdict and prepared an appeal, but reached a private settlement with the families in 2010. The local authority no longer exists, having been replaced by the North Northamptonshire unitary council in April case remains a landmark ruling in environmental justice. Who created the show and who are the stars? The four-part series features an ensemble cast led by former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker as Susan McIntyre. She is joined by Sex Education's Aimee Lou Wood as Tracey Taylor and Bridgerton's Claudia Jessie as Maggie Mahon - all real mothers who fought the court Diplomat's Rory Kinnear plays solicitor Des Collins, who took on the case and appeared in the BBC documentary from 2020, similarly called Toxic Town: The Corby Full Monty's Robert Carlyle plays Sam Hagen, a then-Corby Borough Councillor and Downton Abbey's Brendan Coyle, who is from Corby originally, stars as Roy Thomas, a fictional amalgams of several people from the authority. The Netflix series is written by Jack Thorne, known for His Dark Materials and Harry Potter and the Cursed to BBC Radio Northampton, Thorne said: "It felt like this incredibly and shameful thing happened and I had no idea it happened."Bringing attention to that, not just for Corby, but the implication for every single one of us, felt an important thing for TV to do."He said the "hardest bit" was deciding which mothers to focus on in the drama as all "deserve attention". What have the families said? Speaking to the BBC, Tracey Taylor, whose daughter Shelby died at four days old, said: "I don't think the people of Corby realise just how much they have been affected by this. Hopefully they will now, and hopefully they'll see why us mothers had to stand strong and do it."Fellow Corby mother, Maggie Mahon, whose son was born with a club foot, said seeing the show was "emotional". BBC Radio Northampton has produced an eight-part documentary series called In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal, which will be available for download in documentary is presented by 32-year old George Taylor, who was born in 1992 with a unilateral upper limb parents Brian and Fiona had run the King's Arms pub in Weldon, near the clean-up site, and the court heard dusty workers from the reclamation team had spread contaminants throughout their bar."I've never had the chance to really understand what happened in Corby that left us kids the way we are," said George"Even if people know this story – I think they'll be surprised by what we found. It's been an eye-opener." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
