Thames Water BBC documentary shows firm 'under siege'

Documentary maker Barnaby Peel, who spent months documenting the operations of Thames Water, says the company feels "under siege." Peel and his team were granted exclusive access to company employees, including CEO Chris Weston, over a six-month period to film the BBC documentary "Thames Water: Inside the Crisis."

Peel stated that he personally has "sympathy" for the company's employees but also understands the public's anger at the company's performance. This comes after an appeal against a £3 billion emergency loan for Thames Water was rejected, and the loan is expected to proceed smoothly. In an interview with BBC Berkshire, Peel said the struggling company was a "fascinating place" where employees are dealing with rising customer bills and protests over sewage flowing into rivers. He also revealed, "Sometimes the smells were pretty ripe - I've spent a lot of time in sewage treatment works over the last six months."

Peel previously produced a documentary about London Zoo for ITV and a documentary about the rise of Donald Trump for Netflix. He acknowledged that some employees felt "very anxious" about appearing in the two-part series. "I think the company absolutely feels like it's under siege," he added, "The people there - and this might sound a little extreme - genuinely feel like there's a high level of public hatred towards them." Thames Water serves approximately a quarter of the UK population, primarily in London and parts of southern England, and employs 8,000 people.

In the documentary, Weston, who was appointed CEO in January 2024, stated that he was surprised by the level of "intervention" from water regulator Ofwat and how it "directs the running of the company." Weston said on the program, "They've become increasingly interested in dividends, and increasingly interventionist. It's quite surprising, and I think they have all the powers they need. But of course, I would say that, wouldn't I?"

Part two of "Thames Water: Inside the Crisis" will air on BBC Two at 21:00 GMT, and both parts are available on iPlayer.