Fact Check: Is Roy Thomas from Toxic Town based on a real character? Explained

A still from Toxic Town official trailer (Image via Netflix)

Netflix's British drama series Toxic Town tells the story of waste mismanagement in Corby, Britain. Due to the council's negligence, steel waste was buried in the ground, which affected pregnant women at the time. As a result, the children born to these women were found to have physical disabilities. Later, a major case was filed, and the women fought for justice for their children.

In this drama series, the character of Roy Thomas was not real, but his role plays an important part in helping to better explain the story, as per Cinemaholic. Through Roy Thomas, the actions of the council leaders are portrayed, allowing the audience to understand more clearly how the different council leaders handled the situation over time.

Toxic Town is now available for streaming on Netflix.

Roy Thomas' character represents the different leaders and policies of the Borough Council

Corby Borough Council (CBC) decided to redevelop the area for the locals, including activity areas, homes, shopping malls, and wonder parks. They laid out a 10-year plan, but the council focused more on profits and paid little attention to the waste mismanagement.

As time passed, the council leaders decided to cut corners to speed up the process. They didn’t focus on who was being given the cleaning tasks.

When the leaders were informed that the waste could cause physical disabilities in newborns, they refused to take any responsibility.

The council hired companies on the brink of closing down, such as Noone & McGowan and Shanks & McEwans, to handle the task.

They didn’t pay attention to where these companies were dumping the toxic waste. By the time they realized the consequences, the waste had spread throughout Corby, causing severe harm to newborns.

Plot of Toxic Town and the character of Roy Thomas, explained

The story of Toxic Town is told from the perspective of three mothers from Corby, who became victims due to the mismanagement of steel waste by the Borough Council.

This mismanagement spread toxic steel waste across Corby, affecting pregnant women and resulting in their children being born with physical disabilities.

After some time, these mothers fought for justice for their children, leading to a decade-long battle. The story highlights their struggle and the suffering of their newborn children.

In this drama series, the character of Roy Thomas is not real, but he represents the actions and decisions made by the council. In simple terms, Roy Thomas serves as a representation of the different leaders and policies of the council, making it easier for the audience to understand the events.

When the lives of several newborns were affected by this negligence, and the mothers of Corby demanded justice, the council outrightly rejected the allegations against them.

This led to the case going to court, eventually becoming a high-profile case, with the mothers of Corby fighting for justice on a large scale.

According to The Cinemaholic, in 2009, the judge finally ruled that it was indeed the council's mismanagement and negligence that caused harm to the town's children.

Although Roy's character isn't real, he represents the council leaders who were aware of the mismanagement, and had they acted differently, this tragic event might have been avoided.

Corby's case sheds light on the devastating impact of corporate and government negligence on innocent lives, especially vulnerable children.

To find out more about this incident, watch Toxic Town, available on Netflix.