Thames Water documentary shows firm 'under siege'

A filmmaker who spent months documenting Thames Water said the utility company felt "under siege".

Barnaby Peel and his team were given exclusive access to staff, including chief executive Chris Weston, over six months for the BBC documentary Thames Water: Inside the Crisis.

Mr Peel said he felt "sympathy" for individual staff members, but can understand public anger over the company's performance.

A £3bn rescue loan for the company is set to go ahead after an appeal against the deal was dismissed on Monday.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Mr Peel said the troubled company was a "fascinating place to be" as staff dealt with issues surrounding increasing customer bills and protests over sewage flowing into rivers.

"It was quite smelly at times – I have spent quite a lot of my life in sewage works over the last six months," he said.

Mr Peel has worked on previous documentaries with subjects including London Zoo for ITV and the rise of Donald Trump for Netflix.

He admitted some staff were "incredibly anxious" about the prospect of featuring in the two-part series.

"The company definitely is one that feels under siege, I think," he added.

"People there - and it might sound extreme - do feel that the public has quite a high degree of hatred for them."

Thames Water serves about a quarter of the UK's population, mostly across London and parts of southern England, and employs 8,000 people.

In the documentary, Mr Weston, who was appointed chief executive in January 2024, said he was surprised how "invasive" the water regulator Ofwat had become and how it "steers the running of the company".

Mr Weston told the programme: "They're getting more and more interested and intrusive around dividends.

"It's quite surprising and I think they have all the powers they need. But then I would say that, wouldn't I?"

The second part of Thames Water: Inside the Crisis is on BBC Two at 21:00 GMT and both parts are available on the iPlayer.

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