Toxic Town ending explained: What happened to Susan and the rest of the Corby mothers?

The series is a fictionalised retelling of the true story of the Corby town poisonings and in the final episode, the mothers prepare for their day in court. A mixture of emotions for many reasons, the finale sees Susan (Jodie Whittaker) and the rest of the mothers included in the claim take to the stand and give their testimonies.

But it's never plain-sailing, as not only are they questioned about their own personal lives, there's also plenty of tension to dissect in regards to Tracey (Aimee Lou Wood) and also Maggie's (Claudia Jessie) own marriage to site worker Derek (Joe Dempsie).

Speaking about why the series is such an important story to tell, Wood told Radio Times magazine: "I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard about it – it never really got into the national news, so it’s important to the real Tracey on a practical level.

"Anything that exposes an uncomfortable truth feels important to be a part of. I was in awe of her resilience. She doesn’t see herself as a hero at all, but all the other mums do. And it was liberating because, although I care how it’s received, once I knew Tracey was happy, it was 'job done'."

So, what exactly unfolded in the finale of Toxic Town? Read on for a full breakdown of the episode.

Toxic Town ending explained: What happened to Susan and the rest of the Corby mothers?

The finale kicks off with another time jump, this time in 2009. Connor is a teenager, Des (Rory Kinnear) and Dani (Lauren Lyle) are preparing to meet with the council to discuss a settlement agreement. But when there, Roy Thomas (Brendan Coyle) tells Des that the council will not be settling on account of a lack of evidence.

Although Des tries to fight back, Roy concludes that there isn't a case and that the council won't "buy your lies".

Afterwards, Des visits Tracey to tell her that she's not a claimant in the trial and that she hasn't been included due to the fact her case was too different to the others. Even though Tracey noticed Shelby Anne's ear deformity, Des explains that they had to only include cases with an upper or lower limb difference.

Des had obviously made the decision to not include Tracey earlier but because of the lack of settlement agreement, he had to tell her. The following day, the group prepare to go to London and the High Court, with Tracey not in attendance.

Des tells a nervous Susan (Jodie Whittaker) to simply tell the press what the council's done to them and she does so. But in the courtroom as proceedings kick off, Des receives intel that the defence are going to use the argument that the dust couldn't have spread far enough to reach the women. They could cast doubt on their own dust equation and so, need to ensure that doesn't happen.

At the end of the day and once back in Corby, Des comes clean to Susan about why Tracey wasn't in attendance which leads to Susan being understandably blindsided and annoyed. She immediately goes to check in on Tracey at her home but her husband tells her to come back another time.

Later, we see that Maggie (Claudia Jessie) and her husband Derek (Joe Dempsie) have a major falling out over the fact that the people at the top of the waste management company don't seem to have suffered any consequences. Looking at the big mansion of Pat Miller (Ben Batt), Maggie is annoyed at their general lack of regard and tells Derek that Des has been asking if he would give a testimony at the trial.

At the party, Pat tells Roy that he's nervous about the outcome of the case and what it'll spell for his company, not the council. He advises Roy to take the settlement but Roy is clearly worked up at the prospect of doing so.

Another day at trial makes it look as though the prosecution's scientific argument isn't grounded in fact, something that Des tells Sam (Robert Carlyle) can be easily remedied if they were to have testimony of someone who was there, someone like Ted Jenkins (Stephen McMillan).

Des pays Susan a visit to brief her before she goes on stand but is there with an ulterior motive: to try and get Susan to convince Tracey to still take the stand. Because of her work nearby, her evidence could prove crucial to the outcome of the trial but because she won't speak to Des, he's at a loss of what to do.

Thankfully, Tracey accepts Susan's invite to the park where the two talk candidly about the case. Although she feels terrible for saying it, Susan says that they'd all want to win without Tracey as opposed to losing with her. Susan manages to convince Tracey to give evidence, underlining that her testimony of working near the toxic pond site is integral.

While up on the stand, Tracey aptly describes the toxic ponds and also reminds the defence of the fact that although her daughter isn't included in the trial, she should be. Next up on the stand is Susan, who has an intense cross-examination from the defence about her use of anti-depression medication, which they try to cite as impacting the health of Connor.

That night, Susan talks about her day with Peter (Michael Socha) who has been spending more time at the house and looking after the boys. We see him hanging out with Connor, talking about all the money he's set to get through the winning of the case and awkwardly talks of plans of opening a garage together.

Although he doesn't really know anything about classic cars, Peter tells Connor it's something they should go into but Connor reminds him that he doesn't even have the money yet. Even so, Peter says he's got loads more ideas, pointing at a sinister motive for coming back into the family's lives.

At the trial, Derek can't give a testimony but Maggie agrees to do it for the both of them and so she does, speaking to Derek's character and how his job forced him to do things he knew weren't right.

The following day, Susan wakes up to find Connor in the kitchen, who voices his concerns at Peter spending more time with them. Confused at where that's come from, Connor tells Susan that Peter keeps asking about the settlement money. She wastes no time in telling Peter to leave, backed up by both of her sons, and he does so.

Sam eventually gives Des the address of Ted, telling him that he should force him to be a witness even though he doesn't want to be. At the trial, the prosecution's professor is adamant that his scientific findings and equations about the travelling of the dust is correct. Even though it's a strong place to be in, their barrister tells Des and Dani that they need someone with knowledge of the risks being mismanaged at the time, pointing at Ted once again.

It's a risk to pull him in at such a late stage, not knowing whether he would defend the council or back up the prosecution's argument. At the trial, he describes his job and the maladministration that clouded the judgement of whether the toxic land was ever successfully posed fit for redevelopment.

Ted eventually details that he had flagged numerous concerns at multiple sites in his time working for the council, going on to explain the protocols that should've been put in place like fitted covers for the trucks and tyres being washed. He says plainly that they broke rules in a bid to get the sites cleared for redevelopment as quickly as possible.

Did the Toxic Town mothers win their claim?

After Ted's testimony, the judge makes his ruling after assessing all the evidence and rules in favour of the claimant – the group of Corby mothers.

Although elated at the result, Des and Roy end up having a fiery exchange about the state of Corby and the decisions that Roy made at the time. Des asks him when he forgot that people need protecting, leaving him to tearfully consider his own faults.

That evening, the mothers gather in the pub to celebrate and Susan shares a heartfelt moment with Connor, saying that she needs to find Tracey after all of this. Although Tracey's not picking up her phone, she knows where to find her. Speaking about the win, Susan tells Connor that all the money is for him and his life because he deserves it.

We then see Susan go to visit Tracey at Shelby Anne's grave and when sitting down talking about the case, Susan admits that they wouldn't have won without Tracey. It's a bittersweet moment because although it's been 13 years of fighting for justice, Tracey wasn't part of the final claim.

Talking about what's next, they both agree that they're done and smile, sitting in an embrace and smiling. The ending scenes are finished with some onscreen statements that read: "In April 2010, a settlement was agreed between Corby Borough Council and the mothers. The full cost to CBC was £14.6 million.

"The legal case was the first in the world to establish a link between airborne toxins and damage to unborn children.

"A 2021 study of Environment Agency data shows at least 21,000 former landfill sites across England and Wales. Up to 1,287 contain hazardous waste. 167 of these sites are located under housing, shops and restaurants. At least 4 of them are under schools.

"No one faced any criminal charges for what happened in Corby. The council leadership, Pat Miller and Bill Martin are fictional characters. Roy Thomas is based on a number of men, none of whom lived to see their plans for Corby fully realised."

Toxic Town is available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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