Stars Against Sewage

Back at the start of September, my TikTok ‘For You Page’ greeted me with Becky Hill serving face (definition: looking really good) outside Number 10 Downing Street. My feed was populated with selfies she had taken outside, with commenters describing her as a ‘diva’ on an unusual ‘side quest’. Albeit through jokes and short-lived TikTok fame, Becky Hill did receive a lot of support for taking stand against sewage pollution in our water ways. The reason she was at Downing Street was to support the MPs calling for public ownership of the water.

This is not the first time Becky Hill has been seen protesting. Over the summer, as Surfers Against Sewage Protest was attended not only by Becky Hill, but also Danny and Dani Dyer. The protest took place in Leysdown, near to where the Dyer’s run a caravan park on the island. The issue of sewage in our waterways affects them locally, with Becky Hill herself explaining that she is protesting because she pays her water bill and therefore deserves a say.

While I personally doubt that Danny Dyer is struggling to pay his water bill, I do think that celebrity involvement in political issues is can be really important. The Leysdown protest was fairly local, and yet it gained nationwide attention due to the celebrity attention it gained. I know that had Becky Hill not showed her lethal face card on my social media feed, I would have had no idea about the protests happening to fight the very present sewage issues in the water ways in Kent. Furthermore, Becky Hill became seen as iconic for this, making people remember protests and the issues they are fighting. I feel that this helps to make a change happen faster, as it makes protests and politics more accessible for people. People are increasingly tired of engaging with hard hitting political and environmental issues in the blunt and emotionless format news outlets present them. In comparison, it’s much easier to engage with issues if they are presented in a funny and even relatable way, and maybe celebrities being involved is a good start in making this change.

Image: sewage being pumped into the sea.

From Cars to Conservation

Another positive example of this is Jeremy Clarkson on Clarkson’s farm. Controversial as he is, Jeremey Clarkson’s TV has been hugely successful. The season three premiere episode gained 5.1 million viewers within the first week of airing in the UK alone, making it the second most streamed show on Amazon Prime UK in 2024.

In the most recent season, Jeremey Clarkson enlisted the help of Hannah Bourne-Taylor, a conservationist who has been campaign to save swifts for several years now. Throughout season 5, viewers watched Hannah lead a bird conservation survey and argue against Jeremey’s farming techniques in order to save baby birds from being killed by farming machinery during the harvesting of the fields.

Through the show, Jeremey Clarkson raised awareness about how many of our native farmland bird species have a red conservation status, meaning they are highly endangered and at risk of extinction if measures are not put into place. This demonstrates again that celebrities with a platform have a wider audience to advocate for change. Similarly to Becky Hill’s TikTok fame, receiving information about environmental concerns is much more palatable when shown through TV shows people already love. Furthermore, in the case of Clarkson’s Farm, I feel that people could connect more emotionally to the issues that birds face, more that they would have connected to say a news report, as seeing someone as famous as Jeremey Clarkson visibly distressed over the conservation of birds is significantly more moving. Hopefully, this is more empowering to a viewer to take action than it would be had a celebrity not be involved in fighting the cause.

Image: the farm shop sign at Jeremy Clarkson’s farm, Diddly Squat.

Sitting on the Political Fence

The political reach and impact celebrities have can also go the other way. Fairly recently Ed Sheeran was involved in a scandal, predominately because he refused to take a stand on either side of the controversy, which has made his situation much worse than if he had stated a public opinion.

To summarise the controversy, Macklemore, who was supporting Ed Sheeran on tour, shared his pro-Palestinian views during several of the shows. As a result, stadium promoters threatened to cancel the tour, and as a response Macklemore dropped out. In support of Macklemore’s political stance, all the other support acts dropped out of the tour, including Sheeran’s backing band. Ed Sheeran stated that he plans to continue the tour, despite the controversy that now surrounds it. (Post writing edit: Macklemore has hosted three sold out concerts to support Palestine since this controversy, garnering tens of thousands of attendees.)

The scandal demonstrates a lack of free speech from music promotion companies, and Sheeran’s decision (or lack thereof) has damaged his branding greatly. His attempt to maintain his ‘everyman persona’, which is meant to be non-threatening and all inclusive, making his music and branding appealing to a wider audience, has done the reverse, and destroyed his image. His decision to not use his platform for change has resulted in backlash, highlighting how harmful it can be when celebrities choose to step back from sharing their views on key events and issues within our world.

Overall, it is clear than when celebrities take a stand for environmental and political issues, they can greatly raise awareness of the problems we are facing. Through social media, celebrities protesting often reaches a younger audience. Applying Ru Paul’s once cryptic words ‘the children are our future’, I think that celebrities fighting for change have an influence on a new demographic, empowering more people to support and fight for change, by making campaigning feel more achievable, and relatable. I hope to see more celebrities taking a stand against local issues that affect both themselves, and all of us. 

Major Update!

Post-writing this blog, my research experienced a major development. I was made aware of the update, via the BBC TikTok, reiterating the importance of social media in the pursuit of change. Danny Dyer has just floated down the River Thames on a giant poo (I’m so serious) to deliver a petition to Downing Street calling for the nationalisation of water companies. The petition, started by SOS Whitstable campaigners, has been signed by almost 350 000 people. Thank you, Danny Dyer, for your anti-sewage related services.

By Emilia Hollingdale, SGO Projects Officer

Here’s the research for this blog, if you’re as interested in Becky Hill’s water protesting exploits as I am:

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm9qr3vw4537o
• https://www.facebook.com/WASPING/posts/becky-hill-came-to-support-us-at-the-water-referendum-debate-last-monday/1491761622996944/
• https://awardsradar.com/2025/03/10/why-has-clarksons-farm-became-so-popular-worldwide/
• https://hannahbournetaylor.com/about
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm17jz89rxevo
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9rky2m7r62do