Sally Wainwright 'can't wait' to share new drama

A new drama about five middle-aged women who form a makeshift punk rock band has been created by the Happy Valley writer Sally Wainwright.

Riot Women is set and filmed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and stars Friday Night Dinner star Tamsin Greig, musical theatre actress Rosalie Craig and Scott & Bailey's Amelia Bullmore.

It follows the women as they cope with work, grown-up children, dependent parents, husbands and the menopause, the BBC said.

Wainwright, who is creator, writer, director and executive producer of the series, said: "I'm having a whole new buzz of excitement about the show as we bring it together in the edit, and I can't wait to share it with everyone."

Pictures have been released which give a first look at the Riot Women cast in action. After Love actress Joanna Scanlan and Lorraine Ashbourne of Alma's Not Normal also star.

The pictures show Greig, Craig and Bullmore dressed in denim jackets, tartan suits and tasselled tops as they perform on stage.

Another shows Craig causing chaos as she stands wielding a hammer on top of a sports car which has been spraypainted.

The series is made by Drama Republic, a Mediawan Company behind One Day, Doctor Foster and The English, for the BBC in a co-commission with BritBox.

The series, to be aired later this year, follows the women who come together to create a band in order to enter a local talent contest but, in writing their first original song, discover that they have a lot to say.

The band becomes a catalyst for change in their lives and makes them question everything.

The characters Kitty and Beth, the band's creative masterminds, will also be caught up in a long-buried secret during the show.

Also among the cast is Anne Reid, who worked with Wainwright on Last Tango In Halifax, as Holly and Yvonne's mother, and The Royle Family actress Sue Johnston as Jess's aunt.

It features original songs from the band ARXX who entered the UK charts with the 2023 single Ride Or Die.

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