Exciting news for fans of Sally Wainwright: the BBC has unveiled the trailer for her brand-new drama Riot Women, which promises to be every bit as bold, funny, and heartfelt as her previous hits, including the BAFTA-winning Happy Valley.
This time around, she turns her attention to a group of middle-aged women who decide to shake things up by forming a punk-rock band. What starts as a leap out of their chaotic, often thankless home lives soon takes them all the way to the bright lights of the stage and they look completely transformed.
Boasting an impressive cast (including Sherwood and Slow Horses stars), BBC's Riot Women looks set to combine razor-sharp humour with raw emotional truth, all set to the beat of a thumping punk-rock soundtrack.
When does Riot Women start on BBC?
Hold onto your drumsticks because Sally Wainwright's Riot Women has a release date (sort of)! It's coming to BBC One and iPlayer this October! We'll keep you updated with the exact broadcast date once it's announced.
The US and Canada will be able to stream t on BritBox from October 22nd.
Riot Women trailer
The BBC has unveiled the trailer for Riot Women, the brand-new drama from Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright and it’s every bit as rebellious, funny, and heartfelt as we hoped!
The two-minute teaser sets the tone immediately: five women in midlife, each grappling with their own struggles, decide to channel their frustration into forming a punk band. It opens with Beth (Joanna Scanlan) pouring an alcoholic drink and saying, "Do you ever feel like you're living in an alternative universe? Where women of a certain age have become invisible?" From there, we’re introduced to the show’s core five women, each facing their own midlife struggles, before Jess (Lorraine Ashbourne) rings Beth and blurts out: “Do you wanna be in me rock band?”
There’s a raw edge to the footage: rehearsal rooms buzzing with chaotic energy, performance clips drenched in neon lights, and snippets of dialogue that balance Wainwright’s signature sharp humour with moments of real vulnerability. The trailer shows the women stepping out of their chaotic home lives - where they often feel overlooked or unappreciated - and into the bright lights of the stage, where they seem utterly transformed. At the same time, it hints at the secrets and personal battles beneath the surface, from strained relationships to health concerns, grounding the comedy in emotional truth.
Backed by a thumping punk-rock soundtrack, the trailer captures the defiant spirit of the series: “We sing songs about being middle-aged, menopausal and more or less invisible. And you thought The Clash were angry.” From the glimpses we’ve seen, that promise rings loud and clear.
Riot Women plot
Previously called 'Hot Flush', the new drama will follow a group of friends around the same age in Hebden Bridge who come together to create a punk-rock band and enter a talent contest "in writing their first original song, soon discover that they have a lot to say - and this is their way to say it." says the BBC.
Here's a snippet from the original synopsis: "As they juggle demanding jobs, grown-up children, complicated parents, husbands who’ve buggered off, and disastrous dates and relationships, the band becomes a catalyst for change in their lives, and it’s going to make them question everything. The six-part series is a testament to the power of friendship, music, and the resilience of women who refuse to be silenced by age or expectation. As the story (set in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire) progresses, it’s more than music that binds them; a deeply potent, long-buried secret begins to surface – one that unexpectedly entangles Kitty and Beth, the two unlikely creative masterminds behind the band, in a complex triangle - and threatens to tear everything apart."
Speaking to the Halifax Courier about Riot Women, Sally Wainwright said: "They're angry and they're going to sing about being angry and being of a certain age and all the stuff that goes with being of a certain age and having to go through the menopause at the same time.
"They form a punk rock band to sing about what they're angry about."
In an interview with the BBC, Sally mentioned that she's "been wanting to write a series like this for a long time. It's a celebration of women of a certain age, and all the life-stuff they suddenly find themselves negotiating/dealing with. The show is also my own personal homage to Rock Follies of '77, and the feisty Little Ladies who woke me up to what I wanted to do with my life when I was 13."
Riot Women: BBC drama cast
The official casting for Riot Women has been announced, and in true Sally Wainwright fashion, there's a high calibre of talent!
Meet the band:
•Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, Slow Horses, Big School, No Offence) as Beth
•Lorraine Ashbourne (Sherwood, After the Flood, Alma's Not Normal) as Jess
•Tamsin Greig (Friday Night Dinner, Belgravia, Black Books) as Holly
•Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey, The Jetty, Happy Valley) as Yvonne
•Rosalie Craig (Moonflower Murders, Serpent Queen, London Road) as Kitty
Anne Reid (from Sanditon and The Sixth Commandment - who Wainwright has worked with previously on Last Tango in Halifax) will be playing Holly and Yvonne's mother, Nancy, whilst Sue Johnston (from Brookside, The Royle Family and Truelove) will appear as Jess’s Aunt Mary.
Also in the cast is Doctor Who actor Peter Davison and Outnumbered actress Claire Skinner, as well as Angel Coulby (Merlin, Innocent), Taj Atwal (Line of Duty), Melanie La Barrie (&Juliet West End musical star), Chandeep Uppal (Holby City), Oliver Huntingdon (Sherwood, Happy Valley), Jonny Green (White Lines), Ellise Chappell (Yesterday), Macy Jacob Seelochan (Shadow and Bone), Tony Hirst (Hollyoaks), Shannon Lavelle (Hamlin), Amit Shah (Happy Valley), Rick Warden (Red Eye), Ben Batt (Domina), Natalia Tena (Harry Potter), Kevin Doyle (Happy Valley, Downton Abbey), Richard Fleeshman (The Sandman), Olwen May (A Very British Scandal) and Nicholas Gleaves (Bodyguard).
Executive Producer Roanna Benn said "In inimitable Sally-style, Riot Women introduces us to brilliant and unforgettable characters; it is so funny, and simultaneously so full of drama, it will have you laughing and sitting on the edge of your seat. This is a show about the women who hold up modern Britain, their stories urgently need to be told, and who better than Sally Wainwright to do that."
Including Happy Valley, Sally has also written and produced many other popular dramas including Last Tango in Halifax, Scott and Bailey, Gentleman Jack and Unforgiven (the latter three starring Surranne Jones) which are also set in Yorkshire, where she is from.
Where was Riot Women filmed?
The BBC has confirmed that the story is both set in and filmed in Hebden Bridge, rooting the fictional punk band firmly in the creative, rebellious spirit of this Yorkshire community. It's the same picturesque Calder Valley town where Sally Wainwright also shot much of her hit drama Happy Valley starring Sarah Lancashire. Production ran through June and July 2024, with crews setting up across the town centre and nearby areas.
Local landmarks feature prominently in the series, including Albert Street and The Albert pub, where the band’s on-screen journey begins to take shape. Additional filming was also carried out in Mytholmroyd and Halifax, helping to capture the warmth, grit and distinctive look of the Calder Valley that has become a hallmark of Sally's dramas.
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and going on walks with her three dogs.