Tamsin Greig and Joanna Scanlan to play middle-aged punk rockers in new show
The six-part series follows five women coping with work, grown-up children, dependent parents, husbands and the menopause.
Actresses Tamsin Greig and Joanna Scanlan will take on the roles of middle-aged women who become members of a new punk rock band.
Riot Women, written by Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright, will see Friday Night Dinner and Episodes star Greig and After Love star Scanlan play Holly and Beth, respectively.
The six-part series follows five women coping with work, grown-up children, dependent parents, husbands and the menopause.
The Riot Women band is also made up of The Serpent Queen actress Rosalie Craig as Kitty, Sherwood star Lorraine Ashbourne as Jess and Scott & Bailey actress Amelia Bullmore as Yvonne.
Wainwright, who serves as creator, writer, and executive producer, said: “I think I am more excited about this than anything else I have ever written. Ever. Oh my God.
“We have five of the most fabulous actresses on the planet playing the Riot Women. It’s scarily exciting.”
Previously titled Hot Flush, Wainwright said it would be a “celebration of women of a certain age”.
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.
Kitty and Beth, who play the band’s creative masterminds, will also be caught up in a long-buried secret during the show, set in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.
Doctor Who actor Peter Davison, who was in Wainwright’s At Home With The Braithwaites; Outnumbered actress Claire Skinner; Merlin star Angel Coulby; Happy Valley actor Amit Shah; Hollyoaks actor Tony Hirst; and Hullraisers actress Taj Atwal have also joined the show.
Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said: “We can’t wait for viewers to meet the Riot Women when they arrive on the BBC next year.
“Sally’s scripts are magnificent even by her standards, and it’s no surprise that they’ve attracted such a stellar cast to bring this one-of-a-kind band and their vibrant world to life.”
It features original songs from the band ARXX who have entered the UK charts with the 2023 single Ride Or Die.
The series is currently filming in West Yorkshire.
Riot Women will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK next year.
