'Riot Women's First Images Are Here To Kick Your Arse

The BBC and BritBox have released the first-look pictures of the highly-anticipated 2025 series Riot Women. The brand-new drama, initially titled Hot Flush*, hails from Sally Wainwright (Last Tango in Halifax) and will be her latest entry into what has become something of a history-making career. Set and filmed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, near where Wainwright was raised, the six-part series is a BBC co-commission with BritBox, guaranteeing the series will have an American streaming home when it debuts. Along with the first images, the series also firmed up the synopsis and confirmed the show's entire cast.

(*The term "Hot Flush" is the Britishism for "Hot Flash," the famous symptom of menopause experienced by many women in their late 40s and early 50s. One assumes that this is a co-production with BritBox with plans to release in the U.S. and Canada was the reason for changing the title to something both sides of the pond would instantly recognize, a reference to the 1990s era Riot Grrrl punk scene.)

Sally Wainwright is not a household name in America, but anyone who has enjoyed U.K. television in the last decade or so will know Wainwright's work. Her first original series, At Home with the Braithwaites, debuted in 2000; since then, she's been the driving force behind such series as Sparkhouse (a Wuthering Heights retelling). She didn't become famous in the U.K. until 2011/2012 when she released the one-two punch of the hit police procedural Scott & Bailey and the hit family drama Last Tango, followed by Happy Valley, which literally changed how police procedurals were viewed on TV. Since then, she's used her genius grant to create Gentleman Jack for HBO and Renegade Nell for Disney+, the latter being her first foray into what we call in the States "family-friendly programming." 

In the press release, Wainwright said, "I'm feeling a whole new buzz of excitement about the show as we edit it, and I can't wait to share it with everyone!" Considering the high-energy impact of the photos, it's hard to blame her.

Here's the series' official synopsis:

In Riot Women we dive headfirst into the world of five women who come together to create a makeshift punk-rock band in order to enter a local talent contest but, in writing their first original song, soon discover that they have a lot to say - and this is their way to say it.

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 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.

The series' first look picture introduces the band members, giving a first look at the Riot Women in action. The series leading ensemble is comprised of Joanna Scanlan (Slow Horses) as Beth, Rosalie Craig (Moonflower Murders) as Kitty, Tamsin Greig (The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) as Holly, Lorraine Ashbourne (The Crown) as Jess, and Amelia Bullmore (Vienna Blood) as Yvonne, with Taj Atwal (Line of Duty), Chandeep Uppal (Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators), and Macy Jacob-Seelochan (Shadow & Bone) as Nisha, Kam and Miranda, the band’s riotous backing singers.

Riot Women will feature original songs from the band ARXX, the Brighton punk duo of Hannah Pidduck (Guitar/Vocals) and Clara Townsend (Drums).

The supporting cast for Riot Women features several A-list British stars who PBS viewers know well, including Anne Reid (Sanditon), Kevin Doyle (Miss Scarlet), Ellise Chappell (Poldark), Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Claire Skinner (Vanity Fair), Amit Shah (Mr Bates vs the Post Office), Natalia Tena (Game of Thrones), Mark Bazeley (Broadchurch), Sue Johnston (Downton Abbey), and Rick Warden (Indian Summers).

The rest of the supporting cast features a mix of up-and-comers and BBC alumni, such as Angel Coulby (Merlin), Jonny Green (It's a Sin), Tony Hirst (Pistol), Shannon Lavelle (The Hardacres), Ben Batt (Domina), Oliver Huntingdon (Sherwood), Richard Fleeshman (The Sandman), Olwen May (A Very British Scandal), Nicholas Gleaves (After the Flood), Thomas Flynn (Masters of the Air) and Melanie La Barrie (London Road).

Riot Women was created by Sally Wainwright, who penned all six episodes and also acted as the series’ lead director. Jessica Taylor is the producer. Wainwright is also the executive producer along with Robert Schildhouse & Jess O'Riordan for BritBox, Roanna Benn for Drama Republic, and Tanya Qureshi for the BBC.

Riot Women will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the UK around mid-2025; the series will then follow on BritBox in the US and Canada.