I’m not sure if Sally Wainwright fans have a name, but if they don’t, it should be ‘Wainwrighters’. I’ve been once since I was 17 and watching Last Tango in Halifax for the first time, and I’ve been in love with her writing, which includes Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack, ever since.
As of 2025, that took the form of Riot Women, which you can stream on BBC iPlayer. Set against a classic Wainwright Yorkshire backdrop, the show follows five menopausal women from Hebden Bridge who form a makeshift punk-rock band to enter a local talent contest.
However, it’s not all fun and games like singing about menstrual cycles might seem. Though they’re all from a different walk of life, each of our five women comes armed with their own drama and trauma, which soon starts to affect the others.
After ending on the tense cliffhanger of Kitty (Rosalie Craig) getting a call from her dad in prison, it’s just as well that the BBC renewed Riot Women season 2 shortly after.
One year on, Wainwright and star Tamsin Grieg, who plays retired police officer Holly, tell me that they’re not quite ready to start filming just yet… but that might be a blessing in disguise.
‘I’ve now got to be two years better’
“No, no, no, no,” is Grieg’s immediate answer when I ask if she’s feeling more confident about playing bass guitar in the band during Riot Women season 2.
“I mean an opera at the moment… so I can do anything(!). I feel a bit nervous going into the second series, because Sally has started it two years on from when the first series ended. So that is in real time, because it is two years since we stopped.”
While actual plot details haven’t been revealed yet, this is our first bit of insight into what to expect from the second season. After Kitty’s cliffhanger, it was expected that the drama would resume from the moment her phone call ended — so who knows how many disasters have happened in the interim.
“I should have been doing my lessons for the past two years… and I haven’t… so I’ve got a bit of catch-up,” Grieg continues during our chat at the Italian Global Series. “I’ve got to be two years better. than I actually am. I’ve really got my work cut out. I’ve got six months to do some speed learning.
“Sally wrote to Holly as being a bit sh*t at it, so thank you. But she’s not now two years on, though, is she…?” Grieg asks Wainwright, who responds, “No, she’s really good now.”
“F**ing hell,” Grieg adds. “The annoying thing about Sally is that not only does she write all this stuff, but she goes away and learns guitar, drums, all of that. So she is doing it, and is really good at it. I think we’ll just cut to your hands.”
Wainwright simply replies, “It’s good research,” which I think tells you everything you need to know about how modest she is as a creator.
If anything, I’m hoping that the back-and-forth chaos between the two of them during our interview is indicative of what’s to come when Riot Women season 2 does start filming — which, judging by Grieg’s speed-learning schedule, takes us to late 2026.
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jasmine.valentine@futurenet.com (Jasmine Valentine)
