A Happy Valley “subplot”: Tamsin Greig on the “twist” in the BBC’s new Sally Wainwright drama Riot Women

If you’ve been longing for the return of Happy Valley ever since 2023’s sensational series 3 finale, we’ve got some very important news for you. No, sadly, it won’t be returning, but creator Sally Wainwright is bringing us a brand-new TV drama in the form of BBC One’s Riot Women - and it features something of a twist in the form of a Happy Valley subplot. Oh, how we do love you, Sally!

While the upcoming drama tells the story of five women in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, who are each going through the menopause and form a punk band, there’s also a very intriguing subplot about corrupt cops who think they can get away with anything – especially when it comes to their female colleagues. In an exclusive interview with Good Housekeeping, Riot Women star Tamsin Greig addressed the twist – and while she remained tight-lipped about the specific details of what’s in store, her response was revealing indeed.

Asked whether she felt the ghost of “Our Catherine” from Happy Valley, she revealed that she’s as much of a fan of Sarah Lancashire, who played Catherine in the hit Sally Wainwright drama, as the rest of us. “My parents loved Coronation Street, and I remember watching Sarah Lancashire and thinking, ‘Wow, she’s got a kind of inner spark that’s really unusual and surprising,’” she said. “Like everyone else, I couldn’t take my eyes off her in Happy Valley.”

Tamsin also revealed that starring in a Sally Wainwright drama was a long-held dream of hers – but one she didn't expect to come true in a million years. That was, until she received an email with the subject line “Confidential”. Initially, she thought nothing of it until she saw the next words: “Sally Wainwright”.

“I’ve always secretly imagined the sort of show Sally might write that I could be considered for. A ridiculous pipe dream,” she said. “But then that email came through, asking me if I’d meet Sally to discuss her new BBC series.”

Of course, Tamsin said yes immediately. But her offer was on one condition: that she could nail the Yorkshire accent and would be “up for the challenge of learning to play bass.” Tamsin explained: “Mercifully, she’d written in the script that Holly was pretty bad, but the bass is still quite a heavy, physical thing to play.”

When it came to recording the songs, things didn’t get much easier. “You record yourself playing in advance and then mime to the songs when you’re filming,” Tamsin revealed. “If you’re playing badly and are off the beat, it’s difficult to mime doing it wrong, because you don’t know when you’ve missed the beat or are ahead of the beat. I shamefully changed Sally’s script and made Holly not quite as shit at the bass as she was written.”

The band that Tamsin character is part of shares its name with the show, and also includes Beth (Joanna Scanlan) on keyboards, Jess (Lorraine Ashbourne) on drums, Yvonne (Amelia Bullmore) on guitar and Kitty (Rosalie Craig) on vocals. But the show isn’t just about a band; it’s about wild sex, raging hormones, HRT and everything in between. And it’s just the sort of drama we need on our screens right now.

Riot Women airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this October. Read the full interview in Good Housekeeping UK’s November issue, on sale from Thursday 25th September.