‘Last Tango’ writer returns with new BBC drama ‘Hot Flush’
BBC One has ordered a new series from BAFTA-winning writer Sally Wainwright.
The Yorkshire-born screenwriter is the creator of hit shows like Last Tango in Halifax, Gentleman Jack, and Happy Valley.
She also created At Home with the Braithwaites, Unforgiven, and Scott & Bailey, as well as writing Brontë sisters drama To Walk Invisible.
Her latest series is titled Hot Flush, with the announcement made last week at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
The six-part drama from the producers of Doctor Foster centres on “the lives of five women of a certain age who come together to create a makeshift, butt-of-the-joke punk-rock band in order to enter a talent contest, but when they rehearse together they suddenly discover that they have a lot more to say than they ever imagined, and this is the way to say it.”
While the cast hasn’t yet been announced, we have a feeling the project could reunite Sally Wainwright with her Gentleman Jack star Suranne Jones, who she also worked with on Scott & Bailey.
We wouldn’t be surprised if Last Tango actresses Nicola Walker, Sarah Lancashire, or Nina Sosanya appear in the cast too.
“I’ve been wanting to write a series like this for a long time,” commented Sally Wainwright.
“It’s a celebration of women of a certain age, and all the life-stuff they suddenly find themselves negotiating/dealing with,” she explained.
“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,” the writer and executive producer added.
Hot Flush will follow its five main characters as they deal with “demanding jobs, grown-up children who still eat up their energy, dependent parents, husbands who’ve let them down and the menopause.”
We’re told that “the band becomes a catalyst for change in the women’s lives, and it’s going to make them question everything,” as we learn that “it’s more than music that binds them; a deeply potent, long-buried secret connects Kitty and Beth, the two unlikely creative masterminds behind the band, and it’s a secret that could tear everything apart.”
Hot Flush is expected to premiere in 2024 in the UK on BBC One and streaming on BBC iPlayer.
“Sally has found a unique way to explore and celebrate female friendships that is bold, vital and true,” said executive producer Roanna Benn.
“In inimitable Sally-style, Hot Flush 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.”
This is great news for Sally Wainwright after it was revealed earlier this year that Gentleman Jack sadly won’t be returning for a third season.
Hot Flush isn’t the only upcoming show from Wainwright, as she also has The Ballad of Renegade Nell on the way!
The new 18th century adventure series is set to debut on Disney+ soon.
Last Tango in Halifax is available on DVD on Amazon.