BBC shares first look at new drama featuring Beyond Paradise and Downton Abbey stars
Riot Women is an upcoming six-part series which is due to launch on BBC One later this year, featuring a star-studded cast
The BBC has unveiled a glimpse of its forthcoming television series Riot Women, which boasts a stellar cast featuring stars from Downton Abbey and Beyond Paradise.
The six-episode drama has been penned by acclaimed writer Sally Wainwright, renowned for her work on programmes including Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack, and is scheduled for release later this year on BBC One, iPlayer and BritBox.
Riot Women, both set and filmed in Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, centres on five women who establish a punk rock group in a surprising turn of events. The series showcases original tracks from the band ARXX.
"A teacher, a police officer, a pub landlady, a midwife, and a shoplifting freeloader: five menopausal women form a punk rock band to take part in a local talent contest, and suddenly find they have a lot more to shout about than they ever imagined.
"As they become closer, the teacher, Beth, and freeloader, Kitty, discover a surprising, heartbreaking connection," the BBC's synopsis of Riot Women states.
Riot Women will launch on BBC in October
(Image: BBC)
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Joanna Scanlan, known for The Thick of It, takes on the role of Beth, whilst Serpent Queen actress Rosalie Craig depicts Kitty, Sexy Beast's Tamsin Greig portrays Holly, Sherwood star Lorraine Ashbourne plays Jess and Amelisa Bullmore, recognised for her appearance in The Buccaneers, assumes the character of Yvonne.
Beth, Kitty, Holly, Jess and Yvonne comprise the Riot Women ensemble, whilst the band's backing vocalists, Nisha, Kam and Miranda are played by Taj Atwal, Chandeep Uppal and Macy Seelochan.
Also featuring in the series are The Sixth Commandment's Anne Reid, Downton Abbey's Sue Johnston, Beyond Paradise's Peter Davison, Outnumbered's Claire Skinner, Merlin's Angel Coulby and White Lines' Jonny Green.
Other cast members include Ellise Chappell, Tony Hirst, Shannon Lavelle, Mark Bazeley, Amit Shah, Rick Warden, Ben Batt and Natalia Tena, as well as Melanie La Barrie, Oliver Huntingdon, Richard Fleeshman, Olwen May, Kevin Doyle, Nicholas Gleaves and Thomas Flynn.
The six-part series tells the story of five women who make a punk rock band
(Image: BBC)
Riot Women consists of six hour-long episodes and is produced by Drama Republic, with Sally Wainwright serving as the creator, writer and lead directors, reports the Express.
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The producer is Jessica Taylor, known for her work on Happy Valley and Fool Me One, while Roanna Benn, who worked on Doctor Foster, is the executive producer for Drama Republic. Tanya Qureshi assumes the role for the BBC, alongside Robert Schildhouse and Jess O'Riordan for BritBox.
BritBix will broadcast the series in the US and Canada, while Mediawan Rights, in partnership with Entourage Ventures, will distribute the series internationally.
Riot Women is set to air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One this October.
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