New drama series 'full of twists and turns' by Happy Valley writer to air on BBC

TV & Showbiz

'Hot Flush' will be set in the picturesque West Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge.

A new drama series from the creator of Happy Valley with “twists and turns aplenty” has been announced by the BBC.

Written and executive produced by Sally Wainwright, who is the BAFTA-winning writer of the smash-hit BBC series Happy Valley, and co-produced by the creative team behind another one of the BBC‘s hugely-successful series, Doctor Foster, comes “a celebration of women of a certain age” in the form of a new six-part drama series called Hot Flush.

The highly-anticipated new series was announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival last week.

📢 New Sally Wainwright drama alert!Hot Flush centres on the lives of five women of a certain age who create a makeshift, butt-of-the-joke punk-rock band in order to enter a talent contest – and discover they have a lot more to sayLearn more ➡️ https://t.co/shCOIBvbaa pic.twitter.com/5x9wZ67Dar

Just like Happy Valley, Hot Flush is set in West Yorkshire – particularly in the popular picturesque town of Hebden Bridge.

Hot Flush centres on the lives of “five women of a certain age” who come together to create a “makeshift and butt-of-the-joke” punk-rock band so they can enter a talent contest, but when they rehearse together, they end up discovering that they acually have a lot more to say than they ever imagined.

The story follows the women as they deal with everything from demanding jobs, and grown-up children who eat up their energy, to dependent parents, husbands who’ve let them down, and the menopause.

The band, therefore, becomes “a catalyst for change in the women’s lives”, according to the BBC.

As the story progresses, the five women find that “it’s more than music that binds them” as they discover a “deeply potent, long-buried secret” connects them, it’s a secret that could “tear everything apart”.

Sally Wainwright says she’s been wanting to write a series like this “for a long time”, and has admitted it’s her “personal homage” to those who “woke me up to what I wanted to do with my life when I was 13”.

The Director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt, has called Hot Flush a “vital story”.

“We’re so excited to have the magnificent Sally Wainwright back writing on the BBC, with the brilliant Drama Republic team producing,” Lindsay commented.

“Hot Flush is a sharply observed, vibrant and vital story of five very different women at the same stage in their lives, joined together by their love of music.

“But that’s just the start.

“As you’d expect from Sally – there are twists and turns aplenty to keep viewers enthralled.”

Hot Flush is set to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with official release dates set to be confirmed in due course.

Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons