Happy Valley and Gentleman Jack creator announces new drama Hot Flush

Hot Flush from writer Sally Wainwright follows “five women of a certain age” who form a punk rock band.

By Morgan Jeffery

Published: Thursday, 24 August 2023 at 14:15 PM

Sally Wainwright’s next BBC series following the huge success of Happy Valley has been announced.

Hot Flush follows “five women of a certain age” who form a punk rock band to enter a talent contest. Though the idea starts out as a joke, the band quickly becomes a catalyst for change in the women’s lives, forcing them to question everything.

But it’s more than music that binds these women – according to the series synopsis, which reads: “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.”

Alongside their musical endeavours, Hot Flush will follows its lead 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.

The six-part series – set in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire – will be available on BBC One and BBC iPlayer and was announced today (24th August) by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

Writer/executive producer Sally Wainwright said: “I’ve been wanting to write a series like this for a long time. It’s a celebration of women of a certain age, and all the life-stuff they suddenly find themselves negotiating/dealing with.

“The show is also my own personal homage to [1970s ITV musical drama] 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.”

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

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