www.postmagazine.com
14
POST MAR/APR 2026
T
he BritBox Original series Riot Women is
set in the West Yorkshire town of Hebden
Bridge, England, where a group of mid-
dle-age women come together to form
a punk band for a local talent show. Beth (Joanna
Scanlan) is a frustrated university professor, who
feels invisible to her students and (adopted) adult
son Tom (Jonny Green), who now has his own life
and girlfriend. She is on the verge of committing
suicide when childhood friend/pub owner Jess
(Lorraine Ashbourne) calls her about the talent
show, giving Beth a renewed sense of purpose.
Newly retired police officer Holly (Tamsin Greig)
and her no-nonsense sister Yvonne (Amelia
Bullmore) are coming to terms with their elderly
mother's dementia when Holly's former patrol
partner/background singer Nisha (Taj Atwal) re-
cruits the pair to join the effort. Rounding out the
band is Kitty (Rosalie Craig), the lead singer, who's
battling addiction and domestic abuse, and coinci-
Riot Women
'Let's have a riot! We won't be quiet!'
Making BritBox's six-episode, punk-inspired, modern-day drama
BY MARC LOFTUS
Director Sally Wainwright
