BBC announces new drama from Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright

Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright's new drama Hot Flush was announced today (Thursday, August 24) at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

The BAFTA-winning writer is following on from the phenomenal success of Happy Valley season 3 with Hot Flush, a drama revolving around five women who form a punk-rock band in West Yorkshire.

Sally Wainwright, writer and executive producer, says: "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 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 full summary for Hot Flush reads: "Hot Flush 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.

"The six-part drama from Doctor Foster producers Drama Republic, follows the women 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 band becomes a catalyst for change in the women’s lives, and it’s going to make them question everything.

"As the story (set in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire) progresses, 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."

At the time of writing, we don't have a release date for the new series, nor do we have any casting info; the only other thing we do know is that Hot Flush will be six episodes long and is due to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. 

If you're looking for something else to stream whilst you wait for Hot Flush to air, check out recommendations for the best BBC dramas you should be watching right now.