New BBC series from Happy Valley creator sparks fury with locals as filming begins
HAPPY Valley creator Sally Wainwright is making her return to the real-life Happy Valley to film a brand new BBC series.
However, filming on her new show Riot Women has sparked fury with locals.
Sally’s hit BBC cop drama Happy Valley, starring the iconic Sarah Lancashire, ran from 2014 to 2023 and was filmed in a number of small towns across West Yorkshire, including Hebden Bridge.
The award-winning writer has now returned to the area to film her new series Riot Women, but those who call the market time home are not happy about the increased tourism to the area as they believe it is only benefiting alcohol-related businesses.
Now locals fear things will go from bad to worse as Riot Women draws more attention back to the area.
A local shopkeeper told the Daily Mail: “What inflames the matter are emails and letters from the production company with statements such as, ‘Filming of this nature serves to bolster Hebden Bridge’s global appeal as a front-running tourist destination.’
“But the only businesses that are really benefiting are the pubs. Violence, drugs, and drinking is the reality.”
They claim filming had led to an uptick in boozy hen and stag parties in the area.
Locals have also said that roads in Hebden Bridge have closed while filming takes place and accused shows like Happy Valley of making the town look like a “dystopian hellhole riddled with violent crime and gangs.”
However, other residents have said that the town is “vibrant” since filming in the area.
“Those who oppose the filming are a very vocal raging minority of people who have never left the town since they were born and would much rather see it as a stricken Northern wasteland than the vibrant place it now is,” said another local.
What is the plot of Riot Women?
Despite some complaints, filming for Riot Women is officially underway.
The series centres on the lives of five women of a certain age who come together to create a makeshift, unpolished punk-rock band to enter a talent contest.
“It 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 official synopsis teases.
They end up finding a creative outlet through song-writing and realise they have a lot to say.
“The band becomes a catalyst for change in the women’s lives, and it’s going to make them question everything.
BBC crime dramas
The BBC is reopening case files on an all-star line-up of crime dramas this summer.
Here’s a refresher on the popular programmes which span six decades.
- Campion: Aired from 1989 to 1990, this detective drama series was adapted from novels by Margery Allingham and stars Peter Davison.
- Dalziel And Pascoe: A gritty detective drama series about a mismatched pair of policemen, based on the award-winning books by Reginald Hill. Aired from 1996 to 2007.
- Death In Paradise: A misanthropic detective inspector is assigned to a Caribbean island against his will. Premiered in 2011 and is still on air to this day.
- Happy Valley: Created by Sally Wainwright, this northern noir follows Sarah Lancashire as Sgt Catherine Cawood – tough, defiant and facing her traumatic past.
- Hinterland: Welsh drama starring Richard Harrington. Brooding DCI Tom Mathias uncovers secrets – and links to his troubled past amid mountainous terrain and close-knit villages. Aired from 2013 to 2016.
- Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Based on the novels of Elizabeth George, this drama series is about upper-crust DI Thomas Lynley and working class DS Barbara Havers. Aired from 2001 to 2007.
- Jonathan Creek: Starring comedian Alan Davies, this comedy-drama series follows a inventor of magic tricks who is often called in to solve puzzling murders. Aired from 1997 to 2016.
- Law & Order: Originally broadcast in 1978, this four-part drama series is about the British judicial system. Stars include Peter Dean and Derek Martin.
- Life On Mars: Beguiling science-fiction police drama following a Manchester policeman who travels back to 1973 following a car accident. Stars John Simm and Philip Glenister. Aired from 2006 to 2007.
- Line Of Duty: Created by Jed Mercurio, this drama follows the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit. Stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, aired from 2012 to 2021.
- Luther: Crime drama series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther. Aired from 2010 to 2019, with a follow-up film released in 2023.
- New Tricks: Warm-hearted drama following an eccentric group of old-fashioned detectives. Starring Dennis Waterman, Amanda Redman, Alun Armstrong and James Bolam. Aired from 2003 to 2015.
- Sherlock: Benedict Cumberbatch stars a modern day Sherlock Holmes, teaming up with Martin Freeman‘s war veteran Dr Watson to solve impossible crimes. Aired from 2010 to 2017.
- Shetland: Detective drama starring Douglas Henshall, Ashley Jensen and Alison O’Donnell, showcasing the dark side of one of the most beautiful places on earth. Premiered in 2013 and is still on air to this day.
- The Cops: Set in the fictional northern town of Stanton, this acclaimed, provocative police drama stars Katy Cavanagh, Rob Dixon and John Henshaw. Aired from 1998 to 2001.
- Waking The Dead: With a cast including Trevor Eve, Sue Johnston and Wil Johnson, this series follows a cold case team who unearths sleeping secrets, but sometimes the past is best left buried. Aired from 2000 to 2011.
- Wallander: Starring Sir Kenneth Branagh, Kurt Wallander is unable to unsee the dark crimes he’s tasked to investigate while Wallander’s job comes at a cost to his family and relationships. Aired from 2008 to 2016.
“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.”
There is no cast announced for the series as of yet, but Sally is slated to write all six episodes.
In a statement when the show was first announced, she 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 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.”
She later spoke about her five leading ladies in more detail, explaining: “They form a punk rock band to sing about what they’re angry about. It’s just me letting rip, really! We’ve got a song about HRT called Seeing Red. I’ve had a lot of fun writing it.”