“I’ve been through things that have become good copy in the end”: Sally Wainwright, Lorraine Ashbourne, Joanna Scanlan, Tamsin Greig and Amelia Bullmore on Riot Women
Thought The Clash were angry? They didn’t have to contend with menopause, apathetic children and becoming invisible to all those around them. That’s the case that Beth, Riot Women’s indomitable heroine, pleads in the opening episode. The new BBC drama follows a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who find hope and purpose after joining a punk band. Following a special screening at BAFTA, creator Sally Wainwright and actors Joanna Scanlan, Lorraine Ashbourne, Tamsin Greig, and Amelia Bullmore discussed traversing the show’s novel approach to the complex post-menopausal experience.
Wainwright, who based much of the writing on her own experiences, came up with the idea for the series a decade ago. “I’ve been through things that have become good copy in the end!” she quipped, continuing, “It is quite autobiographical. Beth – there’s a lot in Beth that’s really quite personal to me, so it’s kind of a sort of cathartic, therapeutic journey.”
The series explores the notion of ageing out of the male gaze, and thus becoming “invisible”, as Beth puts it. Accordingly, Wainwright is unafraid of exploring the menopause with visceral honesty. For Scanlan, working with a group of women in her age bracket led to a poignant, albeit ultimately uplifting, sisterhood. “You feel like all our differences were supported and our similarities completely shared, and I think that does make you feel stronger, does make you feel you don’t have to cringe around these words that are connected to women’s gynaecology,” she said.
Although Beth most closely resembles Wainwright, each of the main band members reflects a different aspect of the writer’s life. “I think we’re all just different sides of the Sally Wainwright dice,” joked Greig. “She’ll just, like, throw it and see which one bobs up. What was really great as well is you just need to look at everybody else and go, ‘Oh, I’m also that … a bit weird!’”
By no means a kitchen-sink drama, there are comedic elements sprinkled throughout the show. Much of this comes from Jess (Ashbourne), who spawns the idea of creating an all-women, all-midlife punk band. For Ashbourne, flitting between drama and comedy was a breeze thanks to Wainwright’s writing. “It just shows beautifully how Sally’s writing takes you to the very edge of tragedy and then she yanks you back with a laugh, and it’s just beautiful,” she said.
Women of a certain age are so often reduced to just that on both the small and big screens. And, it must be said, a TV ensemble comprised almost exclusively of 40-plus women is a rarity. As such, the cast relished taking on complex female roles. “There’s generally one in a show,” said Greig. “We’ve got the one middle-aged woman who’s, you know, going a bit eye-twitchy … And then Sally’s gone, ‘Yeah, okay, let’s get all of them in the same show.’ I mean, that’s really bold.” Bullmore agreed that the characterisation was refreshing: “The characters are very layered, and they’re contradictory and people are contradictory…The more you read them, the more you find.”
Don’t expect miming from this series – Wainwright ensured that each of the actors learnt to play their instruments as a prerequisite to filming. “It was an extraordinary thing to witness,” she reflected. “I think you learned for, like, five months … I was just sitting there watching, but it felt like it was so bonding, so uplifting.” Though a daunting prospect at first, Scanlan was grateful for the new opportunity: “It was an absolutely incredible, incredible thing to be in a band. I mean, beyond any expectations of what that would have felt like. It was absolutely amazing – a lifetime high.”
Antonia Georgiou
Riot Women is released on BBC iPlayer on 7th October 2025. Read our review here.
Watch the trailer for Riot Women here:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
RSS