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Riot Women BBC1

(169 Posts)
Allira Sun 12-Oct-25 22:00:40

Is anyone else giving this a try?
It's by Sally Wainwright so I thought it would be good.

We might not bother again.

MayBee70 Tue 21-Oct-25 13:26:07

I still haven’t seen it but plan to. Reviews on Must Watch were very mixed; it seems very much love it or loathe it. Strangely enough they said that a lot of men were enjoying it so I’d hope that it might make people more understanding about the menopause (maybe myself included because I just sailed though mine with no problems that I can think of).

PaynesGrey Tue 21-Oct-25 13:55:54

merlotgran

Iam64

I finished episode six last night. The complex personalities, the relationships so well drawn and acted There must be a series 2.

Without giving too much away I think we all want to see a particular character get his comeuppance.

I’m wondering if the names Keith has given to Kitty and what’s in the file Holly has given to Nisha will end up seeing a whole network of loathsome men uncovered.

I also want to know more about Yvonne. Amelia Bullmore is too good an actor to be in the shadow of the other four mature members of the band, which she is at the moment. She was moved by the Just Like Your Mother song but we didn’t learn much more than that or why she’s the less favoured of Nancy’s daughters.

Speaking of uncovered, I didn’t know that Jojo (Richard Fleeshman - aptly named) is the son of Sue Jenkins from Corrie (Gloria Todd) and Brookside (Jackie Corkhill). Once you know you can see the resemblance.

Too many other good actors in this playing small parts so it would be good to see how their characters are developed in a second series e.g. Claire Skinner’s Tricia and more of Jonathan Pryce.

RosieandherMaw Tue 21-Oct-25 14:04:57

MayBee70

I still haven’t seen it but plan to. Reviews on Must Watch were very mixed; it seems very much love it or loathe it. Strangely enough they said that a lot of men were enjoying it so I’d hope that it might make people more understanding about the menopause (maybe myself included because I just sailed though mine with no problems that I can think of).

TBH MayBee it’s not just about the menopause. I wonder if that’s the excuse some men have made about why they don’t want to watch it.
It is as has been said upthread, multilayered- about relationships, motherhood, “invisible” women, misogyny, sexual harassment, female equality, ageing, dementia, love, sex, “sisterhood,” weak men, (and a few who are not all bad!) strong women, and yes, the menopause but I’d be short- changing it to say that was all.
I could go on.
I’m at the end of episode 4 and it has got darker, but is still so uplifting and life-affirming.

Iam64 Tue 21-Oct-25 14:23:00

Thanks rosiesmaw, I was about to post in response to MayBees comment
Sally Wainwright is so good plus, good actors want to work with her

merlotgran Tue 21-Oct-25 15:52:10

Iam64

Thanks rosiesmaw, I was about to post in response to MayBees comment
Sally Wainwright is so good plus, good actors want to work with her

It was full of the Wainwright suspects wasn’t it?
Actors who she obviously trusts to play strong and/or vulnerable women to perfection.

MayBee70 Tue 21-Oct-25 16:29:19

I was lucky in that, not being a fan of crime dramas ( with the exception of stuff like eg Cracker back in the day) I was able to catch up with the whole of Happy Valley in one glorious binge watch. First those who like her work can I recommend Renegade Nell which I think is now on Ch4 catchup. I’ve no idea why a second series wasn’t commissioned as I absolutely loved it. I’ve also never watched Last Tango in Halifax so that’s on my ever increasing list of must watches.

PaynesGrey Tue 21-Oct-25 18:45:16

That's a shame if you don't like crime drama as her Scott & Bailey series (on ITVX) is excellent. Lesley Sharp as Janet Scott and Suranne Jones as Rachel Bailey, two dectectives working in a Manchester major crime team for Amelia Bullmore as Gill Murray with Pippa Haywood as her boss Julie Dodson. Four very strong female characters.

Some actors in that which people would recognise from Riot Women: Nicholas Gleaves playing Tony, Kevin Doyle as Michael and Ben Batt as the vile Rudenko.

RosieandherMaw Tue 21-Oct-25 18:58:52

merlotgran

Iam64

Thanks rosiesmaw, I was about to post in response to MayBees comment
Sally Wainwright is so good plus, good actors want to work with her

It was full of the Wainwright suspects wasn’t it?
Actors who she obviously trusts to play strong and/or vulnerable women to perfection.

Including the (usually lovely) Peter Davison as the nauseating Graham!
But I have an inkling that his wife Claire Skinner (Outnumbered) knows more than she is letting on. 🤔🤔🤔

charley68 Tue 21-Oct-25 20:13:15

I have not watched this show, and do not intend to either.
I love Sally Wainwright's other work.

LucyAnna5 Tue 21-Oct-25 20:30:55

charley68

I have not watched this show, and do not intend to either.
I love Sally Wainwright's other work.

If you love her work, why are you not going to watch it?

RosieandherMaw Tue 21-Oct-25 21:22:36

charley68

I have not watched this show, and do not intend to either.
I love Sally Wainwright's other work.

Fair enough.
Why comment on a thread about it though?

butterandjam Wed 22-Oct-25 10:47:23

We both loved it so much we bingewatched the whole thing.

One of the joys was all the little glimpses of landscape of Last Tango, Happy Valley, seamlessly woven into Riot Women. Anne Reid again. I spied the canal where Tommy Lee Royce hid in a narrow boat.

Recurring themes, rape and the child born of rape. Female suicide or survival. The far end of old age. Memory and forgetting. Evil and goodness.

It's another masterpiece from Sally W.

twinnytwin Wed 22-Oct-25 10:52:10

We watched first episode last night. Fantastic! We're going to struggle not to binge watch the whole series! DH loved it too.

butterandjam Wed 22-Oct-25 10:55:01

MayBee70

I was lucky in that, not being a fan of crime dramas ( with the exception of stuff like eg Cracker back in the day) I was able to catch up with the whole of Happy Valley in one glorious binge watch. First those who like her work can I recommend Renegade Nell which I think is now on Ch4 catchup. I’ve no idea why a second series wasn’t commissioned as I absolutely loved it. I’ve also never watched Last Tango in Halifax so that’s on my ever increasing list of must watches.

Last Tango in Halifax is such a treat; series one is replaying atm ( it's up to episode 3 I think, so catch up quick)

You might enjoy Dept Q on netflix; quirky crime series

Off to look for renegade nell.

PaynesGrey Wed 22-Oct-25 11:08:50

Renegade Nell is on ITVX.

www.itv.com/watch/renegade-nell/10a6596

MayBee70 Wed 22-Oct-25 16:56:03

Thanks. I know I watched it at my partners but I think, at the time my son was staying with us so I had access to Netflix etc. so had to binge watch it while he was with us. I can’t get ITVX on my old tv but I can watch it on my iPad. I absolutely loved it. Another great series that seemed to slip under the radar.

MayBee70 Wed 22-Oct-25 16:59:30

I’m hoping Dept Q might eventually make its way onto another network that I can watch. I have to watch things like that when I’m babysitting or house sitting for my kids.

MayBee70 Thu 23-Oct-25 13:32:46

Started watching it last night and I like what I’ve seen so far albeit not in a ‘ can’t wait to watch the next episode sort of way’. I do like the way that that series seem to be in six episodes these days instead of eight.

ViceVersa Thu 23-Oct-25 13:47:36

Finished it last night and loved it. I really hope there will be a second series.

Lollin Thu 23-Oct-25 14:12:43

Powerful drama. Chosen actors excellent!
Hand to binge watch. Sally Wainwright creates drama like no other!

MayBee70 Fri 24-Oct-25 15:02:48

Watched a few more episodes last night. It reminds me a bit of The Outlaws which I started off enjoying but then got a bit tired of. I think I agree with the Must Watch podcast and thinks it’s an ok series but not a must watch. I don’t really care about the characters and there seems to be a tick box of characters that need to be included. I also feel a bit uncomfortable about Ann Reid’s character; I guess I don’t like anything that focuses on dementia, but that’s just a personal thing.I will finish watching it, though.

MayBee70 Fri 24-Oct-25 17:47:36

Just watched the last episode which I must admit was very good.

MayBee70 Fri 24-Oct-25 17:57:17

I still think though that Ch4’s (much underrated) The Change is a much better series about menopausal women.

Allira Fri 24-Oct-25 18:14:26

MayBee70

I still think though that Ch4’s (much underrated) The Change is a much better series about menopausal women.

I recognised so many filming locations!
No, not everyone is that weird, honestly. 😁

MayBee70 Fri 24-Oct-25 18:54:06

Allira

MayBee70

I still think though that Ch4’s (much underrated) The Change is a much better series about menopausal women.

I recognised so many filming locations!
No, not everyone is that weird, honestly. 😁

It’s a bit worrying that I don’t actually find the characters in The Change weird. I kept comparing the trans character in Riot Women to the the one in The Change because the latter character was probably my favourite character in the series; then again I suppose The Change referred to not just one ‘change’.