Future of BBC drama with all-star cast revealed by bosses after proving a surprise hit with viewers
A DRAMA about a group of menopausal ladies in Yorkshire who suddenly decide to form a rock band may not seem like a ratings winner on paper.
But I can reveal that the BBC are so pleased with the response to Riot Women that they are all set to sign off on a second series.
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The BBC are so pleased with the response to Riot Women that they are all set to sign off on a second series.=Credit: PA
A TV insider said: “Sometimes shows come along which just seem to capture the public’s imagination and this is one of them.
“It was never going to be a blockbuster, but Riot Women is viewed as a great yarn and a real departure for a Sunday night drama, which tend to be more gritty or high-octane.
“Plus it covers a section of society which doesn’t always get as much attention as it deserves, and Yorkshire is a corner of the country that doesn’t always have as much focus either.”
Sources say the second series would start filming next year and possibly air towards the end of 2026.
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Riot Women debuted last month on BBC One with an all-star comedy cast, including The Thick Of It actress Joanna Scanlan, Friday Night Dinner’s Tamsin Greig and The Royle Family star Sue Johnston.
Not surprisingly, given the show was penned by top screenwriter Sally Wainwright — who also gave us Happy Valley and Last Tango In Halifax — it had a distinctly northern feel, particularly as it was filmed in the Pennine town of Hebden Bridge.
Female viewers, in particular, have really got behind the show.
Some have even called for the show’s hit song Seeing Red — which vents many of the frustrations of older women — to be released as a single with a view to getting it to the festive top spot in the charts.
I’m sure that news of a second series will make them feel like Christmas has come early, too.
Gabby: I had firm bottom
Gabby Logan says Mary Berry praised her food on the GBBOCredit: Getty
MARY BERRY exposed plenty of soggy bottoms on the Great British Bake Off – but she didn’t have that issue with Gabby Logan.
The Match Of The Day host has revealed how she won high praise for hers, which was “nice” and “firm”.
Gabby invited Mary to dinner when she moved into the same Buckinghamshire village.
In an episode of Mary At 90: A Lifetime Of Cooking, which airs on BBC Two tomorrow, she told the former Bake Off judge: “We had minestrone. Then we had lamb which I had slow-cooked for 12 hours, and then I made the lemon cheesecake – which was from your book, actually.
“And I don’t know if you remember, but my children were impressed – you said it had a nice, firm bottom.”
Glad to hear there was a bit more context to that cheeky comment.
Hollywood hitters
Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson will appear on The Graham Norton Show on BBC One on November 21, talking about playing a real-life Neil Diamond tribute act in new movie Song Sung Blue. Comic actor Ben Stiller will also be on the sofa.
Michael spins up millions
It seems Michael McIntyre’s TV career is still a real money-spinnerCredit: Getty
HE has been continuing his turn as host on quiz show The Wheel, and it seems Michael McIntyre’s TV career is still a real money-spinner.
New records show his firm Breachcroft Ltd paid £659,000 in corporation tax, which suggest it made profits of £2.63million in a year.
The figures show that, as a result of a bumper 12 months, Michael’s business is now sat on equity of almost £6.9million – up from £4.9million the previous year.
Small wonder he’s raking it in as The Wheel is one of BBC One’s biggest Saturday night programmes, eclipsed only by Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.
Next year he’s also going on a lengthy stand-up tour of the US.
So no doubt he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank 12 months from now, too.
Andy musical mixup
CHANNEL 4 has wasted absolutely no time in amending the title of their show Prince Andrew: The Musical after its subject’s fall from grace.
It will now be called Andrew: The Musical.
The comedy, which satirized the former royal’s life, aired in 2022 but is still available on catch-up.
Big fat problem for Ross
Jonathan Ross reveals one of the only times he came close to falling out with Beeb bossesCredit: Getty
HE left the BBC under a cloud after he and Russell Brand humiliated the granddaughter of actor Andrew Sachs in 2008.
But Jonathan Ross says the only other time he came close to falling out with Beeb bosses was over Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
When it launched in 2004, Jonathan was very much seen as a Beeb face and there was a mutual agreement he wouldn’t host shows elsewhere.
But on his Reel Talk podcast, he admitted: “The only time it came to a kind of a head was when I came up with the idea with my wife for the Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
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“I remember trying to sell the show to the BBC and they didn’t want it.
“I knew I couldn’t host it for Channel 4 but I said I would be a guest and they didn’t like it and it got a bit tense.”
