A new drama series from the creator of Happy Valley with “twists and turns aplenty” has been announced by the BBC.
Written and executive produced by Sally Wainwright, who is the BAFTA-winning writer of the smash-hit BBC series Happy Valley, and co-produced by the creative team behind another one of the BBC‘s hugely-successful series, Doctor Foster, comes “a celebration of women of a certain age” in the form of a new six-part drama series called Hot Flush.
The highly-anticipated new series was announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival last week.
📢 New Sally Wainwright drama alert!
Hot Flush centres on the lives of five women of a certain age who create a makeshift, butt-of-the-joke punk-rock band in order to enter a talent contest – and discover they have a lot more to say
Just like Happy Valley, Hot Flush is set in West Yorkshire – particularly in the popular picturesque town of Hebden Bridge.
Hot Flush centres on the lives of “five women of a certain age” who come together to create a “makeshift and butt-of-the-joke” punk-rock band so they can enter a talent contest, but when they rehearse together, they end up discovering that they acually have a lot more to say than they ever imagined.
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The story follows the women as they deal with everything from demanding jobs, and grown-up children who eat up their energy, to dependent parents, husbands who’ve let them down, and the menopause.
Hot Flush will be set in the West Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge / Credit: Flickr
The band, therefore, becomes “a catalyst for change in the women’s lives”, according to the BBC.
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As the story progresses, the five women find that “it’s more than music that binds them” as they discover a “deeply potent, long-buried secret” connects them, it’s a secret that could “tear everything apart”.
Sally Wainwright says she’s been wanting to write a series like this “for a long time”, and has admitted it’s her “personal homage” to those who “woke me up to what I wanted to do with my life when I was 13”.
The Director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt, has called Hot Flush a “vital story”.
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The new six-part drama is written by Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright / Credit: BBC
“We’re so excited to have the magnificent Sally Wainwright back writing on the BBC, with the brilliant Drama Republic team producing,” Lindsay commented.
“Hot Flush is a sharply observed, vibrant and vital story of five very different women at the same stage in their lives, joined together by their love of music.
“But that’s just the start.
“As you’d expect from Sally – there are twists and turns aplenty to keep viewers enthralled.”
Hot Flush is set to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, with official release dates set to be confirmed in due course.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
TV & Showbiz
Channel 4 to air exclusive new documentary about the disappearance and death of Lancashire teen Jay Slater
Emily Sergeant
An exclusive new documentary taking an inside look at the the disappearance of Jay Slater is coming to Channel 4.
On the morning of 17 June 2024, 19-year-old Jay Slater – an apprentice bricklayer from the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle – disappeared on the island of Tenerife in Spain, after attempting to walk 14 hours back to his accommodation when there was no local taxi service available and no bus due for 90 minutes.
From then commenced one of the biggest missing persons cases in recent British history.
As the world’s media were following the story minute by minute last summer, producers at Channel 4 were in the incredibly-unique position where they had access to the Coronial process in Lancashire, and this has led to the exclusive documentary title The Disappearance of Jay Slater.
From Jay’s post-mortem to Jay’s inquest, the team have been with the family every step of the way over the last year, as they try and understand exactly what happened to Jay outside of the public gaze
Jay was ultimately pronounced dead on 15 July 2024 after Spanish police reported the discovery of a body in the vicinity of the area of interest, but before this discovery and eventual announcement, the internet became awash with public discourse, conspiracy theories, and more.
The Disappearance of Jay Slater is described as being ‘the family’s story’.
Channel 4 will air an exclusive new documentary about the disappearance and death of Lancashire teen Jay Slater / Credit: GoFundMe
The documentary is set to follow them as they search for answers about what happened to Jay, witnessing the conspiracy theories raging online and the subsequent horrific abuse they received as a family – which is an hourly onslaught that continues to this day.
These cameras were the only media in the world granted full access to film both Jay’s post-mortem and inside the church at his funeral.
But the broadcaster claims this documentary is not only the story of Jay’s tragedy, it’s also the story of ‘the new world we live in’ where so-called true crime armchair detectives run wild.
“The story of Jay Slater captured the nation last summer with a fervour and intensity fuelled by armchair detectives and internet culture,” commented Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor, Rita Daniels, ahead of the documentary airing.
“We are so glad to be working on a sensitively handled exploration of the family’s experience, and understanding the impact of being in the middle of a social media storm, amplified by grief.
“The film holds a light up to our current society and is exactly the story that is a necessity for Channel 4 to tell.”
Executive Producer Anna Hall added: “It is appalling what has happened to Jay’s family, and we hope this film will help to bring awareness of the real life consequences of online speculation. It is an unmonitored world where fake news runs rife, and this film shows the devastating impact this has had on one grieving family.”
The Disappearance of Jay Slater is expected to air on Channel 4 later this year, but no official dates have been confirmed as of yet, so keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – GoFundMe
TV & Showbiz
TikTok star turned pop star Addison Rae announces gig in Manchester
Thomas Melia
Viral TikTok star and now recording artist, Addison Rae, has announced her first-everheadline European tour, where she’ll be paying Manchester a visit, and tickets go on sale this week.
After launching into the music scene back in 2021 with pure pop single, ‘Obsessed’, Addison made her pop star intentions very clear.
Since then, Addison has gone on to work with high-profile artists such as Charli XCX, who appears as a feature on track ‘2 Die 4’ taken from her first EP, ‘AR’.
Addison also contributed to the inescapable phenomenon of last year that was ‘Brat Summer’, appearing on the aforementioned A-list artist’s Brat remix album, on a reworking of the hit ‘Von Dutch’.
With more than 88.5 million followers on TikTok alone and north of 35 million on Instagram, it goes without saying that her legions of ‘Sunraes’ (yes, a real term used by some in the community) will be lining up to get tickets to her UK tour dates.
Now the singer is ready to take the world by storm, confirming a US and European tour following the release of her debut album, simply titled Addison.
This LP, which features standouts like smash single ‘Diet Pepsi’, ‘Aquamarine’ and ‘Fame Is A Gun’, has been met with rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
The fledgling 24-year-old American-born pop star is a big fan of the UK, so much so that one of the singles from this very debut album, ‘Headphones On’, includes a music video dedicated to frozen food retailer Iceland.
See for yourself…
Addison Rae is set to bring ‘The Addison Tour’ – her first on the continent and here in Britain and Ireland – to Manchester Academy on 30 August, with general admission going on sale this Friday, 20 June.
So, if you’re a fan, get ready to grab yours HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
29th August 2023 
