Sally Wainwright-penned shows to watch if you love Happy Valley

Publish date: 2024-05-31

Sally Wainwright is the incredible screenwriter behind the hit show Happy Valley, but the hit BBC drama isn't her only major success. The incredibly talented star is the mind behind some brilliant shows – but where should you start? Here are our top five favourite Sally shows that are most definitely worth a watch – after you've bingewatched Happy Valley, of course.

Last Tango in Halifax

Last Tango feels like watching Happy Valley in a different, less drug-addled part of town – and without the psychopathic presence of Tommy Lee Royce lurking in the shadows. Full of humour, drama and pathos, the story follows a pair of pensioners who used to harbor crushes for one another at school – but haven't seen each other in 60 years. Reuniting, they decide to get married – with their romance further complicating their respective daughters' (played by Nicola Walker and Sarah Lancashire) lives.

WATCH: Celia and Alan are both widowed. After reuniting, they rediscover a relationship that started 60 years ago

At Home with the Braithwaites

Who could forget this absolute classic from 2000? The story follows a mother of three who wins £38 million in the lottery – but unfortunately it doesn't do much to help fix her and her family's increasingly wayward lives. An iconic drama from the early Noughties.

To Walk Invisible

This enticing period drama based on the Bronte sisters and their brother, Branwell, truly brings the fascinating trio of authors to life as it delves into their struggle with their wayward sibling, their determination to publish their own work, and their love for one another.

Check out our incredible TV digital issue for 2023!

Unforgiven

Starring Suranne Jones, another regular collaborator with Sally, the three-part drama follows a woman who has been released from prison for the murder of two police officers – and goes to desperate measures to find out what happened to her younger sister. Sound familiar? The series was adapted into movie starring Sandra Bullock which was released back in 2021.

Gentleman Jack

Once again we find ourselves in Sally's beloved Halifax, but this time we are in 1832 and following the true story of the bold Anne Lister, a landowner and industrialist who also detailed lesbian relationships in her diary, and became the first woman in the UK to get married to another woman, Ann Walker. The show received a huge fanbase, but still concluded after just two seasons.

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