Sally Wainwright

Sally Wainwright (born 1963) is an English television writer, producer, and director. She is known for her television dramas, often set in her native West Yorkshire and featuring strong female characters, such as Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2020), Happy Valley (2014–2023) and Riot Women (2025–). Wainwright began her career as a scriptwriter on the long-running radio serial drama The Archers, and worked on the television soap operas Emmerdale and Coronation Street in the 1990s. Her first original drama, At Home with the Braithwaites, aired between 2000 and 2003. After two self-described "flops" in the mid-2000s, Wainwright found success with Unforgiven (2009), for which she won the Royal Television Society's Writer of the Year Award. Other work includes historical drama Gentleman Jack (2019–2022), and the comedy-drama series Riot Women. Last Tango in Halifax won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2013, and Happy Valley won the same award in both 2015 and 2017.