Riot Women’s Taj Atwal: ‘I was so nervous, but it’s really important to tell this story now’

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*Warning: This article contains spoilers for Riot Women.*

Taj Atwal has appeared in popular shows like Hullraisers, Line of Duty, and The Control Room, so she’s used to being part of successful TV series. Now, playing police officer Nisha Lal in the critically acclaimed Riot Women, Atwal calls working with director Sally Wainwright a dream come true – a ‘beautiful moment’ she’d been hoping for.

Atwal has admired Wainwright for years and dreamed of collaborating with the creator of Happy Valley. She was thrilled when Wainwright specifically asked her to play the role of Nisha, and it was a particularly meaningful opportunity for the actress.

Honestly, I was so moved by the story that I actually felt sick – I couldn’t even cry! It just felt like the perfect thing for me to be involved with, and I felt so right taking it on. I’m incredibly honored that she trusted me to bring her story to life.

I have to say, this new six-part series on BBC One is a real breath of fresh air. It follows five women navigating menopause who decide to shake things up by starting a punk rock band – a fantastic premise! While the whole group is compelling, I found myself particularly drawn to Nisha, played by Atwal, and her storyline. As you’d expect from a Wainwright series, it’s the characters that truly shine, and Nisha’s journey is especially gripping. Along with her sister, Kam (played by Chandeep Uppal), they bring a fantastic energy as backing singers, but Nisha’s story really stays with you.

Holly (Tamsin Greig) and Nisha were close colleagues and partners when Holly was a police officer, and they remain friends even after Holly’s retirement. Now working solo, Nisha finds herself facing unwanted advances from a coworker, Officer Rudy (Ben Batt). In the second episode, Rudy’s behavior escalates, and he sexually assaults Nisha by groping her from behind while she’s at her desk, creating a deeply uncomfortable and disturbing situation.

The episode begins by exploring sexism within the police force and the challenges of addressing it at work, but quickly takes a darker turn. It becomes evident that Nisha’s storyline is based on real events and recent news stories.

By the fourth episode, Nisha’s life is in danger from the criminals she’s trying to capture, and the situation becomes even worse when Rudy discovers her—handcuffed and hanging from the side of a building—completely humiliated.

The disturbing images are deeply unsettling for anyone to watch, particularly considering the 2023 report by Lady Louise Casey, which revealed widespread racism, sexism, and homophobia within the Metropolitan Police.

It’s unsettling to see how Nisha’s ‘Riot Women’ story reflects real-life events, like those awful group chat exchanges and photos of victims that surfaced. I was talking to Atwal, and she explained it felt like a really intense time filming last year, especially with the anti-immigration riots happening in the UK. It really captured the emotional weight of everything.

It hasn’t been long since Sarah Everard’s case, just a few years ago, and the pain and impact of it all still feel very present and raw, she explains.

It feels incredibly relevant to be telling this story right now, because it’s something people are genuinely going through – the same struggles my character, Nisha, faces. Experiencing these issues in everyday life and then portraying them on screen really pushed me to be as honest and truthful as possible. It also highlighted how brilliant the writer, Sally, is at capturing real life so accurately.

Atwal remembers being increasingly anxious while filming, not just about the production itself, but also because of troubling events happening in the world at the time. She explained that things were relatively peaceful when they began, but then widespread racial unrest broke out.

I realized it was crucial to share this story. After a brief lull, the feeling returned. My initial concern was that audiences might find the events unbelievable or think they were a thing of the past.

This clearly demonstrates that it’s an ongoing situation. While there’s a sense of responsibility, the most important thing is to report it as honestly as possible.

Wainwright collaborated with police advisor Lisa to make sure Nisha’s storyline felt realistic and accurately portrayed the life of a police officer.

She has a lot of valuable insight, drawing from someone with decades of experience in law enforcement in northern regions. When I talked to her, my initial reaction was to question how far things could really go. But then I thought about Sarah’s case and what happened with that officer. While Sarah wasn’t in the police herself, this person—Lisa—explained that sexism and racism are ongoing problems within the police force.

I really wanted to build on the foundation Sally had created – all her hard work and research. My role was simply to find the best way to bring her vision to life. Lisa was with us throughout filming, ensuring everything felt authentic, even in intense scenes like the alleyway attack. She specifically guided my reactions to make sure they were believable for a police officer.

As a movie lover, I found the dynamic between Nisha and Holly really compelling. It’s frustrating to watch how Holly dealt with Nisha’s private information – it just drove a wedge between them. While I understood Holly’s perspective on calling people out, the way Wainwright wrote the story felt so much more grounded and believable. It made the whole situation feel really real and messy, which I appreciated.

She explained that people often stay silent due to fear, and that the scene depicting the aftermath of speaking up – particularly Holly’s reaction – accurately reflects the experiences of many women who are afraid to voice their concerns.

The season finale features a strong and uplifting scene of Nisha performing with the band. However, the show ends without resolving what will happen with Rudy and Nisha’s roles in the police force after the recent attack.

As of our recent conversations, Riot Women’s future is still uncertain, and it’s unclear if there will be a second season. However, if the show continues, Atwal expressed interest in exploring the consequences of the relationship between Nisha and Rudy.

He’s clearly very angry. It’s completely clear that Sally is in charge, and I believe she’ll continue to explain things honestly. We all want a simple, satisfying resolution – like Nisha coming in and confirming everything, assuring us things will be okay, and Rudy being fired. But is that how things actually work? I doubt it.

It’s still unclear where Nisha’s storyline will lead, but her character offers a lot of potential. Atwal found working with Wainwright incredibly inspiring, describing her as a remarkably precise director. The experience was also surprisingly freeing, as Atwal felt completely safe and trusted Wainwright’s guidance.

According to Atwal, Wainwright readily agreed to change Nisha’s original character name to something that reflected her Punjabi heritage, which made the character feel more authentic and meaningful to her.

Atwal has been thrilled with the positive feedback on the series, especially how fans of all genders have connected with it. Though the series openly explores female anger, it’s proven to resonate with a much wider audience than initially expected, demonstrating Riot Women’s broad appeal.

Honestly, I was talking to one of the actresses, and she was absolutely blown away by the leads. She said she’d never worked with anyone quite like them – they’re all incredibly talented and have clearly lived full lives. She described being on set as completely immersive, like she was surrounded by wisdom and experience, and it was just amazing to watch and learn from them.

Riot Women skillfully balances intense drama with moments of humor, something actress Manjinder Virk is known for. She explains that she always includes a comedic role each year because she loves making people laugh and finds it personally rewarding. While she doesn’t necessarily find comedy easier, she feels more comfortable and naturally gifted in that genre. “I will always do comedy, no matter what. I always do one a year because I love the joy it brings people and it feels so good. I find that world not so much easier, I just find comfort in doing comedy. It just comes easier to me,” she says.

I believe it was Alan Ayckbourn – though I could be wrong – who said life is essentially a comedy with occasional moments of sadness. I’ve always loved that idea, and it really captures the feeling of that particular world.

It’s clear the world is facing difficult times, and that’s precisely what makes genuine moments feel even more impactful. I believe we experience them more deeply because of it.

Atwal is actively searching for inspiration for her future projects. She’s found a wealth of ideas in Rozina Visram’s book, ‘Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History,’ which shares many compelling stories of Asians who have made significant contributions.

As a movie lover, I’m really craving to see more diverse stories on screen. We have plenty of fiction, but lately it feels like things have slowed down a bit. There are some fantastic scripts out there, but so many seem to center around a woman’s storyline revolving solely around getting married. Honestly, it feels a little behind the times – that shouldn’t be the only story we’re telling about women!

I’m currently writing down some ideas, and I’d love to collaborate with talented writers to turn them into compelling stories. That would be fantastic.

Although fans know actress Atwal for her on-screen work, she hopes to eventually write or produce. Despite being busy with multiple projects, including the second season of Sky’s Sweetpea (which she calls a wonderful place to work), she still makes time to write. She enjoys creating stories and imagining how other actors would play the characters.

While Atwal is optimistic about future progress, she believes there’s been positive change in Asian representation behind the scenes. However, the fact that this topic even needs to be discussed shows there’s still a lot of work to be done, she acknowledges.

Since we’re a part of everyday life, shouldn’t you be able to see us represented on screen? We’re out in the world with everyone else, and it’s much more interesting to see a diverse range of perspectives than the same thing over and over.

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2025-10-31 15:36