Who would have thought a gentle romantic comedy about two retired lovebirds could spark death threats?
That’s what Last Tango In Halifax writer Sally Wainwright faced when she killed off a character at the end of the last series.
It saw pregnant Kate (Oluwakemi Sosanya) die in a car crash - leaving wife Caroline (Sarah Lancashire) heartbroken.
Speaking ahead of the much-anticipated fifth series – which returns tomorrow night after three years off screen – Sally reveals the abuse she faced. “I got death threats about Kate,” she says.
“It was quite extreme.”
She chose not to report them, saying: “It was just some trolls. That’s just drama, and death is reality.”
Inspired by the real-life story of her mum, we return to the Calderdale Valley seven years after childhood sweethearts Alan (Derek Jacobi) and Celia (Anne Reid) got married.
Although in real life Sally’s stepdad Alex died four years after he married her mum, Yorkshirewoman Sally insists she has no plans to part Alan and Celia.
However, their relationship comes under strain in the new series.
“Honeymoon period is over and tensions arise, like in any relationship,” she says. “But they’re the backbone of the show now so I wouldn’t want to split them up.”
Sally, 57, says her mum Dorothy’s struggle with dementia has influenced future episodes.
“One of the characters is affected by dementia, but I’m not going to say who,” she teases.
- Last Tango is on BBC One tomorrow at 9pm.
