Cryptic crossword clue
Male backed older females taking leading roles 8

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word HEROINES

I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
H
E
R
O
I
N
E
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "females taking leading roles" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case females taking leading roles = heroines.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does HEROINES mean?

HEROINES noun
  1. A female hero.
  2. A female lead character.

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