Happy Valley

Seven years have passed since Sarah Lancashire last delivered one of TV's all-time great performances in Sally Wainwright's crime drama.

He’s a local newspaper journalist and in series three, begins work on an exposé of organised crime and council corruption. This senior detective arrived in series two to take charge of the serial killer case. In series three, Alison is released from prison on licence and soon reacquainted with the sympathetic Catherine. Neil is an old friend of Clare’s and fellow recovering alcoholic who works in the corner shop. In series two, Tommy used a prison groupie (Shirley Henderson) to pose as a teaching assistant at Ryan’s school and build a bond with Ryan. Ryan was born after Catherine’s daughter Becky was raped by Tommy Lee Royce, the trauma of which drove Becky to drugs and suicide. She’s now eyeing a transfer to CID and happily living with Catherine's son Daniel (Karl Davies). In series one, Catherine was furious to hear that Royce was out of prison and tried to run her nemesis out of town, unaware he was involved in the violent kidnapping of Ann Gallagher. The psychopathic gangland thug had a troubled upbringing and quickly fell into a life of crime. The animus between Catherine and Tommy has been the running thread throughout the series. Into this crime-ravaged community strides Sergeant Catherine Cawood, who is still grieving the rape and subsequent suicide of her teenage daughter Becky, which left Catherine as the primary carer of Becky’s young son Ryan. It’s a dazzling, devastating sign-off to one of the finest home-grown dramas of the 21st century.