Happy Valley

The team behind the hit BBC drama starring Sarah Lancashire and James Norton insist it won't be revived a few years down the line.

[subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). "A series like this returning, the actors are in conversation very early about their characters and the way that things move forward," he explained. The first two seasons are available to watch on [TV Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings/) and [Streaming Guide](https://www.radiotimes.com/streaming-guide/), or visit our [Drama](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/) hub for more news and features. [James Norton says Happy Valley season 3 ending 'won't disappoint'](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/happy-valley-season-3-ending-james-norton-newsupdate/) [Where is Happy Valley filmed?](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/happy-valley-filming-location-guide/) [Happy Valley announces new cast as filming for season 3 begins](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/happy-valley-season-3-cast-newsupdate/) "We're really not doing any more.

THE BBC drama is set to return for its third and final outing and now the show's star James Norton has teased the drama of what is to come in Happy Va.

“There’s a certain kind of shared experience they have in that they both obsess about each other. That information, that situation is giving him a sense of contentment.” There’s a sort of, not love at all but, there is a kind of connection and affinity. Catherine has her family and does not want to think about Tommy." [James Norton](https://www.thesun.ie/who/james-norton/) rose to stardom thanks to his role on the show which allowed him to be cast in other projects including fellow drama Grantchester. [British Period Dramas](https://britishperioddramas.com/news/james-norton-interview-happy-valley-season-3-tommy-lee-royce/), James said of the relationship between the two characters: "The relationship between Catherine and Tommy is kind of everything, at least for Tommy.

Happy Valley returned to BBC One for its third and final series on New Year's Day, nearly seven years after the last one.

Plot recap as BBC drama makes highly anticipated return](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/what-happened-happy-valley-series-25874992) [Happy Valley series two](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/what-happened-happy-valley-series-25874992) as well, with a memorable showdown between Catherine and Tommy at is mother's funeral and police detective John Wadsworth being driven to murder after being blackmailed by a woman he had an affair with, before throwing himself of off a bridge as the net closed in. [Gemma Atkinson refutes Gorka Marquez 'leaving Strictly' claims in defiant Instagram post](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/gorka-marquez-strictly-gemma-atkinson-25837749) [*Strictly's Kai Widdrington gets 'justice' after Christmas win with Alexandra Mardell](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/kai-widdrington-strictly-alexandra-mardell-25837247) [*Strictly's Giovanni Pernice gives fans exciting update on new project after live tour blow](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/giovanni-strictly-come-dancing-tour-25855124) [*Danny Dyer 'rejects' EastEnders return theories and exposes alternative ending](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/danny-dyer-eastenders-mick-return-25854117) [ Happy Valley cast ](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/tv/who-happy-valley-cast-bbc-25875239)for the new series, as Amit Shah (The Other One, The Long Call), Mark Stanley (The Girl Before, White House Farm) and Mollie Winnard (All Creatures Great And Small, Four Lives) would join the ranks. It was nearly nine years ago, back in 2014, when the Sally Wainwright drama made its debut on BBC One, becoming an instant ratings hit and proving to be truly unmissable TV, as ex Coronation Street star Sarah Lancashire took on the lead role of Catherine Cawood, as no nonsense police DS with a troubled past. Happy Valley was the jewel of the BBC's New Year crown when it made its long awaited return to screens on Sunday night and, while gutted that its new series will also be its last, viewers were beside themselves with excitement.

Radio Times speaks exclusively to James Norton about returning to Happy Valley and going beyond the surface-level "monster" of Tommy Lee Royce.

"It’s a beautiful part of the world with a rich cultural history, but there’s also a lot of poverty and a sense of injustice. "It hit the bull’s-eye in the first and second series, so we’re feeling the pressure of expectation. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the [Radio Times View From My Sofa podcast](https://www.radiotimes.com/audio/podcasts/). They are thinking about what direction they want to take and they haven’t called me to be part of that conversation." We’re all aware of the incredible love people have for it and we really have to deliver. Happy Valley is partly about communities being left behind, but also about the humour and warmth at the heart of Catherine’s family." And it’s a lot of my hair, but also a lot of extensions. Norton insists he is able to "dip in and out" of Royce and it’s very much make-believe. But for the new series of Happy Valley, Royce has long hair and a beard, which everyone will assume is a nod to a Messiah complex. He was badly abused as a child, he sees the world as inherently dangerous and hostile. and I feel bad because it’s such a lovely show and Robson [Green] is one of the nicest men in the world. Norton is talking by Zoom from Dublin, enthusing about the cold showers he enjoys at the start of most days and the swim he’s going to take in the Irish Sea after our interview.

Happy Valley is back for its third and final series on New Year's Day. Here are the returning cast members and the new characters we'll meet.

He also appeared alongside David Tennant in the 2007 episode of Doctor Who, ‘42’, and recently played Steffon Darklyn in [House of the Dragon](https://www.denofgeek.com/house-of-the-dragon/). He also had parts in Silent Witness and [The Witcher](https://www.denofgeek.com/the-witcher/). He also appeared as Rahul in Jodie Whittaker’s first episode of [Doctor Who](https://www.denofgeek.com/doctor-who/), ‘ [The Woman Who Fell To Earth](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-series-11-the-woman-who-fell-to-earth-review/)’. He also played grieving father Colin Caffell in [The Murders at White House Farm](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/white-house-farm-breakdown-true-crime-drama-netflix/) and Bill Sykes in Dickensian, among many others. Also back are Charlie Murphy as Ann Gallagher, Rick Warden as Inspector Mike Taylor and Vincent Franklin as DSU Andy Shepherd. Pharmacist Faisal Bhatti is a local business owner and father of two who gets on the wrong side of some dangerous people. [Gentleman Jack](https://www.denofgeek.com/gentleman-jack/) (as Ben Sowden), and as Bastien in Versailles. Actor Mollie Winnard is probably best known for playing twisted schemer Kayla Clifton in Corrie, as well as Maggie in [Sex Education](https://www.denofgeek.com/sex-education/), Carl in [Noughts + Crosses](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/noughts-crosses-episode-1-review/), and Markus in Young Wallander. She comes into contact with Catherine, and her evidence sparks an investigatory trail that leads through the whole series. Happy Valley is back for its third and final series on New Year’s Day. Needless to say, Catherine won’t take this well.

Try as you might to banish the image of James Norton's Tommy Lee Royce brutally assaulting Sarah Lancashire's Sergeant Catherine Cawood in Season 1 of ...

And they have to live with it and have to cope with it. So, it does makes me question my decision to make heroes of the police, but not police women, because my experience of police women is that they are often very different. And you think, “Oh my God, that’s terrible.” And they both recently have said things like, “You think it’s better and then you hear things like that, and it isn’t.” You know, TV dramas about police officers usually make heroes of the police. The angle that worries me a bit is that I always portray the police in a good light. And you realize that connection at the end of episode one, and it builds, and by the end of episode two, it’s very clear where it’s going. But it’s worked out and it was always the plan to do the third series and for it to take a little bit of time to get to it, because of that reason. One of the big things I’ve done in this series, which has been implied earlier but not done, was explore where the drugs are and have Catherine get closer to figuring out who supplies the drugs — the people who actually matter. This is what happens.” But having rewatched the show at the beginning of the year, with the case of Sarah Everard still playing in my mind, I found it quite difficult to take in some of those scenes. We’ve got [Lisa Farrand], a retired police constable, and Janet Hudson, a retired detective chief superintendent, and they’re in right at the beginning of the process. It was always the plan to leave the gap because I wanted Ryan to be old enough and have agency in the world to make his own decisions and form his own opinions that aren’t a childish reaction. I think I’ve done it in all three series really, but what I’ve done is introduce several different plotlines, and you start to realize that they are all connected. It’s good to know when to stop — to put that signal out there that this is very definitely the final series.

Are you ready for the return of Sergeant Catherine Cawood in Happy Valley season three? January 01, 2023 - 16:58 ...

In the final moments of the series, Tommy can be seen smiling while reading a letter from Ryan in prison, revealing that his plan with Miss Wheeland worked and that he and Ryan are once again in contact with one another - without Catherine knowing. While she recovers, Tommy manages to allude the police of his whereabouts, hiding in a narrow boat after once again making contact with Ryan, who begins to visit him and bring him food without Catherine’s knowledge. A police officer, John Wandsworth, also murders his mistress who had threatened to blackmail him and attempts to cover it up by using the same method as the serial killer. In season one, we are introduced to Sergeant Catherine Cawood, a no-nonsense sergeant with a heartbreaking past. Catherine believes that Becky was traumatised from being sexually assaulted by a local thug, Tommy Lee Royce, which resulted in the birth of her baby son. As it happens, we have put together a handy recap so you have [all the info you need from seasons one and two](https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/2020030885968/last-tango-in-halifax-happy-valley-connection-refererence/) before delving back into the world of Catherine Cawood…

Created and written by Sally Wainwright and fronted by Sarah Lancashire as no-nonsense Sergeant Catherine Cawood, the Bafta-winning show, which started on the ...

“It feels like a great example of what police officers patrolling in smaller, rural areas might come up against, especially in the Calder Valley. Tim Swift, leader of Calderdale council, believes that Happy Valley has “without a doubt” helped to put the borough on the national and international map. Eileen Kelly, who has lived in the Calder Valley for 40 years, thinks the show’s best asset is the representation it offers of small-town policing. “My family and I found the first two series of The kindness of our communities is also a draw for productions. “Since my childhood in the 1950s, Hebden Bridge went through some very difficult economic times, and it would have seemed inconceivable in those early days to foresee [it] as a tourist destination.”

Happy Valley is finally back on our screens, but we already have questions. Could it be the ultimate betrayal from Claire?

Her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah), who she has always had a challenging relationship with, seems to be growing up and becoming a young man. She befriended Ryan and tried to turn him against his grandmother and Claire. He is Cawood’s arch nemesis, who she blames for raping Ryan’s mother and driving her to suicide. Her fragile sister Claire (Siobhan Finneran) has moved in with her partner. [Happy Valley](https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/happy-valley-oral-history) is back on our screens. When we rejoin Cawood's (Sarah Lancashire) world in episode one, things seem to be going pretty well.

Happy Valley returns for season 3 on BBC One, and the premiere cements Sarah Lancashire as an undeniably superb lead as Catherine Cawood.

But in this episode, her obligation to protect Ryan and her fierce sense of territory is also absorbed by the viewer in an unmistakable way that will likely be tested throughout the season. [subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article). From the offset, he is the controlling, angry teacher, husband and father who keeps a padlock on the fridge, a detailed meal plan for everyone in the house and doesn’t allow Joanna to answer any of Catherine’s questions after he calls the police about his wife. Although Happy Valley is the kind of gripping drama that shouldn’t typically warrant laughter, Sally Wainwright brilliantly manages to weave in comedic lines – yet again – into scenes. The first two seasons are available to watch on He's as opinionated and straight-talking as he's been in previous seasons, this time with more of an older male bravado that only seems to visibly worry Catherine more. The viewer is often more informed than the characters within the episodes and so, we start off as we mean to go on – knowing certain details before others and waiting for their anticipated emotional responses. But of course, as comes with the expected sense of finality in this season, Catherine too is ready to hang up her police uniform once and for all. And a major part of that sense of calm, we learn, is because there's been relative peace on the Cawood front. “Did you tell her we get more people addicted to prescription drugs than we do heroine?” Clare asks Catherine, highlighting the very real plight in This time round, he's being questioned in conjunction with the body found at the reservoir. In a new prison and with a shocking new look, Royce is as cocky and chilling as ever before.

Happy Valley season 3 - Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lanchashire) could be destined for a tragic ending with Ryan (Rhys Connah) according to the foreshadowed ...

And could he have a relationship with his dad, and how would Catherine feel about that? If one thing is for certain, it's that Tommy Lee Royce isn't a good man, but it remains to be seen whether Ryan can become one. Catherine explained that Alison kept Daryl in the dark about his true father, they never talked about it, and they became outcasts. In the series' final moments, Catherine visited Alison and explained she lost her own daughter Becky, and if Alison wants someone to talk to, she can contact Catherine. Ryan has obviously always been infatuated with the idea of having a father, despite his crimes. Of course, this could all be down to Ryan growing up without a father and mother while being ostracised by his uncle and grandfather. She later remarks to Richard that she "can't stand him, can't stand looking at him", and tells Richard she understands why he couldn't live with Ryan. [their website](http://rapecrisis.org.uk/index.php) or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 0808 802 9999. The series' final shot was an ominous scene of Ryan running up a hill while Catherine looked on. And while they eventually came around to caring for Ryan, there's been plenty of flashes of Ryan's fiery temper throughout the show, which could potentially foreshadow the man he's going to be. Ryan was born after Catherine's daughter, Becky, was raped by the evil murderer Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). However, the biggest overarching dilemma that has loomed over the show since series one is the nature vs nurture debate around Ryan (Rhys Connah).

From its impeccable acting talent to a writer who captures the female experience like no one else, this drama's final series is as excellent as ever.

The warp and weft of lives, of life, is as expertly woven as ever and you couldn’t wish for a better group of actors to bring it to you. By the end of the first episode, all the narrative pieces are in play – from the drug plots, to the Hepworths’ private misery, via a shattering revelation for Catherine that would undo a lesser woman. The police know that a local drugs kingpin ordered a recent failed hit on Tommy in prison and are hoping Tommy will name him as the murderer – but he names an Oldham villain instead. Tommy, still in prison, is arrested for the murder of the man in the reservoir. “We move on, don’t we, in the end,” says Clare as she and Catherine take one of their breaks out in the garden, six months on from the discovery at the reservoir. She has just given them the identity of a partial skeleton in a cement-filled barrel that has been revealed by the draining of a local reservoir.

Sarah Lancashire and co. return for Sgt Catherine Cawood's final outing in a storming series opener.

[Happy Valley](https://www.denofgeek.com/happy-valley/) continues on Sunday the 8th of January at 9pm on BBC One. [Sally Wainwright](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/last-tango-in-halifax-recap-the-story-so-far/)’s talent for dialogue that delights (“what genre of twat does that?” Catherine asks Clare about Rob calling 999 on his wife in one of those brilliantly narrated-flashback scenes that give us the best of both worlds) and characters that get under your skin for reasons good and bad. And, to judge by Catherine’s reaction, so are the couple accompanying him on the prison visits. And perhaps he chucked in the means to manipulate a police sergeant by offering up his son Ryan to them for good measure? That man, with his Jesus-meets-Charles-Manson new look, would throw anybody to the wolves if it got him one step further to where he wants to be. What’s the worth in speculating while this series opener offered up so much of substance. This is all conjecture at this stage, of course, but let’s put the pieces together: the discovery of Gary Kokovsky’s body led to murderer Darius Knežević ordering the killing of Tommy Lee Royce in prison, to ensure that he didn’t tell the police what he knows (which is that Darius pulled the trigger and Tommy helped to dispose of the body, leaving his St Christopher pendant behind). After attempting to kill the eight-year-old in a murder-suicide in series one, and from prison, manipulating an unhinged woman to groom him in series two, Ryan’s biological dad (who fathered him when he brutally raped Catherine’s daughter Becky) has a plan. It appears to involve Ryan’s secret visits to his prison, a crash course in learning Spanish, an upcoming court date, and a deal he’s possibly made with the aforementioned Kneževićs. That means the hope is that we’re heading towards a finale in which a newly retired Catherine drives her renovated Land Rover to the Himalayas, crunching over the bones of Tommy Lee Royce as she goes. And then there are the many heads of The characters, the dialogue, the plot and the stakes in this exceptional drama are just as vibrant and entertaining as they were when Sgt Cawood first introduced herself, fire extinguisher in hand, calmly summing up her life story to a petrol-soaked junkie threatening to set himself alight.

Drug dealers and people traffickers, crime family the Kneževićs have plagued Happy Valley from the start. Here's their history.

[Series 3](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/happy-valley-series-3-cast/), it seems “the ever lovely Kneževićs, the Teflon-coated Kneževićs” are taking strides to enter the mainstream. In addiction to the prescription drugs racket, Catherine’s Inspector mentions Darius getting “elected onto Bradford City Council.” So not only do the gangsters have at least one of Catherine’s police colleagues in their pocket, they’re also infiltrating local government in a further power grab. One of the victims was Aurelia Petrovic, a sex trafficking victim controlled by the Kneževićs, identified by escaped trafficking victim Ilinka. After his arrest for his part in the kidnap, he made a deal with to inform on the Kneževićs in exchange for immunity from prosecution and witness protection. [Series 2](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/happy-valley-series-2-episode-1-review/), it looked as though the Kneževićs were behind the serial killings of sex workers. It’s one thing knowing somebody’s done something, it’s a different kettle of fish having the evidence to arrest them for it.” Kokovski’s corpse is a boon for Yorkshire police, who might finally have something concrete (excuse the pun) to pin on Darius Knežević. During the raid, Catherine tasered sex trafficker Goran Dragović, who was arrested but later released on bail, which was paid for by his employers the Kneževićs. They didn’t help Dragović out of the goodness of their hearts, but in order to kill him to stop him from incriminating them. Surprise surprise, Royce won’t cooperate, and instead names the Kneževićs Oldham rival Chris Oxley as Gary’s murderer. Local drug dealer Ashley Cowgill had been arrested for colluding in the kidnap and ransom of Ann Gallagher, the daughter of wealthy local businessman Nev Gallagher. Ashley and his accomplice Kevin Weatherill had planned the kidnapping as an easy payday, not intending anybody to get hurt, but then Ashley made the grave error of involving Happy Valley villain Tommy Lee Royce, an associate of the Kneževićs recently released from an eight-year prison sentence on drug charges.

One of British TV's finest ever creations begins a third and final series of West Yorkshire crime-fighting - but will we get a happy ending?

The teacher is also a controlling husband, and his wife is being illegally supplied with drugs by their neighbour, a chemist (Amit Shah) who finds himself in way over his head when enforcers from the local drugs gang come calling. The discovery brings Cawood back into the orbit of Royce (James Norton), still monstrous and now with vivid scars across his face. Cawood is on the brink of retirement – seven months, one week and three days away, to be precise – when human remains are discovered by workers draining a reservoir. And Sally Wainwright remains the best writer in Britain, with such a sure grasp of character, place and plot that this series simply can’t be faulted. She has a grand retirement plan: to drive to the Himalayas. It doesn’t feel that way, and yet the sweet little boy who played Sergeant Catherine Cawood’s grandson is now a lanky teen.

The third and final series of Happy Valley kicked off tonight, with Sarah Lancashire once again back in the role of Sgt Catherine Cawood. Advertisement. Happy ...

Her boss said he would try and find out more, and in the final moments, he arrived at her office with bad news, confirming her fears that Ryan had been visiting Tommy, but viewers will have to wait and see who has been taking him. In a further twist, the wife was then seen being visited by her neighbour, a pharmacist, who had given her the meds, and she offered him sex in return. Catherine immediately recognised who it was, and before long, her longtime foe Tommy Lee Royce was being taken from his prison cell to a police station to be questioned about his involvement in the murder.

After seven years, Sally Wainwright's funny and brutal drama is here for its third and final outing.

This final spin over the moors is a worthy way to round out one of British television’s greatest sagas. Expository comments creep into discussions, especially where long-dead characters are concerned, and there is a small tendency towards remarks that feel needlessly like footnotes to the story (“Did you tell her we get more people turning up addicted to prescription drugs than we do heroin?” asks Clare, when Catherine tells her about a potential referral). A sequence of interlacing timelines in this opening episode shows how brilliantly they work in tandem: simultaneously, Catherine recounts to her sister the story of a raid, while we, the audience, see that arrest play out on screen. [Sarah Lancashire](/topic/sarah-lancashire)) is approaching retirement but seems to be relishing both her final months in the job and her future plans. The Cawood equilibrium begins to unravel with the discovery of a body in a quarry, a murder that’s immediately linked back to Royce. What she’s less able to compartmentalise is the revelation that Ryan has spent the last few years visiting his incarcerated father on the sly – and in violation of his grandmother’s expressed wishes.

The new six-episode BBC One drama, created and written by Sally Wainwright, returned on New Year's Day following Sarah Lancashire's character Sergeant Catherine ...

This is the best misery TV money can buy.” It said: “Of the many roles he has played I’d nominate this as his best, although we haven’t seen enough of him yet for my liking. It’s the gentle voice that does it. “To her colleagues, especially the senior officers, she’s a middle-aged woman who has been around forever. “The warp and weft of lives, of life, are as expertly woven as ever and you couldn’t wish for a better group of actors to bring it to you.” [Happy Valley](/topic/happy-valley) also received a five-star review from the i newspaper, which said it had been a “long seven-year wait” but the opening of series three had retained “everything that made it so brilliant”.

The multi-BAFTA-winning third and final season, which saw actress Sarah Lancashire reprise her role as Sergeant Catherine Cawood, premiered on Sunday night.

The writing, the casting, the acting, it's just phenomenal. Sally Wainwright is a genius. Happy Valley is the best. Excited for the rest of the series.' A fifth and sixth said: 'Happy Valley never fails to deliver just superb Sarah Lancashire is sublime great writing and cast,' and, '#HappyValley WOW just WOW. Concluding, another fan said: 'Sarah Lancashire is a goddess. TV Drama at its best' The performances are outstanding. Brilliant way to start 2023!' Talented: After the first episode aired, viewers and critics alike heaped praise upon 'goddess' Sarah, as well as her co-star James Norton (pictured) and writer Sally Wainwright - After the first episode aired, viewers and critics alike heaped praise upon 'goddess' Sarah, as well as her co-star James Norton and writer Sally Wainwright [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/01/happy-valley-review-sally-wainwright-masterwork-is-back)'s five-star review said: 'From its impeccable acting talent to a writer who captures the female experience like no one else, this drama's final series is as excellent as ever.'