Oh joy – Happy Valley is back to brutalise Britain

We only have to wait a few hours into 2023 for the year’s first must-see TV drama. At 9pm on New Year's Day, the long-awaited third and final series of Happy Valley arrives on BBC One (and iPlayer). It’s a dazzling, devastating sign-off to one of the finest home-grown dramas of the 21st century.

When Happy Valley first scorched onto our screens in 2014, it was a– game-changer for terrestrial crime drama, defying genre conventions to be as much a character study, a family saga and a state-of-the-nation social commentary as a police procedural. It was brilliantly written by Sally Wainwright and led by a towering turn from Sarah Lancashire. More than eight million viewers were instantly gripped by the show, which won Bafta awards for Best Drama and Best Writing.

The searing six-parter was set in West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley, an area in which poverty is rife and widespread drug addiction led to law enforcement nicknaming the area “Happy Valley”. 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.

As if cleaning up the streets and holding her fractured family together wasn’t enough, Catherine was soon waging a one-woman war on Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), the local thug who raped Becky and now wants to inveigle his way into his son Ryan’s life. The animus between Catherine and Tommy has been the running thread throughout the series.

Hard-bitten but full of heart, Cawood is an indelible creation. A heroine in the tradition of Prime Suspect and Juliet Bravo, which Wainwright admits was a major inspiration. Happy Valley has been dubbed a northern noir, a Yorkshire western, Scandi-crime without the subtitles, though Wainwright resists pigeon-holing it as a police drama, preferring to describe it as “a show about Catherine, who happens to be a police officer”.

For something so Yorkshire-specific, its themes were universal and its cultural impact spread wide. After streaming on Netflix in the US, Happy Valley built a loyal American fanbase and was a clear influence on last year’s Emmy-winning hit Mare of Easttown, starring Kate Winslet as Cawood’s small-town Philadelphia equivalent. 

So why the long gap before this third instalment? Well, Wainwright and Lancashire always planned Happy Valley as a trilogy but opted to leave a gap of a few years, giving Ryan time to grow into a teenager, able to make his own choices about the relationship he wants with his biological father, the now-incarcerated Royce. The small matter of the Covid pandemic added another year onto the wait. Now the final act is finally here. Prepare for six weeks of toe-curlingly tense action and obsessive speculation – and, presumably, another round of Baftas.

Who’s who in Happy Valley

Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire)

After 30 years fighting crime, the streetwise sergeant is now months away from retirement. Catherine remains fiercely protective of grandson Ryan, the product of her late daughter’s rape by Tommy Lee Royce. She fears the boy’s biological father could corrupt him and worries that he’s inherited Royce’s psychopathic traits. 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. She freed Ann and rescued Ryan from Royce’s clutches, despite sustaining a near-fatal beating. In series two, she tracked down a serial killer and investigated a human trafficking operation, while Royce secretly groomed Ryan from behind bars. Series three finds her discovering a dumped body and fighting to keep her family together as the evil spectre of Royce looms for one last time.

Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton)

The psychopathic gangland thug had a troubled upbringing and quickly fell into a life of crime. In series one, he kidnapped and raped Ann Gallagher, daughter of local millionaire Nevison (George Costigan), beating Catherine to within an inch of her life when she rescued her. Royce killed three people, including a female police officer, and attempted to abduct Ryan, before being caught and given multiple life sentences for murder. Series two found him forbidden from contact with Ryan but grooming his son from behind bars. He’s now sporting Christ-like locks, still scheming in his prison cell and on a collision course with Catherine for one last time.

Clare Cartwright (Siobhan Finneran)

Catherine’s sister Clare is a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict who’s been helping to raise Ryan. She’s been in a stable relationship with partner Neil (Con O’Neill), a fellow recovering alcoholic, since series two. Clare has moved out of the family home to live with Neil but remains a co-carer for Ryan. She often finds herself caught in the middle when Catherine and Ryan clash. Series three is no different.

Ryan Cawood (Rhys Connah)

Ryan was born after Catherine’s daughter Becky was raped by Tommy Lee Royce, the trauma of which drove Becky to drugs and suicide. Ryan has since been raised by his gran and Auntie Clare. He learned that Tommy was his father in series one, climaxing in a tense showdown on a canal boat. 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. He’s now an angsty 16-year-old with his own ideas about the relationship he wants with his father.

PC Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy)

After being kidnapped and raped by Royce in series one, Ann joined the police force and was mentored by Catherine. She’s now eyeing a transfer to CID and happily living with Catherine's son Daniel (Karl Davies).

Alison Garrs (Susan Lynch)

Series two saw a farmer with learning difficulties, Daryl Garrs (Robert Emms), kill three local women. He eventually confessed all to his mother Alison, who fatally shot him – a mercy killing to prevent her vulnerable son being arrested and imprisoned. In series three, Alison is released from prison on licence and soon reacquainted with the sympathetic Catherine.

Neil Ackroyd (Con O’Neill)

Neil is an old friend of Clare’s and fellow recovering alcoholic who works in the corner shop. They struck up a romance in series two and are now living together. Neil has built a warmly avuncular relationship with Ryan, although Catherine still has her suspicions about him.

Richard Cawood (Derek Riddell)

Catherine’s ex-husband left her in the fallout from Becky’s suicide. They now have an amicable relationship and he confides in her about his marital problems with second wife Ros. He’s a local newspaper journalist and in series three, begins work on an exposé of organised crime and council corruption.

Andy Shepherd (Vincent Franklin)

This senior detective arrived in series two to take charge of the serial killer case. Series three finds him investigating the dumped corpse at the reservoir, soon connecting it to Tommy Lee Royce and the area’s crime kingpins.

Happy Valley returns on New Year’s Day at 9pm on BBC One. Series 1 and 2 are available on BBC iPlayer now