Happy Valley series 3 cast and creator Sally Wainwright - "We always said this would be the final season"

Happy Valley series 3 cast and creator Sally Wainwright - "We always said this would be the final season"

Happy Valley series three begins at 9pm on 1 January, New Year’s Day, on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Published: 13 December 2022

Sally Wainwright’s multi-Bafta award winning hit Happy Valley returns to the BBC for its third and final series, starring Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood. When Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, it sparks a chain of events that leads her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce [James Norton]. Her grandson, Ryan [Rhys Connah], is now sixteen and has ideas of his own about the kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father, leaving Catherine’s sister Clare [Siobhan Finneran] caught in the middle. In another part of the valley, a local pharmacist gets in over his head when a neighbour is arrested.

Happy Valley series three (6x60’) is a Lookout Point production for the BBC. Executive producers are Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire, with Faith Penhale and Will Johnston for Lookout Point, Ben Irving and Rebecca Ferguson for the BBC.

Interview with Sally Wainwright, writer, creator and executive producer 

How would you describe Happy Valley?  

It is not a police show, it’s a show about Catherine, who happens to be a police officer. It’s not a police procedural, it’s not a crime show. It’s really about Catherine and about what happened to her in the past and this weird crooked relationship she has with this man who affected her life so badly.

What originally inspired you to write Happy Valley?  

I saw a documentary by Jez Lewis called Shed Your Tears and Walk Away and it was about drug and alcohol problems, specifically in Hebden Bridge. The other influence was that, when I was a kid, there was a series called Juliet Bravo, which I really, really liked. It was actually not filmed far from Hebden Bridge, it was filmed in Todmorden. It was about a female police inspector and it was a really good show. It’s kind of in my top ten TV shows from adolescence, so it was my attempt to re-visit that.

The other big thing that inspired me of course, which I’ve talked about a lot, was Nurse Jackie. I wanted to write my own Nurse Jackie, but obviously I couldn’t write about a nurse, so I wrote about a policewoman instead. When I wrote the first series that was very much in my head as an influence.  

How would you describe Catherine Cawood’s personality traits?  

Catherine is very strong and very stubborn. I think she has got a very strong streak of irony and comedy. What I often think about Catherine is that she is a good person to whom something very tragic has happened. That informs the character that she is now. That she has got this streak of tragedy that strikes through her but she is somebody who prior to that was very amusing and entertaining and good fun. She is strong, I think police officers have to be strong.  

Why do you think the audience loves Catherine so much?  

I think it’s Sarah Lancashire’s performance. I think that she is an extraordinarily empathetic performer. I think she conveys the real subtleties of the tiny, tiny moment-by-moment thoughts in everything she does. The audience really engage with her.

Did you always have Sarah Lancashire in mind for the character of Catherine Cawood?

For Catherine yeah, because we had done Last Tango In Halifax where she played Caroline and she really captured my imagination. I thought she played Caroline so well, and again she just gets everything. She gets every little detail and she has that fantastic charisma and personality. So again, right from the first series, I had her in my head which really helped when I was creating the character. To be able to see her and have some pretty clear idea of how she would deliver the lines.

Can you tell us how you came up with the title, Happy Valley?

So Happy Valley... I always work closely with police advisors, who are old police officers who have worked in the area, and one of them told me that is what they call the Valley because of issues with drugs. For me it reflected the show. It’s dark, but it has also got a lot of humour in it. I think less so in season one, more so in season two. We want to continue that in the new season. It’s still very much about the dark side of life, but it’s also about how within that people always find ways of being funny and warm and human.

When writing the show, how do you determine the contrast between the dark and the light?

Balancing the dark and the light is usually done through the character of Catherine because she is so nice to write for. She is a fantastic character to write for, she has got a lot to her. The show is kind of a portrait of Catherine, a portrait of what she has gone through in life and what she is now, the kind of person she is now. And obviously I know I am writing for Sarah. Nothing will be wasted, she will get everything. She’ll push everything in the right way. She will get the humour across. I think that balance is encapsulated in that character.

Why do you think audiences love Happy Valley so much?

It’s odd with Happy Valley, so many people talk about it in such a way that I do now believe it’s pretty good! I did ask someone the other day, ‘what is it that you think?’, and she said ‘the characters and the performances and the stories’. You know the truth is it’s just an alchemy, just an alchemy that some shows somehow manage to press buttons with people. I guess it’s just one of those. You kind of hit a patch of gold, a seam of gold in it somehow. It does always seem to capture people’s imaginations when you are writing about things that are on the wrong side of the law. It’s about transgressive behaviour and I suppose humans are fascinated by transgressive behaviour. I guess that’s why people are so fascinated by crime. It’s a kind of vicarious thing, that we don’t indulge in ourselves but like to watch other people doing it, or we like to see them get caught, or we like to follow the people who sort things out.

Why have you waited so long to write series three?

I waited six years because I wanted to get to a point where Ryan would be old enough to start making choices about whether he wanted to have a relationship with his dad or not. And could he have a relationship with his dad, and how would Catherine feel about that? I really wanted to be able to explore that. It’s been great that we got Rhys back to play Ryan which has been fantastic, and he has done a really lovely job in that. That was always the intention, to have a gap and it has worked out just about right. Just the right period of time because he is now 16, so he can travel places by himself, he can make choices. He can do things behind Catherine’s back. The intention developed through conversations I had with Sarah to make it a three-parter, to make a trilogy. We always said this would be the final season and it is very definitely is the final season.

Interview with James Norton (Tommy Lee Royce)

Can you describe Happy Valley?

Happy Valley is set in the Calder Valley, Halifax, Hebden Bridge area stretching over towards Leeds. It’s about a family - a Police officer rather - called Catherine Cawood, played by the wonderful Sarah Lancashire, and her family; her sister, her grandson and her colleagues. She has a relationship with a man, Tommy who had a relationship, or a very abusive relationship, with her daughter. Her daughter had a son called Ryan, and so Tommy Lee Royce’s son, Ryan, is also Catherine Cawood’s grandson. It has inextricably linked these two characters and they become these two fearsome adversaries.

How would you describe your character, Tommy?

Tommy Lee Royce is an enigma and a puzzle and a kind of terrifying mess. Genuinely, I am still kind of working him out. I think I had certain preconceptions about him in the first series. We would talk about him quite flippantly as if he is a psychopath. And I did a lot of work into psychopathy and was introduced to some behavioural psychologists and criminal psychologists who were really wonderfully helpful in excavating Tommy and the mindset that he has.

What we know about Tommy is that he had a very abusive childhood and lives with horrible trauma. We know that because Sally has written it into the script and he is very, very mistrustful of the world. He sees everything and everyone as a hostility and a potential threat. I think he feels like the way to live a happy life in his head is to be on the defensive and to attack before he gets attacked. It’s quite a sad, lonely space that Tommy lives in.

Tommy (James Norton) sits in his prison cell, looking up towards the ceiling 

How do you prepare to get into Tommy’s headspace?

The way into Tommy’s headspace has been challenging because by nature he lives in a very different space to me and most people I know - on that kind of fringe of humanity. As a result, it is one of the more challenging roles to find the shared experience with him. But that is kind of the joy when you are asked to empathise with someone who feels very distant from yourself. That’s kind of where you learn the most, if you go on that journey with empathy and understanding you get to see the world in an entirely different way. Tommy’s version is very different from mine, thank goodness.

Can you describe the relationship between Catherine and Tommy?

The relationship between Catherine and Tommy is kind of everything, at least for Tommy. Tommy has Catherine and Ryan, they are the big two poles of his existence. Catherine has her family and does not want to think about Tommy. Tommy constantly forces his way into her life and her consciousness. They are in the best way, in that sort of old-fashioned way, epic adversaries pitched against each other. They are obsessed with each other, there’s a kind of deep, deep hatred in the way that when you think about someone that you hate they inhabit part of your consciousness. There’s a sort of, not love at all but, there is a kind of connection and affinity. There’s a certain kind of shared experience they have in that they both obsess about each other. In that way they are inextricably linked and will always be in some way married together.

Where do we find Tommy at the beginning of series three?

We pick up Tommy seven years later and he is still in prison serving multiple life sentences. But he has changed, he has moved on and grown and he has matured. He has calmed down and there is a definite shift in his demeanour and his temperament. I think that’s because for the first time in a long time he has got hope.

What journey does Tommy go on in series three?

Unlike the Tommy we have seen of the first and second series he feels quite affable and in control, I think that’s probably because we arrive in the third series and Tommy has information about something we don’t know about yet. That information, that situation is giving him a sense of contentment.

Why is Happy Valley a must-see?

Happy Valley is a must-see because you have one of the best writers in the world, at the top of her game. You have Sarah Lancashire, also an absolute legend in our industry, giving the performance of her life. An amazing cast, Siobhan Finneran and others. It’s just a great community, a great group of people doing great work. I just think it’s a great story, it’s a great thriller. We have got fantastic characters driving it forward. We love playing the characters because they are so beautifully drawn. And while Sally is brilliant at character dialogue, she is also extraordinary at plot. There is always an absolute ride, rollercoaster of a plot and many people said in the first series that they would end up behind their sofa with their hands over their mouth. I think both the second and hopefully the third deliver on that.

What about Happy Valley are you most proud of?

I am immensely proud of the series as a whole. Immensely proud that I was able to have a part in it. And it’s wonderful to come back knowing there is such an appetite and a love for the show. I was really proud when I went to America and I realised how far reaching the show is. I think it’s such a specific show about the very specific part of England, and you know the accents and the temperaments and sensibilities of those characters are quite specific to the area. And yet when I go to America, I am amazed at how many people have watched it and how many people love it. And that was a really proud moment, when I realised how it wasn’t only a show loved in the UK but internationally.

How does it feel to be bringing Happy Valley back for series three?

To be back here filming Happy Valley feels great because people love the show and we love making it. It’s really, really wonderful knowing there’s an appetite for something. I have had so many interviews over the last seven years where people have asked me, or people in the street have asked me ‘when is it coming back?’ So now to be able to say we have shot a third series and it’s coming back and it’s as big and bold as ever is really wonderful.

What can audiences be most excited about for the news series?

I think the reason this series is particularly exciting is because everyone knows it’s the last and so everyone is going to be waiting for something to happen, and everyone is sort of predicting and guessing how Sally wants to end it. I have been predicting for the last seven years how she is going to end it so it was really wonderful to read the script and hear her ideas - and they don’t disappoint.

Interview with Siobhan Finneran (Clare Cartwright)

How does it feel to be back filming Happy Valley?

It’s lovely to be back filming again, it’s a great team and we’re very lucky that a lot of the crew that filmed with us in series 2 are back to shoot this series. It’s that old cliché, we are quite a happy little family – yeah, it’s quite a treat to be back filming with those guys.

Where do we find Clare at the beginning of series three?

She has sort of moved on a little bit from the last series because she is now living with Neil, her boyfriend, so she’s now moved out of the house that she shared with Catherine. But she’s still there a lot of the time because they kinda have the care of Ryan. Clare’s in a good place this time around, I think the second series we saw her and she’d fallen off the wagon but that’s not happened for some time, as far as we know.

How would you describe Clare’s character?

Clare is the very, very devoted sister to Catherine. They’ve got an amazing relationship which is, I think, one of the reasons the audience love it so much – because it’s very real and honest. Clare is quite fragile, she’s always been quite fragile and Catherine has always been her rock. When we see her this series she’s more settled and happier.

What about Happy Valley are you most proud of?

Happy Valley is the sort of telly that I like to watch, where there are very real, believable characters. So the stories might be a little bit extraordinary but the way that the real characters deal with that, I enjoy watching that kind of thing.

I’m very proud to be part of it because it’s really loved, it’s a really loved show.

Claire (Siobhan Finneran) and Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) sit at a table drinking tea 

Tell us about Sally Wainwright’s writing and why her scripts are so special?

As an actress when you get a Sally Wainwright script you can’t actually wait to get on set and do it. It’s very easy to sit and get lost in two, three, four, five, six hours’ worth of her stuff. The characters and their personalities are there so we’ve just got to add a bit of flesh to those bones really.

Do you remember your first day on set for series one?

My first day of filming on Series one was in the mission - Clare answering a call from Catherine, I think Clare was preparing a sandwich but I can’t remember what the conversation was about. I will have been a nervous wreck, I always am day one of a job.

Thinking back did you have any idea back then the series would become so big?

I can remember reading the opening scene from series one where Catherine is trying to talk someone down and arms herself with a fire extinguisher and sunglasses and thinking this is really special. I think I read the whole series in one evening. But I don’t think you can ever really know that something you’re working on is going to be received well, you just hope having witnessed first-hand the work that’s been put into it that it is!

Do you have a favourite memory from on set on Happy Valley (on or off screen)?

My happiest memories on set are the scenes with Catherine and Clare, the catch up chats with cups of tea and a smoke or the big explosive ones. I love the relationship between the two sisters and it’s what people talk to me about most when they talk about the show. I love working with Sarah, it’s magical and I think that shows in the scenes, there’s a genuine love and affection between us.

Interview with Rhys Connah (Ryan Cawood)

Where do we meet Ryan at the start of series three?

Ryan is 16 now and he’s just finishing high school. The main place you pick up with him is that he’s been told all these lies throughout his life about his past and stuff like that, he’s bringing them into question and he’s finally old enough to learn the truth about some of them.

Why has Ryan been raised by his Grandma?

Ryan’s mum killed herself so he was brought up by his Granny because his uncle didn’t want him, his Grandad didn’t want him, no one else really wanted him. So he had to grow up with his Granny and she was the only one who accepted him.

What is Ryan’s relationship with Catherine?

It’s a family dynamic, so there’s obviously better times and worse times. There’s more of a tension in it as Catherine sees more of Ryan’s dad in Ryan, more than she’d like to see obviously. Sarah just plays the character great, she plays all of the aspects of a police officer but also the vulnerable side to her, she does it really well.

What is Ryan’s relationship with Tommy?

Ryan has a confusing relationship with Tommy because obviously Tommy tried to kill him… But then he’s heard all this stuff saying ‘Oh, he was sick’, so he’s questioning what Tommy is. He hears all this stuff about Tommy, about how he was a psychopath, a murderer, but Ryan’s now at a stage where he wants to judge for himself, as there’s enough doubt there, and of course he wants his dad to be a good man so he wants to believe things are different now.

What is it like working with James Norton?

He brings so much to the character, like the energy. You see him on set between takes and he’s such a nice person, and then we’ll start filming and he’ll just instantly switch and there’s this psychopath. He brings a lot to the character and he does it really well.

Is there an element of Happy Valley you’re most proud of?

It is a very successful show and I don’t think there is one element to thank for that. There’s the writing and the casting but everyone helps - sound, lighting, costume, everyone. I’m sure there’s a hundred other people and roles I’ve missed there but they’re all deserving of all the praise.

What can audiences look forward to in series three?

The main thing is it is six years on, that’s the biggest thing – how the characters, including Ryan of course, and the world itself have changed since the last time we saw them.

Do you remember your first day on set for series one?

Yes, very well. It was a scene where I went to see Daniel for dinner, and I remember the first shot we did was when I opened the door to walk in. I remember the first ever time we did it I looked directly at the camera - I didn’t look at anyone else, I just looked straight at the camera. They had to stop and say “Rhys, the most important part about filming is don’t look at the camera!”.

BBC Media Centre 

13 December 2022