Happy Valley to return for third and final series

The second season aired on BBC One in 2016. A third season is now on the horizon, and it will also be the series' final. The award-winning show follows Sarah Lancashire as police officer Catherine Cawood, tackling crime in the Yorkshire borough of Calderdale. James Norton (photo) will return to play the murderer and sex offender Tommy Lee Royce, with Siobhan Finneran reprising her role as Catherine's sister.



The second series ended in 2016 with an average audience of 9.3 million. For the six-part series three, which begins filming in early 2022, Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir. It sparks a chain of events that again unwittingly leads her straight back to Royce.

The first two series created by Sally Wainwright each won Bafta TV awards for best drama series and best writing. Lancashire also won a Bafta for best leading actress for series two. Her character in both series was seen grappling with intense and brutal storylines that centred around cases of rape, multiple murders, drugs, kidnapping and human trafficking.

It has not been revealed when the final third season is going to start its run.