Happy Valley series 3 might be returning after six, long years, but once you see Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) strutting back onto the screen – into a muddy reservoir investigating a dumped body – it feels like no time has passed at all.
Lancashire's perfect portrayal of Catherine is still worldweary but caring, sarcastic yet sincere, and savvy in the face of stupidity, as evidenced once again in the opening scenes, which see her effortlessly disarm cocksure CSI detectives thanks to her encyclopedic knowledge of Yorkshire's criminal past.
Her closing line – "Twats" – left the premiere screening in raptures celebrating what is easily one of the best female characters in TV history, and better yet, very uniquely British. The only drawback is that these final six episodes, which begin on New Year's Day, will be the show's last, a prospect almost as terrifying as Tommy Lee Royce – because Happy Valley series three is as brilliant as ever.
Creator Sally Wainwright told the BBC: "The intention developed through conversations I had with Sarah [Lancashire] 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."
The show reunites all of the core cast who made the original two series such a stellar success, with everyone getting a look-in during the hour-long premiere, along with gentle developments to their individual stories, masterfully interwoven, as always, into natural throwaway dialogue, or shots, by creator Sally Wainwright.
Effectively, the characters are exactly where we left them six years ago, albeit happier, a surprise for the audience as well as Catherine and her sister Clare, which they remark upon as being terribly unusual during Ryan's birthday. Admittedly, the first two series could occasionally be a disbelieving exercise in how much punishment one person could take – all in the space of a week.
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Catherine is eyeing her upcoming retirement plans. Meanwhile, predictably, Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy) has shacked up with Catherine's son Daniel Cawood (Karl Davies), while her sister Clare Cartwright (Siobhan Finneran) is still with a seemingly stable boyfriend, Neil Ackroyd (Con O'Neill). (Though the recap of his alcoholic breakdown at the start of the episode makes it unlikely it'll stay that way for long.)
Catherine's ex-husband Richard Cawood (Derek Riddell) has maintained a solid relationship with Ryan (Rhys Connah), with the same young actor returning to the role, now 16 years old with a newly-broken voice and angsty teenage edge to boot. But Connah plays the role believably and has always dealt with the show's heavy storylines solidly and with surprising nuance for such a young actor.
Of course, Happy Valley would be nothing without its unhappiest resident, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), who returns with another new haircut, this time channeling big Charles Manson vibes.
Norton is as calculating and vicious as ever, and you can feel his malevolence throughout his few scenes when he's pulled in for questioning around that body in the reservoir.
The wider criminal storylines in the episode are linked to the core interpersonal relationships of the show, as always, and there's an authentic through line that feeds right back to series one. A simple and rewarding badge of quality that other BBC drama heavyweights such as Line of Duty and Killing Eve struggled to land.
Ryan's teacher, played by Trigger Point's Mark Stanley, is a bastard even beyond the classroom, and it's clear that he and another new character could fill the ignorant first-time criminal role that we saw play out with Kevin Weatherill (Steve Pemberton) and Detective John Wadsworth (Kevin Doyle) in series one and two respectively.
Overall, the Happy Valley series three premiere does everything you want from a revival, especially after such a long time. We're naturally updated with everyone we know and love while being moved into numerous new storylines, which evolve into spider-webbed plots with those we know and hate.
Meanwhile, new characters slot authentically into the existing world and give Catherine a chance to shine with her unique brand of firm-but-fair policing.
Eight years on from Happy Valley's launch, there's been much discourse around the behaviour, funding, fairness and prejudice involved in policing. Yet, Sarah Lancashire's Catherine Cawood remains the ideal rose-tinted British bobby you'd want turning up for you.
It's only inevitable that her last few months before retirement will be typically grim, but the show does a better job than ever of weaving in the levity and love that makes the tragedy feel earned, and more importantly, realistic.
Happy Valley series three returns, 9pm, New Year’s Day on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The first two series of Happy Valley are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
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Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter. A former Editor-in-Chief of Digital Spy, Laurence previously held roles as the site's Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video. Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019. He also hosts his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
Laurence was named Editorial Director – Youth Audience at Reach in early 2025. Prior to joining Digital Spy, he was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine's website Heatworld.com, and has also worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig. He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast.
He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan. Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022 and was named vice-chair in 2025. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member.
Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer. Linkedin
