While we were certainly expecting the final series of Happy Valley fairly soon, we weren’t expecting it this soon, but alas, it seems the elves at the BBC fancied treating us for Christmas this year.
Ending Christmas on a massive high, the BBC has officially announced that Sergeant Catherine Cawood and co will return for one last rodeo this coming 1st January, after getting fans excited with multiple teasers in recent weeks.
Last gracing screens back in 2016 – a long, long six years ago now – the acclaimed drama promises the return of a number of fan-favourite characters for the final iteration of the story, including the likes of Joyce, Shaf, Sledge and Gorkem.
The official synopsis for the series reads: “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.”
Little else is known about the upcoming final series, however, fans can expect things to get pretty dark as Catherine takes on one last case before retirement.
Set in Halifax and filmed in Halifax and the wider Calderdale area, the show became an instant hit back in 2014, with Sarah Lancashire’s character, Catherine, quickly reaching icon status here in the UK.
Filming for the final series began in West Yorkshire back in January, so Yorkshire fans are sure to spot some familiar backdrops while watching in the new year.
The first episode will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer at 9pm, January 1st 2023. The first two series are available to catch up on iPlayer now.
[Featured image: BBC]
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