Sarah Lancashire plays no-nonsense detective Sergeant Catherine Cawood
(Picture: BBC)The BBC hopes for a potentially record-breaking finale to its hit crime drama Happy Valley after a surge in viewers.
Episodes have been released on a weekly basis, rather than the whole series being released on iPlayer, which has raised the tension as the critically acclaimed show comes to an end on Sunday.
Around five million tuned in to watch the first episode of series three on the night it was broadcast. However, the audience for the episode and the rest of the series has now swelled to more than 11 million as viewers catch up.
Social media has played a major part in the rising success, while it has also gained a cult following in the United States through Netflix.
Fans are now gearing up for an explosive final episode, with a trailer suggesting a showdown between Sarah Lancashire’s character Sergeant Catherine Cawood and villain Tommy Lee Royce, played by James Norton.
Viewing figures on Monday will confirm how big a hit the show has become and whether it has overtaken the success of BBC crime drama Line of Duty.
