Fans of Happy Valley have been left delighted by the news that filming has started on its third series.
The Yorkshire based crime drama made its debut on BBC1 in 2014 and quickly gathered a massive fanbase as former Coronation Street star Sarah Lancashire, known to millions as barmaid Raquel, took on the leading role of Catherine Cawood.
Catherine's dedication to her job and strength of character led her into some highly dangerous situations, not least in series 1 when she was nearly battered to death by Tommy Lee Royce, the man who raped and impregnated her daughter Becky before she committed suicide.
Catherine was on Royce's tail for his involvement in the kidnapping of Ann Gallagher but, on finding Ann, she was faced with the criminal who was determined to evade capture and launched a brutal attack on Catherine before she was dragged to safety by Ann.
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Series 2 picked up with Catherine receiving a Queen's Medal for her bravery, before infuriating Royce, who was serving life in prison, by turning up at his mum's funeral.
The death of Royce's mother provided the spring broad for series two's many twists and turns, with the run coming to a gripping conclusion as the net closed in on police detective John Wadsworth who killed a woman he'd had an affair with after she started blackmailing him with incriminating pictures.
At the same time, a woman who had become obsessed with Royce and visited him in prison, got a job as a teaching assistant at the school attended by Catherine's grandson Ryan, Royce's son and tried to turn the lad against Catherine's family.
It's been six years since the final episode of Happy Valley aired on BBC, with the second run pulling in a peak of close to 10 million viewers.
But on Monday, Sarah returned to her iconic role to begin filming on series 3, after writer Sally Wainwright confirmed in 2020 that she had started work on more episodes.
The Happy Valley Twitter account posted a photo of Sarah back in her police uniform and captioned it: "She’s back.. filming for the new series of #HappyValley started today!"
Fans were swift to react to the picture, with one replying: "This is absolutely epic news!" and another commenting: "OMG...best news ever, about the best series ever and starring the best actress ever. Can't wait to see the new series. Thanks for letting us know."
A third wrote: "Gosh, why does it feel like I've waited years for this? BECAUSE I HAVE! So happy for another season."
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