With its gritty storylines, jaw-dropping cliffhangers and shock plot twists, Happy Valley has had fans gripped for weeks.
And as the final episode of the BBC1 drama airs tonight, Sarah Lancashire – as Sgt Catherine Cawood – and Siobhan Finneran as her sister Clare are being tipped to take home all the gongs come awards season.
The tough-talking police officer and her recovering heroin addict sibling have been left reeling by the devastating impact evil Tommy Lee Royce continues to have on their family.
But fans have been captivated by the chemistry between the pair – and their scene-stealing performances.
One person who isn’t surprised by the success of their partnership is actress Sherrie Hewson, who worked with both Sarah and Siobhan on Coronation Street and Benidorm.
Sherrie, who starred as Maureen Holdsworth in Corrie alongside Sarah’s Raquel Wolstenhulme, and as Joyce Temple-Savage alongside Siobhan’s Janice Garvey in Benidorm, explains: “In our industry, it is just so amazing when you have a connection with somebody… when you ‘click’.
“I had the same with Ken Morley in Coronation Street. He and I had the most amazing chemistry and I could finish his sentences.
“That is what Sarah and Siobhan have got. Every move they make, they know what the other one is going to do. That is very, very rare.
“Sarah and Siobhan have history… they know each other, they are very comfortable with each other.
“When you get something like that, it is almost like you don’t have to learn the lines as you know what they are thinking. It is fantastic.
“They are very honest, very truthful and very real.
“They both know who they are, they have got characters that reflect that and they dig deep for those characters.
“We connect to them as people… we don’t look upon them as actors. It is a sign of great acting. They deserve every award they are about to get.”
While Catherine and Clare are complete opposites in the show, the actors who play them have rather a lot in common.
Both Sarah, 58, and Siobhan, 56, were born in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and their paths first crossed when they were teenagers on a theatre studies course at Oldham College. While Sarah’s dad Geoffrey was a Coronation Street scriptwriter, Siobhan was inspired to get into acting by her grandma’s love of Eric Morecambe.
Siobhan got her first big break as Rita in the 1987 film, Rita, Sue and Bob Too, while Sarah’s first major TV role came in 1991, when she appeared on screen as ditzy barmaid Raquel in Corrie.
Sarah had previously been rejected by several theatre companies before landing a role at the Manchester Library Theatre Company, which gained her an Equity card. Further stage roles followed but she was often without work, so taught drama at Salford University.
But her Corrie co-star Sherrie, 72, knew immediately that she was special.
Sherrie recalls: “That scene when she introduced herself in French, ‘Je m’appelle Raquel…’ I just thought, ‘Oh, Sarah, you are brilliant’. She was amazing.
“Both Sarah and Siobhan are just joyous to work with. They have an acerbic wit, an evil sense of humour and are great fun.
“But their work is what they are about. You totally believe them both in whatever role they are playing.”
Sherrie told how Sarah stunned the entire cast of Corrie when she quit the ITV soap after five years.
She says: “We were all so shocked. When you get a soap and you get a year’s contract, it is an amazing feeling… you feel safe and secure.
“Sarah was a very different kettle of fish but she was so right. She is a very clever and intelligent woman who is very serious about her art. She knew there was nowhere else for Raquel to go. I really admired her for that because I was a scaredy cat, but she had the talent as well. You have got to know how good you are.
“She walked out and walked into some fabulous jobs. I think she is very choosy but she has always chosen well.”
While mum-of-three Sarah and mum-of-two Siobhan are now two of Britain’s best-loved actors, both women prefer to lead quiet family lives away from the cameras and limelight.
Sherrie says: “Sarah hated all the fame that came from being in a soap and Siobhan is much the same. They are very similar, very private.”
But the actress says they deserve all the plaudits that come their way.
“Sarah and Siobhan are showing everyone how it is done and I am so proud to see these women with such power and talent,” Sherrie says.
“It makes my heart beat.
“We haven’t seen this for a long time – and please God, let it stay – that older women get their power back and are able to show what they can do. Thank God we have these fabulous actors.”
