Happy Valley fans were introduced to convenience store worker Neil Ackroyd in the second series of the BBC One crime drama, and straight-talking Sergeant Catherine Cawood has always been sceptical. Played by Con O'Neill, the recovering alcoholic has been the focus Catherine's scrutiny after striking up a romance with her sister Clare Cartwright, who he has known since school.
As we saw from the start of series three, six years on, Neil has gone on to become an integral part of the family. However, Catherine's world was turned upside down when she discovered that grandson Ryan had been visiting his vile father Tommy Lee Royce in prison, and Neil and Clare had been taking him.
Catherine, played by Sarah Lancashire, had been trying to keep Ryan away from his evil father who raped her daughter Becky before she took her own life. In a tense showdown between Catherine and Clare, it was revealed that Neil accompanied Ryan on the visits while she waited for them in Sheffield, and this has led fans to wonder if Neil and psychopathic killer Tommy are connected.
