Ever since Happy Valley's second series came to its conclusion in 2016, fans have been dying to know when it would return to screens. The popular BBC drama, which is written by Sally Wainwright (Gentleman Jack, Last Tango in Halifax), was confirmed to return for a third series in October last year. You can read more about that here.
Happy Valley focuses on Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), a strong-willed police sergeant from West Yorkshire. The first series saw Catherine coming to terms with the suicide of her teenage daughter, whom had been previously been raped by series villain, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). The second series, meanwhile, took place eighteen months after the first and saw Catherine implicated in the murder of Tommy's mother.
With filming now complete on Happy Valley series three, read on to find out everything we know so far about it.
When is Happy Valley back?
No official date has been given yet for the premiere of the third series of Happy Valley.
Charlie Murphy, who plays Ann Gallagher, told Digital Spy that fans may expect a release date before the end of the year, saying: "Timeline-wise, probably [2022]."
What's series 3 all about?
Although the six-episode third and final series could be a while off, the synopsis for it has officially been released, giving us an idea of what we can expect.
It reads: "When Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir it sparks a chain of events that unwittingly leads her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce.
Her grandson Ryan is now sixteen and still living with Catherine, but he has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father. Still battling the seemingly never-ending problem of drugs in the valley and those who supply them, Catherine is on the cusp of retirement."
Why has it taken so long for Happy Valley to return?
If the third series were to air later this year, it would mark seven years since it was last on screen. According to writer Sally Wainwright, this was purposefully done and the series is set in real-time.
Talking to RadioTimes, she said: "Everyone's back – all the characters you'd expect to see are back. We're seven years on. The plan was to wait for Ryan to be older so that he can make his own choices about whether he wants to have contact with his dad or not. So it really explores that."
These characters include an all-star cast that features Sarah Lancashire, Siobhan Finneran, Charlie Murphy, James Norton and George Costigan.
Sally added: "I think it's going to be good. I think it's going to be exciting. We've got some very good stories.
Series 1-2 of Happy Valley is available to watch on BBC iPlayer
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