The third series of BBC police drama Happy Valley marked the end of a beloved programme, and the end of Sergeant Catherine Cawood’s career navigating Yorkshire’s criminal underworld. Cawood’s age and gender is not ignored in the show. Throughout, she faces misogyny from criminals she encounters on the job, as well as her own colleagues.
While police forces themselves are currently addressing the fallout from decades of endemic sexism, women police officers – whether in fiction or reality – senior or rookie, regularly face sexist criticism of their appearance and abilities.
