Happy Valley

Happy Valley is a British crime drama television series, set and filmed in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire. Starring Sarah Lancashire and Siobhan Finneran, it was written and created by Sally Wainwright and directed by Wainwright, Euros Lyn and Tim Fywell. The first series began on BBC One on 29 April 2014, the second on 9 February 2016, and the third and final series on 1 January 2023. It won the 2015 BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series, and won another BAFTA for Best Drama for the second series. Premise Series 1 In Halifax, West Yorkshire, Catherine Cawood is a divorced police sergeant with two children. She is still trying to recover from the suicide of her daughter, which happened eight years ago. Catherine is raising her grandson, Ryan, who was born due to her daughter being raped by Tommy Lee Royce. Just when it seems like Catherine is gaining control over her life, she discovers that Tommy, whom she holds responsible for her daughter's suicide, has been released from prison after serving time for other offences. Catherine becomes consumed by the idea of confronting him, unaware that Tommy is involved in a criminal organisation with the intention of kidnapping Anne Gallagher, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, for ransom. Series 2 Eighteen months after the events of the first series, Catherine is back at work and has been awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) for gallantry, for rescuing Gallagher from Royce, who is serving a life sentence in prison. When Royce's mother is killed, Catherine is implicated in several murders. While trying to prove her innocence, Catherine is tasked with investigating a human trafficking operation linked to the serial killings. Meanwhile, senior HMIT officers Detective Superintendent Andy Shepard and Detective Inspector Jodie Shackleton begin to suspect that the supposed fourth victim of the serial killer, Victoria Fleming, was murdered by someone else. Gradually, their investigation leads them toward Victoria's actual killer: police detective John Wadsworth, whom Fleming had been blackmailing. Catherine's grandson, Ryan, develops a friendship with a new teaching assistant, Miss Wealand, secretly a prison groupie infatuated with Royce. Royce, whom the court has forbidden from having contact with Ryan, uses Wealand to try to build a relationship with Ryan and get revenge on Catherine. Ryan increasingly concerns his family by asking questions about his father and even suggests Royce should be forgiven.