Happy Valley Series 3

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Sally Wainwright’s multi-Bafta award winning hit Happy Valley is back on the BBC for its third and final series, starring Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood. When Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, it sparks a chain of events that leads her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce [James Norton]. Her grandson, Ryan [Rhys Connah], is now sixteen and has ideas of his own about the kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father, leaving Catherine’s sister Clare [Siobhan Finneran] caught in the middle. In another part of the valley, a local pharmacist gets in over his head when a neighbour is arrested.

Happy Valley series three (6×60’) is a Lookout Point production for the BBC. Executive producers are Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire, with Faith Penhale and Will Johnston for Lookout Point, Ben Irving and Rebecca Ferguson for the BBC.

Happy Valley filmed widely across Yorkshire, particularly in Calderdale, supported by Screen Yorkshire’s Film Office and Film Calderdale.

'Happy Valley Series 3' - Lookout Point for BBC One

Where did Happy Valley Series 3 film?

The third and final season of Happy Valley filmed largely in the Calderdale area, at locations in Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Mythomolroyd, Luddenden, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge and Wainstalls. Additional filming took place in Leeds, Bolton, Bradford and Kirklees.

Holdsworth House Hotel in Halifax features in one of the episodes as itself. Cold Edge Road / Withens Road in Wainstalls up to and past the wind farm was used for a number of car driving and drone scenes.

Leeds locations used include Leeds City Railway Station and the exterior of Kirkgate Market. A disused quarry in Bradford was used for the drained Baitings reservoir and Market Street in the village of Thornton. The Piazza shopping centre and Greenhead Park in Huddersfield were also used for filming.

Screen Yorkshire’s Film Office team provided locations and crewing support throughout the shoot, with additional support from Film Calderdale for the local filming in the area.

Screen Yorkshire gave assistance throughout the production either helping with some location hunting enquiries and liaising with council authorities outside of Calderdale. They were always on hand for advice and support during challenging moments.

Luc Webster, Locations Manager Happy Valley 3

Watch the trailer

Happy Valley is a must-see because you have one of the best writers in the world, at the top of her game. You have Sarah Lancashire, also an absolute legend, giving the performance of her life. An amazing cast, Siobhan Finneran and others. I just think it’s a great story, it’s a great thriller. We love playing the characters because they are so beautifully drawn. And while Sally is brilliant at character dialogue, she is also extraordinary at plot. There is always an absolute ride, rollercoaster of a plot and many people said in the first series that they would end up behind their sofa with their hands over their mouth.

James Norton who plays Tommy Lee Royce, on why 'Happy Valley' is a must see

'Happy Valley Series 3' - Lookout Point for BBC One

I saw a documentary by Jez Lewis called Shed Your Tears and Walk Away and it was about drug and alcohol problems, specifically in Hebden Bridge. The other influence was that, when I was a kid, there was a series called Juliet Bravo, which I really, really liked. It was actually not filmed far from Hebden Bridge, it was filmed in Todmorden. It was about a female police inspector and it was a really good show. It’s kind of in my top ten TV shows from adolescence, so it was my attempt to re-visit that. The other big thing that inspired me of course, which I’ve talked about a lot, was Nurse Jackie. I wanted to write my own Nurse Jackie, but obviously I couldn’t write about a nurse, so I wrote about a policewoman instead. When I wrote the first series that was very much in my head as an influence.

Creator Sally Wainwright, from Huddersfield, on her inspiration for 'Happy Valley'