Happy Valley fails to beat Line of Duty viewing figures
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The final episode of Happy Valley was watched by 7.5 million people, falling far short of Line of Duty.
The climax of the West Yorkshire crime drama was given five stars across the board by critics for its "shocking twists" and "satisfying" conclusion.
However, it failed to draw anywhere near to the 12.8 million viewers that tuned in to watch the finale of Line of Duty – which many reviewers thought fell flat.
Despite the gulf in ratings, Sunday night’s episode attracted the largest overnight audience of any drama on UK television since May 2021, when the Line of Duty series six finale aired.
It also drew nearly as many viewers to BBC as the King's Speech, which boasted an audience of 8.1 million.
'Electrifying'
The finale was lauded by critics who noted the "electrifying" writing of Sally Wainwright, as well as Sarah Lancashire's performance as sergeant Catherine Cawood.
The BBC One drama, which has had three series' across nine years, was also applauded for having an "unreservedly, unapologetically northern, middle-aged, female point of view".
Reviewing the show in The Telegraph, Anita Singh wrote: "Not since Line of Duty has a drama finale been so eagerly awaited.
"Thankfully it didn’t end like Line of Duty, or else we’d have seen hapless Neil unmasked as the linchpin of the Knezevic crime family. Instead, show creator Sally Wainwright delivered an ending that satisfied."
