Happy Valley season three confirms new and returning cast members

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC
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Procedural crime thriller series Happy Valley is returning for a third and final season the BBC has confirmed, five years on from the release of the show's second series. The new six-part series will see the return of the show's major cast members, including Sarah Lancashire and James Norton and is set to be the finale season of the award-winning crime drama. Here's everything else we know about Happy Valley season 3.

Who's going to star in Happy Valley season 3?

First off, just being able to say 'Happy Valley season 3' feels great doesn't it? We've only been waiting since 2016, we've earned this. Well, the wait was worth it, as the BBC has confirmed that a full list of new and returning cast members will be starring in the show.

It was previously announced that lead Sarah Lancashire would be returning to star as Sergeant Catherine Cawood, alongside James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce and Siobhan Finneran as Clare Cartwright.

Now, the BBC has confirmed that more existing cast members are coming back to the show. Rhys Connah will be returning as Ryan Cawood, with Con O'Neill back as Neil Ackroyd.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Other returning cast members include: George Costigan (Nevison Gallagher), Charlie Murphy (Ann Gallagher), Derek Riddell (Richard Cawood), Karl Davies (Daniel Cawood), Susan Lynch (Alison Garrs), Rick Warden (Mike Taylor) and Vincent Franklin (Andy Shepherd).

Plus, there are some brand new actors set to star. New cast members include: Amit Shah (who starred in Crashing alongside Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Mark Stanley (The Girl Before and Anne Boleyn), and Mollie Winnard (who we've recently seen in All Creatures Great and Small and Four Lives). The new names will be joining Happy Valley season three in "pivotal roles", according to the Radio Times. However, the characters they'll be playing haven't yet been announced.

Exciting!

Has filming started on Happy Valley season 3?

There's more great news, as the BBC has confirmed that filming has officially started on the third and final season of Happy Valley.

The broadcaster announced in an Instagram post, "🎬 Filming has begun in West Yorkshire on the third and final series of Sally Wainwright’s smash hit, multi-BAFTA award winning BBC drama Happy Valley 🙌⁣". Yay!

What's going to happen in Happy Valley season 3?

Series writer and creator Sally Wainwright said she hopes this will be "the best season yet," and if the BBC's synopsis is anything to go by she's not wrong;

"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."

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

When is Happy Valley season 3 being released?

Filming has now started in West Yorkshire (as of January 2022), with the series expected to be released later this year, though no official date has been confirmed. It'll be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer, where, incidentally, you can re-watch series one and two right now, in preparation. See you there.

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