Scripted series · BBC One
Happy Valley
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Sarah Lancashire
Catherine Cawood
18 eps
Siobhan Finneran
Clare Cartwright
18 eps
James Norton
Tommy Lee Royce
18 eps
Rhys Connah
Ryan Cawood
18 eps
Charlie Murphy
Ann Gallagher
18 eps
Karl Davies
Daniel Cawood
12 eps
Shane Zaza
Shafiq Shah
18 eps
Joe Armstrong
Ashley Cowgill
6 eps
George Costigan
Nevison Gallagher
18 eps
Steve Pemberton
Kevin Weatherill
6 eps
Jill Baker
Helen Gallagher
6 eps
Adam Long
Lewis Whippey
6 eps
Derek Riddell
Richard Cawood
6 eps
Matthew Lewis
Sean Balmforth
6 eps
Kevin Doyle
DS John Wadsworth
6 eps
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Amanda Wadsworth
6 eps
Shirley Henderson
Frances Drummond
6 eps
Vincent Franklin
DSU Andy Shepherd
12 eps
Mollie Winnard
Joanna Hepworth
6 eps
Mark Stanley
Rob Hepworth
6 eps
Amit Shah
Faisal Bhatti
6 eps
Katherine Kelly
DI Jodi Shackleton
6 eps
Sophie Rundle
Kirsten McAskill
3 eps
Ishia Bennison
Joyce Metcalf
18 eps
Amelia Bullmore
Vicky Fleming
3 eps
Con O'Neill
Neil Ackroyd
5 eps
Caroline O'Neill
Lynn Dewhurst
6 eps
Rachel Leskovac
Julie Cowgill
6 eps
Kelly Harrison
Ros Cawood
6 eps
Steven Hartley
Marcus Gascoigne
6 eps
Mina Anwar
Mrs Mukherjee
6 eps
Alan McKenna
Phil Crabtree
6 eps
Amelia Young
Lucy Cawood
6 eps
Chord Melodic
Sledge
12 eps
Rick Warden
Insp Mike Taylor
15 eps
Moey Hassan
Newsagent
1 eps
Pauline Jefferson
Old Lady
1 eps
Ben Wright
Youth 1
1 eps
Phil Featherstone
Youth 2
1 eps
James Burrows
Liam Hughes
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Happy Valley actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Happy Valley reads strongest on Character Depth, Tension and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.
The run
Seasons
3 seasons · 18 episodes.
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20162 episodes
Season 1 · Complete
Series 1
20146 episodes
7.7IMDbCatherine is a no-nonsense police sergeant who heads up a team of officers in a rural Yorkshire valley. When a staged kidnapping spirals out of control turning into a brutal series of crimes, Catherine finds herself involved in something significantly bigger than her rank, but unknowingly close to home
Best episode · S01E04 Episode 4
Season 2 · Complete
Series 2
20166 episodes
7.9IMDbBest episode · S02E06 Episode 6
Season 3 · Complete
Series 3
20236 episodes
8.3IMDbWhen 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. Her grandson, Ryan, 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 caught in the middle. In another part of the valley, a local pharmacist gets in over his head when a neighbour is arrested.
Best episode · S03E06 Episode 6
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S03E06
Episode 6
Scores are settled for good on Catherine’s final shift, and Ryan faces a moral dilemma.
S03E03
Episode 3
Catherine confronts Clare and presents Ryan with an ultimatum. Faisal and Joanna hatch a plan that takes an unexpected turn.
S03E04
Episode 4
As Tommy’s big day approaches, Catherine becomes suspicious, and Ryan finds a new way to defy her.
S02E06
Episode 6
Catherine confronts Frances, while John's torment leads him to desperate measures.
S03E05
Episode 5
Catherine races to protect her family as a murder investigation begins.
S01E04
Episode 4
Catherine's focus returns to the job in hand as she searches for the owner of the suspicious Milton Avenue property, with dramatic consequences.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Nicola ShindlerExecutive Producer
- Karen LewisProducer
- Sally WainwrightExecutive Producer
Direction
- Euros LynDirector
Recognition
Awards
1 win
Golden Nymph for Best European Drama TV Series
1 win · latest 2015
- WinnerGolden Nymph for Best European Drama TV Series2015
Happy Valley · Happy Valley
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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Never stop watching
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