Happy Valley: Sarah Lancashire drama to return for third and final series in 2022

Filming is scheduled to begin in the new yeaer

Sarah Lancashire will return for ‘Happy Valley’ series three (BBC/Red Productions)

Happy Valley will return for a third and final series next year, it has been announced.

First airing in 2014, Sally Wainwright’s Bafta-winning drama stars Sarah Lancashire as police sergeant Catherine Cawood, who is struggling to come to terms with the suicide of her daughter while cracking down on her drug-addled west Yorkshire community.

Lancashire will reprise her role once again in series three along with James Norton and Siobhan Finneran, with filming beginning early next year.

The new series will see Catherine, who is on the cusp of retirement, discover the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, setting off a chain of terrible events that leads her back to Tommy Lee Royce (Norton).

Her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) is still living with her but now wants to have some kind of relationship with his father Tommy, who Catherine refuses to accept as his father after he raped her daughter.

The final series is being made as a co-production with AMC, where it will air in the US.

Norton will play Tommy Lee Royce once again (BBC/Red Productions)

Speaking about Happy Valley’s return, Lancashire said: “It’s time to let the dog see the rabbit.”

Norton added: “To take on Tommy one final time is a wonderful and daunting privilege, and something I’ve been looking forward to since we wrapped the last series, six years ago. I’m so excited to be working with the insanely talented Sally and Sarah again. Thinking we should all go on one last barge holiday, for old times’ sake.”

Happy Valley is set to air in late 2022.