Happy Valley series 2: James Norton to return as villain Tommy Lee Royce

Writer Sally Wainwright confirmed the news backstage at the Bafta TV Awards

James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley (BBC)

James Norton may be hotly-tipped for Hollywood but fear not Happy Valley fans, he has been confirmed to return for series two.

Sally Wainwright, the pen behind the hit Yorkshire drama, revealed at the Bafta Television Awards last night that Norton would be back in his role as convicted drug offender and rape suspect Tommy Lee Royce.

The second run of Happy Valley is scheduled to air later this year, with Wainwright teasing “a whole new ball game, with one story continuing and two whole new stories too”.

Series one came to a dramatic close when Royce was finally arrested after a hostage situation and Sergeant Cawood, played by Sarah Lancashire, took time off to recover from trauma after being left fighting for her life.

Wainwright was left feeling “overwhelmed” after Happy Valley won Best Drama at the star-studded ceremony on Sunday.

“I just remember talking about writing the show and saying, ‘I hope people get it’. We all knew we were working on something a bit special but not quite as special as it has been,” she said backstage, adding that the “fuss that was made” about the level of violence had been “ridiculous”.

Norton had also been nominated for Best Supporting Actor but lost out to Stephen Rea who triumphed for The Honourable Woman. Ken Stott and Adeel Akhtar had also earned nods for The Missing and Utopia respectively.