BBC Happy Valley star will open a new charity shop in Hebden Bridge this weekend

Rhys Connah, who starred as Ryan in the BBC’s hit show Happy Valley, is going to open Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice’s new charity shop in Hebden Bridge.

In February Rhys Connah was announcing Beyoncé as winner of International Artist of the Year at the Brit Awards. Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice are delighted to announce that in March he will be coming back to the valley as he joins them to celebrate the opening of their 14th charity shop.

The address of the new shop is 3&4 Wragley House, Valley Road, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 7BN and will officially open on March 18 at 1pm.

This will be Forget Me Not’s second shop in Hebden Bridge. Their other shop, also on Valley Road, will become their first dedicated kids’ charity shop.

Happy Valley, starring Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood, gripped audiences at the start of this year with its third and final series, created by Calderdale writer Sally Wainwright.

Gareth Pierce, Director of Income Generation at Forget Me Not, said: “Well, what a treat we are in for! Like many workplaces staff and volunteers from Forget Me Not were gripped by Happy Valley. The final episode had us all on the edge of our seats and there was a lot of chat about the series during our tea breaks.”

“Although the content of the show was sometimes pretty tough, like many locals we loved spotting local landmarks and even spied a Forget Me Not shop in an episode.

"If you’d told me in January that we’d have one of its central characters coming to our shop opening I wouldn’t have believed you!

"Saturday, March 18 will be a pretty special day and a well-earned reward for everyone at Forget Me Not.

"Our supporters, volunteers and staff together do an amazing job raising the money we need for our vital services supporting children with life shortening conditions and their families. Only six per cent of our funding comes from the government so we have to raise over £4 million a year through our charity shops and community activities.”

To find out more about Forget Me Not visit www.forgetmenotchild.co.uk