BBC's Happy Valley announces new and returning cast for season 3

The BBC has released a look at Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood
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Filming began in Calderdale this week with cast and crew spotted in Boothtown, Halifax.

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PICTURE SPECIAL: Sarah Lancashire and cameras back in Halifax today for filming ...

Sarah Lancashire returns to her iconic role of Sergeant Catherine Cawood for six new episodes, long discussed by Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire as the final chapter of the Happy Valley story.

Sarah Lancashire. Picture: BBCSarah Lancashire. Picture: BBC
Sarah Lancashire. Picture: BBC
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Happy Valley series three is made by Lookout Point for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, in co-production with AMC Networks, the exclusive home for series three in the U.S. and Canada. BBC Studios is distributing the series internationally.

As previously announced, James Norton and Siobhan Finneran will also return for series three - as Catherine’s nemesis, the murderer and sex offender Tommy Lee Royce, and Catherine’s sister, the recovering addict Clare Cartwright, respectively.

Announced today (Wednesday), Con O’Neill will reprise his role as Clare’s recovering alcoholic boyfriend Neil Ackroyd.

George Costigan will return as Nevison Gallagher, with Charlie Murphy as his daughter and Catherine’s police colleague Ann.

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They will be joined by other Happy Valley returning favourites including Derek Riddell as Richard Cawood, Karl Davies as Daniel Cawood, Susan Lynch as Alison Garrs, Rick Warden as Mike Taylor, Vincent Franklin as Andy Shepherd and Rhys Connah as Catherine’s grandson Ryan Cawood.

Amit Shah (The Other One, The Long Call), Mark Stanley (The Girl Before, White House Farm) and Mollie Winnard (All Creatures Great And Small, Four Lives) join the cast for series three, and will play pivotal roles in Happy Valley’s final chapter.

Most recently airing on BBC One in 2016, Happy Valley is adored by viewers and critics alike, with series two attracting an average audience of 9.3 million. The first two series each won the Bafta Television awards for both Drama Series and Writing: Drama for Sally Wainwright, with Sarah Lancashire winning the Bafta Television award for Leading Actress for series two.

The synopsis for the series reads: "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 16 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."

Filming will continue in Calderdale over the coming months.

Further information about Happy Valley series three will be announced in due course.