"Ryan’s now at a stage where he wants to judge for himself" - Rhys Connah talks about his return to Happy Valley

There was a seven-year break between series two and three, which writer Sally Wainwright said was because she wanted to get to a point where Ryan would be old enough to make choices about whether he wanted to have a relationship with his dad.

Ryan is played by Rhys Connah and has been since the show began back in 2014.

At the start of series three Ryan is now 16 and just finishing high school.

This series sees the teenager explore the relationship with his dad, Tommy Lee Royce, played by James Norton, much against the wishes of his granny Catherine, played by Sarah Lancashire.

"Ryan’s mum killed herself so he was brought up by his Granny because his uncle didn’t want him, his Grandad didn’t want him, no one else really wanted him,” explained Rhys. “So he had to grow up with his Granny and she was the only one who accepted him.

“Ryan has a confusing relationship with Tommy because obviously Tommy tried to kill him… But then he’s heard all this stuff saying ‘Oh, he was sick’, so he’s questioning what Tommy is. He hears all this stuff about Tommy, about how he was a psychopath, a murderer, but Ryan’s now at a stage where he wants to judge for himself, as there’s enough doubt there, and of course he wants his dad to be a good man so he wants to believe things are different now.”

When speaking about what is was like working with James Norton, Rhys said: “He brings so much to the character, like the energy. You see him on set between takes and he’s such a nice person, and then we’ll start filming and he’ll just instantly switch and there’s this psychopath.”

Happy Valley series three has received great praise following its return on New Year’s Day. Previous series of the show has been nominated for a number of awards including winning the BAFTA Award for Best Drama Series in 2015.

Rhys said: “It is a very successful show and I don’t think there is one element to thank for that. There’s the writing and the casting but everyone helps - sound, lighting, costume, everyone.”

"I’m sure there’s a hundred other people and roles I’ve missed there but they’re all deserving of all the praise.”

When talking about his very first day on set for series one, Rhys said: “It was a scene where I went to see Daniel for dinner, and I remember the first shot we did was when I opened the door to walk in. I remember the first ever time we did it I looked directly at the camera - I didn’t look at anyone else, I just looked straight at the camera. They had to stop and say “Rhys, the most important part about filming is don’t look at the camera!”.”