Will there be a Happy Valley series 4? Writer Sally Wainwright says this "very definitely is the final season" of popular BBC drama

When it was announced that the BBC drama would return back in 2021 it was revealed that the third series would be the last.

This news was bittersweet for fans of the show who have been asking why it won’t be continuing any longer.

Writer and creator of the show Sally Wainwright waited six years between series two and three to get to an interesting point in the story of Catherine Cawood, played by Sarah Lancashire, which will round off the “three-parter” Sally discussed with Sarah Lancashire.

Sally said: “I waited six years because I wanted to get to a point where Ryan would be old enough to start making choices about whether he wanted to have a relationship with his dad or not. And could he have a relationship with his dad, and how would Catherine feel about that? I really wanted to be able to explore that. It’s been great that we got Rhys back to play Ryan which has been fantastic, and he has done a really lovely job in that.

"That was always the intention, to have a gap and it has worked out just about right. Just the right period of time because he is now 16, so he can travel places by himself, he can make choices. He can do things behind Catherine’s back.

"The intention developed through conversations I had with Sarah to make it a three-parter, to make a trilogy. We always said this would be the final season and it is very definitely is the final season.”

At a BFI screening to mark the premiere of season 3 last December, executive producer Will Johnston said: "It definitely isn't coming back – and again this is [from] Sally and Sarah who completely and rightly feel that you can have too much of a good thing."

He continued: "We're really not doing any more. You're a few weeks away from the ending but when you get to it, I really hope you'll feel content that if that's the last you ever see of the characters of Happy Valley, it was a big way to go out."