Happy Valley returns with major new talent

Sarah Lancashire and James Norton are joined by a wealth of acting talent including Katherine Kelly, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Shirley Henderson, Kevin Doyle & Amelia Bullmore.
Filming will start next week for the hotly anticipated second series of multi award-winning BBC One and Red Production Company’s outstanding smash hit Happy Valley, a gripping, complex and unmissable drama from multiple BAFTA award-winning writer Sally Wainwright (Last Tango In Halifax, Scott & Bailey) for BBC One.


Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango In Halifax, The Paradise), Siobhan Finneran (Benidorm, Downton Abbey) James Norton (Life In Squares, Granchester), George Costigan (Scott & Bailey, Homefront), Karl Davies (Emmerdale, Game Of Thrones), Charlie Murphy (Love/Hate, The Village) return to the six-part drama and will be joined by Katherine Kelly (Coronation Street, Mr Selfridge), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Coronation Street, Cucumber), Shirley Henderson (Southcliffe, Jamaica Inn), Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey, Twenty Twelve), Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey, The Crimson Field), Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter, The Syndicate,) Con O’Neill (Cucumber, Uncle) and Vincent Franklin (Cucumber, The Thick Of It).

As series two opens, we join Catherine (Sarah Lancashire), the no-nonsense police sergeant who is back heading up her team of dedicated police officers in The Calder Valley in West Yorkshire. With Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) firmly behind bars, Catherine suspects there may be another serial killer on the loose and makes a gruesome discovery that will have shocking repercussions for her and her family. Meanwhile, a new detective, DS John Wadsworth (Kevin Doyle) arrives on the block with his own set of problems, and despite being firmly under lock and key, Tommy forms a bond with a mysterious female admirer (Shirley Henderson).

Last year, the critically acclaimed multi-layered series was a huge ratings hit for BBC One during its six-week run, pulling in a weekly consolidated audience of almost 8 million viewers and an average overnight audience of 5.5 million.

Happy Valley has been nominated for and won over 30 awards, including winning the prestigious Best Drama Series award at this year’s BAFTAs with writer Sally Wainwright also named Best Writer at the 2015 BAFTA Craft Awards. The series won Best European Drama at The Monte Carlo Television awards and Sarah Lancashire was also awarded Best Actress in the series. Happy Valley won Best Drama at last year’s Broadcast Awards, Writer’s Guild of Great Britain Awards and TV Choice awards. Sarah Lancashire also won Best Actor for Happy Valley at the RTS Awards.

Writer and Executive Producer Sally Wainwright says: “I am thrilled to be embarking on a second series. We were delighted and overwhelmed with the viewers’ response to series one and it’s clear that there’s a huge appetite to see more of the characters and drama among the TV-viewing public.”

RED Production Company’s Founder and Executive Producer Nicola Shindler adds: “Sally created a truly magnificent series with very real, complex characters, an engaging plot and breathtaking storylines. I am delighted and excited to be delving deeper into Catherine’s world in series two.”

Happy Valley series 2 began filming today in Yorkshire and will broadcast on BBC One in 2016.