Since the last season of Happy Valley, fans have been waiting patiently for the show’s return.
And it’s not long now, with the third and final (sob!) season confirmed for New Year’s Day!
But since it’s been so long since season 2 was released, your memory of the goings-on in Happy Valley may be a little sketchy.
So, here’s a recap of series 1 and 2.
Happy Valley recap: what happened in series 1?
Despite the title, Happy Valley is actually far from cheerful!
In season one, we meet Catherine Cawood, a police sergeant in Calder Valley, an area riddled with a serious drug culture that’s hard to tackle.
Catherine lives with her sister, Clare, a recovering heroin addict and her grandson Ryan, who has behavioural problems.
We then find out that Ryan’s father is a man named Tommy Lee Royce, who raped Catherine’s daughter Becky.
And Catherine is convinced that it was this that drove her teenage daughter to suicide shortly after giving birth to her son.
We are also introduced to Kevin Weatherill, an accountant who works for his father’s best friend, Nevison Gallagher.
But he is not as innocent as he may seem!
When Nevison refuses to raise Kevin’s pay, he devises a plan with local thug Ashley Cowgill to kidnap his boss’s daughter, Ann, and hold her for ransom.
Talk about employee of the month!
Ashley involves two of his employees, Lewis Whippey and – you guessed it – Tommy Lee Royce to help out with the plan.
Racked with guilt, Kevin tries to cancel his plan with Ashley but it’s too late!
Ann has already been kidnapped by Lewis and Tommy.
Tommy’s actions have devastating consequences
Things suddenly turn ugly when PC Kirsten McAskill pulls over Lewis and Tommy for speeding.
After they pull over on the side of the road, the young cop hears muffled noises coming from the back of their van.
Tommy brutally takes control of the situation and runs Kirsten over.
Catherine and her colleagues are devastated when they discover Kirsten’s lifeless body on the side of the road.
Catherine then spends the rest of the season on a wild goose chase to find the thugs and rescue Ann, all while coming to terms with her daughter’s heart-breaking death.
Eventually, when Catherine visits Tommy’s mum, she finds Ann being held captive in the cellar and helps to set her free.
But the chase isn’t over for Catherine as she learns that Tommy has secretly been spending time with Ryan after school.
Tommy plans to abduct Ryan but Catherine spots Ryan’s bike outside a boat that Tommy has been hiding in and rescues her grandson, resisting the urge to kill her enemy.
What happened in series 2?
Sally Wainwright crafted another brilliant season of Happy Valley that left viewers on the edge of their seats.
In season two, Tommy Lee Royce’s mother is found dead and Catherine finds herself as one of the suspects!
Catherine attends the funeral for Tommy’s mother and taunts her nemesis.
Tommy is convinced that Catherine is responsible for his mother’s death.
Out of rage, he tries to go for Catherine, despite being in handcuffs.
When Tommy returns to prison, he instructs a woman named Frances Dummond to kill Catherine.
Frances is a 45-year-old pharmacist who has become deeply infatuated with Tommy.
Blinded by her love for him and his fake promise of marriage, Frances is willing to obey Tommy’s orders and run his errands for him while he is in prison.
This includes stealing her dead sister’s identity to stalk Catherine’s family and befriend Tommy’s son Ryan.
Meanwhile, Catherine is tasked with a human trafficking operation that is linked to a string of murders of prostitutes occurring across Calder Valley.
She then starts to investigate Sean Balmforth, a former employee of Nevison Gallagher and alleged rapist.
Things aren’t looking good for Sean after they discover rope and the DNA from one of the murdered women in his white van.
But is he actually the serial killer?
Elsewhere DCI John Wadsworth is drugged and blackmailed by his mistress Vicky Fleming.
Out of desperation, John strangles her and uses his police knowledge to stage her murder to look like part of the current spate of killings.
We later find out that John wasn’t Vicky Fleming’s only victim!
Neil, Clare’s crush, recalls being blackmailed by Vicky too.
Happy Valley recap: The season 2 finale
Towards the end of the series, a bullied farm boy, Daryl Garrs, confesses to his mother Alison that he is responsible for the prostitute killings.
But, to avoid him having to spend time in prison, she fatally shoots him.
Catherine visits the Garrs’ farm and finds Daryl dead and Alison barely alive after an overdose.
Alison then confesses that she is responsible for her son’s murder and Catherine arrests her.
Catherine also pieces together Neil’s account of being blackmailed by Vicky and Ann’s information about John’s strange behaviour.
And Catherine discovers that John is Vicky’s killer!
The season two finale concludes with John confessing to Catherine about murdering her and then suddenly jumping off a bridge.
Read more: The Suspect on ITV: Viewers share killer theories on Aidan Turner drama
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