Happy Valley viewers have urged Sarah Lancashire and Siobhan Finneran to win ‘all the honours’ at this year’s Baftas for their performances in the BBC drama’s Sunday night episode.
Sarah, 58, and Siobhan, 56, appeared in tense sequences in which Sarah’s character Catherine Cawood confronted her sister Clare, played by Siobhan, for secretly sending her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) to see his nasty father Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) in prison.
Following their heated dispute, Catherine fled the cafe and saw a vision of her late daughter Becky on the ground, prompting her to wail and sob silently.
Fans of the programme praised the pair’s performance on social media, with one dubbing Sarah “one of the best [actresses] of all time.”
‘Good God: #SarahLancashire is simply great in this: it’s like a superpower,’ said another.
‘Every performance of Sarah Lancashire’s is a masterclass,’ wrote another Twitter user. She just has something you can’t teach, and whatever it is, she has a lot of it.’
Echoing the sentiment, a fellow viewer wrote: ‘Sarah Lancashire is just a masterclass in acting for camera. Faultless.’
‘Haven’t got the vocabulary for how utterly brilliant this is. Everything, every nuance, done to perfection,’ another wrote.
An additional fan said: ‘I feel sorry for people working with Sarah Lancashire. She acts everybody else off the screen – beyond wonderful.’
Others cried for Sarah to win a number of Bafta awards next season, with one viewer writing: ‘Just give Sarah Lancashire and Siobhan Finneran all the awards.’
Another said: ‘If these two don’t get every award going, there ain’t no justice.’
With a final fan writing: ‘And there’s at least another 3 BAFTAS for Lady Lancashire.’
Sarah received the Bafta for Best Actress in 2017 for her portrayal of Catherine, for which she was also nominated in 2015.
She was also nominated for a National Television Award for Best Drama Performance for the role in 2017.
She was named Best Actress at the TV Quick Awards in 2014 and 2016.
Happy Valley airs Sundays at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
