
James Norton has spoken out about how he feels about the critically acclaimed Happy Valley reboot, as well as how much he will miss playing the heinous character of Tommy Lee Royce.
After a seven-year absence, the BBC series returned for season 3 on Sunday, with Sarah Lancashire reprising her role as Sergeant Catherine Cawood of the West Yorkshire Police Department.
Her age-old nemesis Tommy – and father of her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) – was also back on the scene, with fans hailing the comeback of the drama as ‘absolutely amazing’.
‘After seven years there was no guarantee that anyone would want to see it,’ James, 37, stated on tonight’s Graham Norton Show.
He also revealed his grief at the thrilling programme coming to an end, noting of his character Tommy: ‘He is a horrible monster, but he became extremely enticing, a type of weird faraway friend that you love seeing. I had a great time portraying him, and I miss him and the show.’
Tommy has adopted a new grungy style in the new episodes, complete with long hair.
When asked about his new ‘Messiah’-type look, James explained that Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright ‘knows the look she wants for him, and it is bold’.
‘I loved having long hair – it was fun, and I found myself hanging out in the mousse section of Boots. I also have a weird number of clips of me and “Pantene” moments!’ he added.
Happy Valley fans were in for a surprise after the third season premiered on New Year’s Day, when the second episode was unintentionally released on Apple ahead of its weekly Sunday release.
The new instalment was available to purchase on the site, with one excited fan writing on social media: ‘I’m watching it now!! If you don’t wanna wait till next week buy it now b4 they realise & remove it from the store!’
Another noted that they were able to watch the episode before it was taken down.
The Graham Norton Show airs tonight at 10.40pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.