
Before Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) retires in Happy Valley, there was never going to be a quiet time.
In episode 1 of season 3 of the BBC crime drama, the no-nonsense sergeant reminds us that she has just over seven months left on the force before she leaves for good.
But it looks like Catherine is going to have a lot on her plate. The explosive first episode of the popular show showed her looking into a brutal gangland murder that led her right back to the man who raped her daughter, Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton).
And that’s not all she’ll have to do with the convicted killer, who is currently in jail. It turns out that her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) has been sneaking in to see him.
A fellow officer tells Catherine that Ryan and “a man and a woman” are on their way to Sheffield prison. In the last few seconds of the episode, her friend warns her that she’s not going to like what she’s about to hear.
So who are the “man and woman” who are travelling with Ryan? Here is every fan theory.
One viewer was left ‘awake for ages’ wondering on who the duo could be eventually coming to the conclusion, like several others on Twitter, it could be Clare Cartwright (Siobhan Finneran) and her boyfriend Neil Ackroyd (Con O’Neill.
They continued: ‘My gut tells me its Clare and Neil. I love it when a show sucks me in like that,’ while another fan believed it was Clare because Ryan is close to her and trusts her.
It would be the ultimate betrayal for Catherine to see her sister, whom she lives with and supported her while she was struggling with alcoholism, take Ryan to see her arch nemesis behind her back.

However, fellow social media accounts have disagreed, explaining they can’t see Clare doing that to her own sister.
Rising star officer Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy) and Daniel Cawood (Karl Davies) are another couple some believe could be behind the visits.
One fan remarked that Ann and Daniel bought Ryan a skydiving lesson in Sheffield- which could be a possible cover to allow him to meet his dad without suspicion.
Fingers have also been pointed at Ryan’s grandad Richard (Derek Riddell) and his wife Ros Cawood (Kelly Harrison), with several accounts on Twitter asking if others thought they were the pair taking Ryan to prison.
Another suggestion, although she didn’t appear in episode 1, is that Frances Drummond (Shirley Henderson), who was infatuated with Tommy and meddled in the previous season, is back.
‘Please don’t let Catherine die before she gets her retirement (as happens in so many police dramas). She deserves so much, she IS the best police officer in the world! Also, is it Claire? Or is Frances back? #HappyValley,’ one fan asked.
Happy Valley returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday at 9pm.