Will the same actor who played Ryan Cawood seven years ago also return for their roles in Happy Valley? Sarah Lancashire and James Norton are among the cast members who will be repeating their roles.
The criminal thriller created by Sally Wainwright and starring Siobhan Finneran has not been shown on our televisions since 2016, but it will make its return for its third and last season this year.
In the most recent episode, Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Lancashire) finds the skeletal remains of a gangland murder victim in a reservoir that has been drained, which sets off a chain of events that brings her right back to Tommy Lee Royce (Norton).
When a neighbour in another part of the valley is placed under custody, a local pharmacist finds himself in over his head with the situation.
Catherine is having a difficult time both with the investigation of criminal activity in West Yorkshire and with her grandson Ryan, who is displaying an interest in his father Royce, who was the rapist of his late mother.
Rhys Connah, who was only eight years old when he joined the blockbuster series, played the role of Ryan in series one and two. Rhys Connah played Ryan in both series.
And Rhys, who is now 16 years old, will reprise his part as Ryan in Happy Valley season 3. In the interim, Rhys has been in films such as The White Prince, which starred Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, and has enjoyed roles in other films.
Speaking to the BBC, Rhys explained that, despite nearly a decade passing since the first batch of Happy Valley, he remembers his fist day ‘very well.’
He continued: ‘It was a scene where I went to see Daniel for dinner, and I remember the first shot we did was when I opened the door to walk in.
‘I remember the first ever time we did it I looked directly at the camera – I didn’t look at anyone else, I just looked straight at the camera. They had to stop and say “Rhys, the most important part about filming is don’t look at the camera!”.’
Rhys also said that Ryan in season 3 is ‘bringing lies into question’ now that he is ‘finally old enough’ to learn the truth. Intriguing!
On his relationship with Catherine, Rhys said: ‘It’s a family dynamic, so there’s obviously better times and worse times. There’s more of a tension in it as Catherine sees more of Ryan’s dad in Ryan, more than she’d like to see obviously.
‘Sarah just plays the character great, she plays all of the aspects of a police officer but also the vulnerable side to her, she does it really well.’
Meanwhile, Rhys described Ryan’s relationship with Royce as ‘confusing’ but despite having heard him being branded a ‘psychopath and a murderer’ wants to judge for himself.
‘There’s enough doubt there, and of course he wants his dad to be a
good man so he wants to believe things are different now,’ he added.
Happy Valley continues on BBC on Sunday at 9pm.