Rhys Connah Talks About Happy Valley Season Three

Questioning The Truth

The BBC’s Happy Valley begins its third and final season on 1 January and here’s one of its stars Rhys Connah talking about it…

Where do we meet Ryan at the start of series three?

Ryan is 16 now and he’s just finishing high school. The main place you pick up with him is that he’s been told all these lies throughout his life about his past and stuff like that, he’s bringing them into question and he’s finally old enough to learn the truth about some of them.

Why has Ryan been raised by his Grandma?

Ryan’s mum killed herself so he was brought up by his Granny because his uncle didn’t want him, his Grandad didn’t want him, no one else really wanted him. So he had to grow up with his Granny and she was the only one who accepted him.

What is Ryan’s relationship with Catherine?

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.

What is Ryan’s relationship with Tommy?

Ryan has a confusing relationship with Tommy because obviously Tommy tried to kill him… But then he’s heard all this stuff saying ‘Oh, he was sick’, so he’s questioning what Tommy is. He hears all this stuff about Tommy, about how he was a psychopath, a murderer, but Ryan’s now at a stage where he wants to judge for himself, as 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.

What is it like working with James Norton?

He brings so much to the character, like the energy. You see him on set between takes and he’s such a nice person, and then we’ll start filming and he’ll just instantly switch and there’s this psychopath. He brings a lot to the character and he does it really well.

Is there an element of Happy Valley you’re most proud of?

It is a very successful show and I don’t think there is one element to thank for that. There’s the writing and the casting but everyone helps – sound, lighting, costume, everyone. I’m sure there’s a hundred other people and roles I’ve missed there but they’re all deserving of all the praise.

What can audiences look forward to in series three?

The main thing is it is six years on, that’s the biggest thing – how the characters, including Ryan of course, and the world itself have changed since the last time we saw them.

Do you remember your first day on set for series one?

Yes, very well. 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!”.