James Walton

In excess

BBC1's Happy Valley may sound excessive and silly, but it isn't half as excessive or silly as The X-Files which has just returned to Channel 5

issue 13 February 2016

Judging from its website, Hebden Bridge’s tourist office considers the fact that BBC1’s Happy Valley is filmed in the town something of a selling point. Personally, I can’t see why. (Perhaps points of especial tourist interest might include the cellar where Sergeant Catherine Cawood was almost battered to death, or the caravan site where drug dealers fed heroin to the teenage girl they’d kidnapped and raped.) And now that it’s back for a second series, viewers of Sally Wainwright’s Bafta-winning drama are still unlikely to confuse Hebden Bridge with, say, Chipping Norton.

In Tuesday’s opening scene Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) filled in her sister on the events of her day. ‘Three lads out of their head on acid,’ she chuckled wearily, stole a sheep from a local farm, and, after it was mauled by the dogs on the housing estate, she had to finish it off with a rock to the head.

But naturally the programme didn’t remain that light-hearted for long. Soon afterwards, Catherine discovered the decomposing corpse of a woman who’d been sexually abused with a broken bottle and then strangled. Not only that, but the dead woman was Lynn Dewhurst, mother of Tommy Lee Royce, series one’s psycho-in-chief — who, in a characteristic Happy Valley twist, is also the father of Catherine’s grandson Ryan, having raped her daughter, who committed suicide shortly after the birth. As a result, Catherine’s earlier threats about what she’d do if Lynn didn’t keep away from Ryan briefly made her a suspect — until it became clear there’s a serial killer about.

For some drama series, this might be enough to be going on with for now. Happy Valley, though, has never been a show to leave fans of the crunching storyline feeling short-changed.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY 3 MONTHS FOR $5
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Start your 3-month trial today for just $5 and subscribe to more than one view

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in