Even the cast don’t know how Happy Valley season 3 ends

Happy Valley returned on New Year’s Day 2023 after six years off our screens for a third and final season – and with just two episodes left to go and Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) on the loose in the Yorkshire countryside, it’s most certainly been worth the wait.

And with the biggest cliffhanger yet after episode four saw Tommy Lee Royce make a break for freedom after orchestrating a commotion in the Leeds courtroom where he was being sentenced, fans of the brilliant show that stars Sarah Lancashire as police sergeant Catherine Cawood are at fever pitch as they speculate how Sally Wainwright’s BBC drama will end.

And it’s not just the viewers who are wondering what the conclusion to the story with Tommy Lee Royce, Catherine and Ryan is going to end – apparently not even all the cast are sure how Happy Valley will be concluded because the show has filmed a number of endings.

“I still don’t know how it all ends up for him [Faisal] because we filmed the final scenes in various different ways,” Amit Shah, who plays murdering pharmacist Faisal Bhatti told the Obsessed with… Happy Valley podcast from the BBC.

He added: “Sally [Wainwright] was actually directing those. So it’s quite open and we did different options, so I’m not entirely sure how he’s gonna end up.”

It is not uncommon for TV shows that film in public areas to film alternate endings to try to avoid spoilers about the programme leaking from the set before transmission. Huge dramas such as Game of Thrones employed similar tactics to avoid fans finding out about the ending through accidental or deliberate leaks.

Happy Valley season three will be the last for the incredibly popular BBC crime drama.

Viewers will have to wait until Sunday 5th February to find out what happens in the Happy Valley finale. Before that, Happy Valley season three episode five (which we have some sneak-peek images for here) airs on BBC One on Sunday 29th January at 9pm.