Happy Valley to be taught to university students

Happy Valley is going to be taught as part of a university course, it's been revealed.

The hit BBC drama about police officer Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and criminal Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) came to an end last weekend after three series that gripped the nation.

And it seems that one university professor thought it was so good that she is going to use some of it to teach an MA in TV Fiction Writing.

Read more: James Norton shares behind-the-scenes pictures from every season of Happy Valley

Professor Ann Marie Di Mambro - who teaches at Glasgow Caledonian University – told The Herald that writer Sally Wainwright’s drama was so brilliant that it had “blindsided” people.

"It goes against a lot of what we teach, that's what is so wonderful about it," she said.

She went on: “I would imagine that it's written from the heart and these are characters that the writer really believes in, who are so flawed.

"It's so deeply, deeply emotional."

Professor Di Mambro said she felt the series was "raw from start to finish".

And she added that, in her opinion, the last episode of the gritty drama was a “masterpiece”.

Happy Valley started in 2014, with a second series following two years later but the third not arriving until this year.

The final instalment was watched by 7.5 million viewers when it aired, giving Happy Valley its highest ever overnight figure in all three seasons.

Read more: Happy Valley final season grips 11 million viewers

A BBC statement said: "This is the highest ever overnight figure for Happy Valley, and the largest overnight rating for a drama on UK television since May 2021, when the Line Of Duty series six finale aired."

Watch: Happy Valley releases trailer for explosive last battle between Catherine and Tommy