BBC One’s finale of BAFTA-winning crime drama Happy Valley took 7.5 million viewers last night in the UK. The ratings, from Barb data from overnights.tv, make Happy Valley the highest rating show of 2023 so far and one of the biggest in recent BBC drama history.
The figures equate to a share of nearly 42%. The six-part series began last month and aired in the coveted 9pm BBC One slot that the likes of Line of Duty have previously inhabited.
The finale numbers will balloon further as on-demand viewing takes over in coming weeks. The third and final season came to an end with star Sarah Lancashire’s police sergeant Catherine Cawood’s long-running cat-and-mouse game with psychopath rapist Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) came to an end.
Season three came seven years after the ending of the previous run. The series’ popularity in the UK has led to flocks of visitors to Hebden Bridge, the northern English town where the show is set.
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