Everything you loved about Happy Valley, series two

2016-03-15T21:59:29+00:00

Back in early February, the rolling hills, embittered northern sarcasm and unmistakable sound of Jake Bugg’s Trouble Town meant one thing: Happy Valley was back. And this made a lot of people very happy indeed…

We’re not quite ready for the series to be over just yet. So let’s relive the moments that got you talking in this in-depth look at your reactions.

*Spoiler alert* this post talks about the entire series, so turn back if you’re not up to speed.

This external content is available at its source: #HappyValley utterly utterly brilliant. Each character so well written, so perfectly played, each weave, each turn @BBCOne can't wait a week

This external content is available at its source: Writing, acting, directing - all absolutely extraordinary. As good as anything going on in TV drama anywhere in the world. #HappyValley

Episode one opened with Catherine’s grim tales of a bunch of lads “off their heads on acid” who steal a sheep and release it – only for the poor animal to be mauled by dogs.

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And the famous faces joining the cast proved a hit too:

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But sadly Neville’s Matthew’s new moustache proved less popular:

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This series we were introduced to Vicky, played by Amelia Bullmore, and immediately people sniffed out that this was not a woman not to be messed with:

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And some people had their own insights into her compromising snaps of John:

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In episode two, villain Tommy Lee Royce is allowed to attend his mother’s funeral – and no way was Catherine passing up the opportunity to show her face:

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Though some of you were wishing Tommy’s suit looked a little more like this:

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Catherine and the murdered Lynn Dewhurst had history. And Catherine was stoically refusing to provide an alibi. Had she actually committed this crime? You had your theories…

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Oh, and everyone was totally right about Vicky, who tried to blackmail cop John to the tune of £1000 a month. So when adulterous John lost the plot and killed her, the Twittersphere reacted thusly:

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But gratefully there was some relief with the introduction of the ever-so sweet and bullish Winnie:

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Episode three opened with Catherine reluctantly attending a therapy session. So how would our no-nonsense cop find talking about her innermost thoughts and feelings?

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And when we learned she’s got secret nicknames at work, she wasn’t the only one trying to guess them. These moments were honestly some of the best parts of the series.

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And Catherine’s fall out with police receptionist Joyce provided one of our favourite scenes and lines from the series so far: when she gave her a cactus to say sorry.

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Meanwhile, John attended the autopsy of Vicky, the woman he secretly murdered. And somehow Vicky still managed to steal the scene:

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But it was another relationship that really gave us the creeps…

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Episode four saw the Cawoods celebrating little Ryan’s birthday. A tough time as it falls close to the anniversary of his mum Becky’s death. So a surprise gift seemingly from Ryan’s violent dad just tipped Catherine (and us) over the edge:

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After he’s identified by Leonie and found to have links with other prostitutes, Sean is arrested for murder. But you weren’t all buying it:

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In a seemingly unrelated incident (eyebrows raised), Daryl flips out when local bullies taunt him outside the shop, and attacks them with a lump hammer. Cue a new prime suspect…

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Episode five featured lots of people being drunk, actually, and it all went down rather well.

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And Frances hatched a plan to hurt Catherine…

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And with all fingers now pointing to Neil as the murderer after his drunken relapse, some of you were genuinely surprised when Daryl admitted his guilt to his mum:

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But nothing could prepare us for how Darryl’s mum Alison dealt with the news…

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Finale time now, and the truth unravelled about what happened in Alison and Daryl’s kitchen…

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But amid the tension, Catherine still finds the time to deliver this killer line:

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Catherine finally discovers Frances used her dead sister’s credentials to get a teaching assistant post at Ryan’s school. And when Catherine decides to pay Frances a visit at home, we were all on the edge of our seats...

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When it’s revealed that Daryl didn’t kill Vicky, Catherine susses that it was John, and an incredible stand-off ensues…

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So with the murders solved, Catherine should feel relieved. So why is she looking at Ryan like that?

The final episode of Happy Valley, series two will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer until 11pm on Thursday, 14 April 2016.

Dances, battles and love: War and Peace's most heart-stopping moments

2016-02-05T16:53:41+00:00

After weeks of being whisked off to Russia, losing ourselves in ballroom romances and crying on the battlefield, War and Peace is coming to an end. What will we do without Paul Dano and James Norton brightening up our screen every Sunday night?

We caught up with Andrew Davies, War and Peace's script writer, and made him to tell us more about Pierre, Andrei and those stand out moments. Including just what was going through Natasha’s head when she said yes to Anatole…

On that ballroom scene

"I wanted the dance scene between Natasha and Andrei to be almost impossibly romantic. Eyes only for each other, a sense of timelessness, as if the dance would go on and on and on.

"Tom Harper, the director, had the idea of including a flash-forward to their courtship and love-making in the snow before returning to the dance, and I thought it worked very well. I wanted the audience to share Natasha's dream of happiness, and I was so pleased that it was received in that way."

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On that heart-wrenching moment when Anatole made his move on Natasha

"When I wrote this scene, I was trying to identify with Natasha. She's feeling lonely, she's just been snubbed by Andrei's family. Suddenly here is this guy who says he's crazy about her and is all over her, all touchy feely, so unlike Andrei who is stand-offish and gentlemanly.

"Anatole is a practised seducer, and Natasha is a very sheltered girl who takes people at their face value. So she's temporarily overwhelmed. She makes a terrible mistake and has to bear the consequences.

"I know, it's awful, but we all know how charming bad boys can be."

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On everyone’s secret crush, Pierre

"Pierre is a character who slowly grows to take over the centre of the story. At the start we like him but don't take him seriously.

"Paul Dano's performance is a wonderful slow burn. I thought of the three characters, Pierre, Natasha and Andrei as really being at the centre of the story."

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The scene that made him cry

"It’s hard to choose my favourite scene, there are lots, but the one that made me cry when I was writing it was the one where Andrei and Pierre are talking before the battle of Borodino. Andrei - who has said he'll never mention Natasha - suddenly bursts out with: 'It was her soul I loved!'"

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On the story’s ending

"Episode five is very dark, episode six even darker… but there's light at the end of the tunnel.

"We had to show the horror of war and also the dark side of human interaction. But there's so much forgiveness and redemption in the latter part of the story. Andrei wants to kill Anatole for stealing Natasha, but when he actually sees him so terribly wounded, he just feels their common humanity. And I think we should feel sympathy for Helene as well -she's actually one of my favourite characters!

"There was so much to get into the final episode and the BBC allowed us to extend the length to 80 minutes. I wanted the final scene to have a lovely sense of resolution and tranquillity after all the turbulence and passion, and I hope I achieved that."

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Andrew Davies is the scriptwriter for War and Peace.

War and Peace continues on Sunday, 7 February at 9pm on BBC One. Each episode will be available to watch in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.