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Where is Happy Valley filmed?

Happy Valley is set and filmed in locations around West Yorkshire. (BBC)
Happy Valley is set and filmed in locations around West Yorkshire. (BBC)

Happy Valley viewers can't get enough of the third and final season of the drama about a police sergeant and her criminal nemesis.

The Yorkshire setting of the BBC One series by Sally Wainwright is as integral a part of the show for fans as the starring performances by Sarah Lancashire and James Norton - but where was it filmed?

Where is Happy Valley set?

Happy Valley films in Hebden Bridge and Sowerby Bridge. (BBC)
Happy Valley films in Hebden Bridge and Sowerby Bridge. (BBC)

The show's name refers to the drug problem in West Yorkshire's Calder Valley, where the storyline takes place.

Lancashire's character Catherine Cawood is a police sergeant in the valley, having stepped back from her career as a detective to be able to raise her grandson Ryan after her daughter Becky's death by suicide.

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Becky took her own life after being raped by drug dealer and violent criminal Tommy Lee Royce (Norton), whose release from prison in season one kicks off the plot as Catherine seeks revenge, justice, and to keep Ryan safe from his volatile father.

The gritty drama is set in the Yorkshire countryside. (BBC)
The gritty drama is set in the Yorkshire countryside. (BBC)

Siobhan Finneran also stars as Catherine's sister Clare, an ex heroin and alcohol addict who she lives with.

Series creator Wainwright grew up in Sowerby Bridge in Calderdale, which is often featured in the programme.

Many of Happy Valley's storylines are set in Halifax and the police often make reference to detectives coming to visit them from Wakefield.

Where is Happy Valley filmed?

Happy Valley S3: Catherine Cawood (SARAH LANCASHIRE). (BBC/Lookout Point/AMC/Matt Squire)
West Yorkshire is used as the series backdrop. (BBC)

Although the storyline is gritty and features plenty of grim situations in run-down settings, the landscape provides a jarringly different view.

Fans of the show love the beautiful natural setting of the valley which is at odds with the desperate crimes being committed.

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Much of the series was actually filmed in Wainwright's hometown of Sowerby Bridge rather than using a stand-in location, and other scenes visited Hebden Bridge, Huddersfield, Meltham and Keighley.

Catherine and Clare's distinctive house is in Hebden Bridge and the police station scenes are filmed in an old disused post office.

Season three sees Ryan visit the prison. (BBC)
Season three sees Ryan visit the prison. (BBC)

Halifax residents might recognise parts of Harveys department store, while the crematorium in Elland which has been referred to a number of times and was the location for dramatic scenes at Tommy Lee Royce's mother's funeral in season two has also been used.

Other Halifax locations where filming has taken place include Boothtown and West View Park, while exterior shots of Sowerby Bridge police station have also been used.

Superfans who want to visit the more picturesque locations used could head for Mount Tabor which appeared in some of the scenes where characters were driving through the countryside.

Where did the famous cafe scene from season 3 take place?

Clare and Catherine's famous cafe scene. (BBC)
Clare and Catherine's famous cafe scene. (BBC)

Season three has proved a hugely popular comeback for Happy Valley after eight years off air, and one scene in particular has left viewers calling for Lancashire and Finneran to win awards.

Catherine and Clare met for a tense conversation in a cafe supposedly in Sheffield to discuss a huge plot twist for season three - no spoilers here.

The meeting was actually at Amico Cafe in Bolton, Greater Manchester, which TV star Jake Quickenden visited in an episode of ITV daytime show Lorraine to find out what level of fame it was enjoying.

Owner John told how the cafe had attracted plenty of Happy Valley fans, including one woman who had made a pilgrimage from London to sit at the exact table Catherine and Clare had been at.

He added that they now have a Happy Valley sandwich on the menu in tribute to Finneran's line that she was "looking at a mediocre sandwich", which is a ciabatta roll with prosciutto ham, chicken and pesto, with a side salad and chips.

Happy Valley airs on Sundays at 9pm on BBC One.