The creator of Happy Valley has revealed the reason why the smash-hit BBC drama has that title, and she’s admitted it’s pretty “dark”.
In case you’re not currently up to speed, the third series of one of the BBC’s most-popular dramas is currently airing on our screens, with new episodes gripping millions of viewers with tension every Sunday night, and the show’s esteemed cast – led by Oldham-born actress, Sarah Lancashire – raking in all the praise from critics and fans each week.
First hitting our screens back in April 2015, and going on to win the BAFTA for Best Drama right off the bat, Happy Valley follows the story of Lancashire’s character, Sergeant Catherine Cawood, who is a strong-willed police Sergeant in West Yorkshire.
The show is set and has been largely filmed in the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire since it first aired, although the recent series has also ventured out across the rest of the North of England for filming.
Local areas regularly name-checked in the show include Todmorden, Mytholmroyd, Bradford, Keighley, Sowerby Bridge, Hedben Bridge, and Heptonstall.
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Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, and other West Yorkshire cities are also often mentioned, but they have not main filming locations.
Happy Valley creator reveals the ‘dark’ reason behind the show’s name / Credit: BBC
At the start of the first series, viewers learn that Catherine is still coming to terms with the suicide of her teenage daughter, Becky, eight years earlier.
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Catherine is now divorced from her husband and living with her sister, Clare – played by Siobhan Finneran – who is a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict, and is helping her bring up Becky’s young son, Ryan, who is the product of rape.
Throughout the three series, the show deals with a wide range of other heavy topics and storylines, including kidnappings, serial killings, human trafficking, and more, but one of the common threads running through many of storylines is the reason for the show’s name – drugs.
It turns out the name Happy Valley has taken some some real-world inspiration.
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The show’s creator, writer and director, Sally Wainwright, has explained in a recent interview that she took inspiration from the crimes really taking place in the Calder Valley to name the award-winning BBC drama.
The name Happy Valley has taken some some real-world inspiration / Credit: BBC
She explained: “So Happy Valley… I always work closely with police advisors, who are old police officers who have worked in the area, and one of them told me that is what they call the Valley because of issues with drugs, so for me, it reflected the show.
“It’s dark, but it has also got a lot of humour in it. I think less so in season one, more so in season two.
“We want to continue that in season three. It’s still very much about the dark side of life, but it’s also about how within that people always find ways of being funny and warm and human.”
Wainwright has also given her take on why she believes the show has gained so much popularity over the past few years, and why viewers just seem to be so wrapped-up in all the action, explaining: “It does always seem to capture people’s imaginations when you are writing about things that are on the wrong side of the law.
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“It’s about transgressive behaviour and I suppose humans are fascinated by transgressive behaviour.
“I guess that’s why people are so fascinated by crime.
“It’s a kind of vicarious thing, that we don’t indulge in ourselves but like to watch other people doing it, or we like to see them get caught, or we like to follow the people who sort things out.”
Happy Valley is currently airing on Sunday nights at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Featured Image – BBC
TV & Showbiz
Manc music legends James announce MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
TV & Showbiz
Adored BBC show Peaky Blinders set for return to British for a ‘new generation’
Thomas Melia
The team behind beloved TV series Peaky Blinders have just announced it will be returning to our screens while welcoming some very new faces.
If there’s one thing us Brits love more than a cuppa, it’s a period TV drama, and when you throw generational heartthrob Cillian Murphy into the mix, you’re onto a winner.
This time, Peaky Blinders is gearing up to welcome a new era of Shelbys into the much-loved 20th-century programme that fans will definitely be looking forward to.
The latest announcement from the writer and creator of the show lets fans know they can expect to watch not one but two new series.
Each of the latest instalments will contain six brand new 60-minute episodes and is executive produced by Mr Thomas Shelby himself, Cillian Murphy, alongside a roster of notable industry talents.
An official press release from the BBC confirms these new segments of the show will be set in Britain, 1953, not long after WWII, and see the city of Birmingham undergoing a huge shift, turning to concrete and steel.
Throughout the course of the new seasons, this huge reconstruction becomes a battle, one of “unprecedented opportunity and danger: with the Shelby family right at its blood-soaked heart”.
The mastermind behind the cult classic British TV show, Steven Knight, reveals: “I’m Thrilled to be announcing this new chapter in the Peaky Blinders story.”
Peaky Blinders has gained a cult following, and this new chapter welcomes a whole new era of Shelbys (Credit: GoodFon)
Knight – who is also behind the upcoming Oasis reunion documentary – adds: “Once again it will be rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz. The new generation of Shelbys has now taken the wheel, and it will be one hell of a ride”.
The two new and highly anticipated series will be produced by Kudos, who are known for shows such as House of Guinness, Grantchester, as well as Garrison Drama, who have worked on Peaky Blinders series one to six AND the impending film.
It looks like we’ll be getting the feature-length movie before we get this series, and it remains to be seen how the two will knit together with the original show and exactly which characters will be involved on either front.
That being said, we’d be VERY surprised if you didn’t get to see a fair bit of the Peaky patriarch.
With the show having 12 years under its belt already, not to mention still amassing more fans, this very statement has definitely stood the test of time.
Tommy Shelby has become a staple on our screens over the last decade, thanks to the success of Peaky Blinders (Credit: BBC)
Emily Sergeant -
20th January 2023 
