James Norton praises Happy Valley ending as 'sort of perfect'

The hit BBC drama bowed out on Sunday night with 7.5 million viewers tuning in, making it the most watched drama since May 2021, when the Line of Duty series six finale aired.

Viewers were gripped as they watched Norton’s character, Tommy Lee Royce, set fire to himself and burned to death after one final stand off with police officer Catherine Cawood, played by Sarah Lancashire.

“The ending was sort of perfect, in a Sally Wainwright(writer) sort of way,” Norton told The Mirror.

“It was fireworks but it wasn’t fireworks. It was sitting over a kitchen table and that is where Happy Valley really thrived. That’s the heart of the whole show. Cups of tea over kitchen tables in kitchens in Yorkshire.”

Adding: “It’s not a big stunt set pieces on wires and jumping off cliffs, and guns and fireworks. It’s gentle, it’s domestic, it’s human.”

The London-born star said he would look back on his time working on Happy Valley fondly, hailing it as “one of the most special moments of my career.”

And while a number of people hate his character, he felt that Tommy was not a psychopath, but “incredibly damaged” following a troubled upbringing.

Speaking to GQ, he explained: “My final conclusion on Tommy is that I don’t think he is a psychopath, he’s just incredibly damaged.

“I recognise that there are absolutely despicable acts which he has committed along the way. But along that journey, I have been with him for ten years, I feel deeply sorry for him. I feel immense pity and empathy and I sort of really love him.”