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Happy Valley's James Norton shares tribute on Instagram following the show finale

The series just aired its final episode.

james norton as tommy lee royce, happy valley series 3
BBC

Happy Valley spoilers follow – including discussion of the season three finale.

Happy Valley star James Norton has marked the end of the series with a tribute to his co-star Sarah Lancashire on Instagram.

The actor, also seen in Grantchester and Greta Gerwig's Little Women, plays the series villain Tommy Lee Royce. Tommy is a criminal who was sentenced to prison for raping Becky, the daughter of series protagonist Catherine Cawood.

Becky died by suicide not long after the birth of her son Ryan, and the series revolves around police sergeant Catherine's determination to not only ensure that Tommy faces justice, but also see that Ryan is protected from his father's influence.

To mark the series' end, Norton posted a behind-the-scenes photo with Lancashire, who's wearing Catherine's police uniform, as the two of them smile and look at the camera.

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Catherine and Tommy's long-standing feud came to an unexpectedly emotional resolution in last night's (February 5) episode.

The pair first butted heads in season one of Happy Valley, released in 2014 and chronicling Catherine's increasing obsession with her late daughter's rapist.

Meanwhile, the policewoman raised Becky's son Ryan (Rhys Connah), the product of Tommy's vile act of sexual violence, with the help of her sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran).

The final episode of the show, created by Gentleman Jack's Sally Wainwright, saw Catherine finally able to fulfil her wish to retire from the police force following news of Tommy's death.

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Catherine didn't have a direct role in the villain's demise, and she learned of his death via text while visiting Becky's grave.

A number of other villains from Happy Valley season three also got their comeuppance in the final episode.

Catherine learned via a conversation with Andy that Joanna's abusive husband Rob was charged after indecent images of one of his students were found on his phone, and drug-dealing pharmacist Faisal was also busted for his illicit activities.

Happy Valley airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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