Happy Valley finale viewing figures revealed
Happy Valley's finale drew in the highest overnight UK viewing figures since Line of Duty's big reveal about H's identity.
Overnight viewing figures reported by Variety show that the last ever episode of Sally Wainwright's drama about a police sergeant's battle against the criminal she believes is responsible for her daughter's death hit 7.5 million viewers when it aired on BBC One on Sunday.
Read more: Happy Valley final season grips 11 million viewers
The episode drew in a 41% audience share for the BBC and gave Happy Valley its highest ever overnight figure in all three seasons.
A BBC statement said: "This is the highest ever overnight figure for Happy Valley, and the largest overnight rating for a drama on UK television since May 2021, when the Line of Duty series six finale aired."
Jed Mercurio drama Line of Duty aired its much-anticipated season six finale with answers to the long-running question of who corrupt officer and crime boss H was - although some viewers were disappointed by the reveal.
However, praise has been rolling in for Wainwright's series ender which saw main characters Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) meet for a bitter showdown in her kitchen which ended with the escaped convict setting fire to himself.
Read more: James Norton shares behind-the-scenes pictures from every season of Happy Valley
Fans of the show called it a "masterclass" in acting and congratulated Wainwright on making even the horrific scene humorous, too.
Ahead of the third and final season ending - which came back after a seven-year break to allow child actor Rhys Connah to grow into his character Ryan's teenage self - Norton admitted he had been guessing at the final plot along with other fans.
He said: "I think the reason this series is particularly exciting is because everyone knows it’s the last and so everyone is going to be waiting for something to happen, and everyone is sort of predicting and guessing how Sally wants to end it.
"I have been predicting for the last seven years how she is going to end it so it was really wonderful to read the script and hear her ideas - and they don’t disappoint."
