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Happy Valley season 3 star James Norton praises 'wonderful' Sarah Lancashire

The actor stars as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley


sarah lancashire happy valley© Photo: BBC
Megan Bull
TV Writer
January 18, 2023
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Happy Valley star James Norton has opened up about his time filming for season three of the hit BBC crime drama, and he had nothing but praise for his co-star, Sarah Lancashire. Joining Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas on The One Show, James couldn't help but rave about the actress while talking about the final series.

"We're in west Yorkshire, and our protagonist is Catherine Cawood played by the insane Sarah Lancashire. The wonderful Sarah Lancashire," he said. Reflecting on her portrayal of the police sergeant, he added: "She's the most incredible lead character, kind of unique and fun and very, very funny, but complicated." 

WATCH: Have you been watching season 3 of Happy Valley?

It's not the first time that James has spoken highly of Sarah and her incredible performance on the show, having described her as "an absolute legend in our industry, giving the performance of her life."

MORE: Happy Valley's Sarah Lancashire is a blonde bombshell in slinky wedding dress

READ: Happy Valley fans convinced they've worked out plot after latest cliffhanger

During his appearance on The One Show, James also detailed one of the more "bizarre" moments from filming season three. Pointing to a scene in which his character – the villainous Tommy Lee Royce – cuts off his long hair in prison, James revealed that the other character in the scene was actually a real-life barber from Manchester. 

sarah lancashire catherine cawood© Photo: BBC

James Norton also praised his co-star Sarah Lancashire as the "most incredible lead character"

"Yes, he's called Gaz from Cut Throat Barbers in Manchester, I think, he was amazing," explained James.

"What was amazing about that scene was that we basically just let the cameras roll and I just got a haircut. Usually, we have lots of cuts, you know two to three minutes here and there but that was a 40-minute shot. The cameras just rolled and everyone was watching the monitors and it was weirdly meditative. The music was playing, Gaz was doing his thing and I was getting lulled into a lovely state it was a really bizarre but magical day.

tommy happy valley© Photo: BBC

James revealed that Tommy's haircut scene was filmed with a real-life barber 

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