Tommy Lee Royce is up to no good again – despite being in prison (Picture: PA)
It was never going to be a quiet period before Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) clocks off for retirement in Happy Valley.
As the no-nonsense sergeant reminds us in episode 1 of season 3 of the BBC crime drama, she has just over seven months before she leaves the force for good.
However, it looks like Catherine is going to have her hands full as the explosive opening of the beloved series saw her investigate a grisly gangland murder that links her straight back to her daughter’s rapist Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton).
And that’s not the only dealings she’s going to have with the convicted killer, who is currently behind bars, as it’s revealed her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) has been paying him visits behind her back.
Catherine is told by a fellow officer that Ryan and a ‘man and a woman’ have been heading to Sheffield prison, with her pal telling her in the final moments of the episode that she’s ‘not going to like’ what she’s about to hear.
So who exactly are the ‘man and woman’ in question accompanying Ryan? Here are all the fan theories.
Against his grandmother’s wishes, Ryan has been visiting his dad in prison (Picture: BBC/Lookout Point/AMC/Matt Squire)
One viewer was left ‘awake for ages’ wondering on who the duo could be eventually coming to the conclusion, like several others on Twitter, it could be Clare Cartwright (Siobhan Finneran) and her boyfriend Neil Ackroyd (Con O’Neill.
They continued: ‘My gut tells me its Clare and Neil. I love it when a show sucks me in like that,’ while another fan believed it was Clare because Ryan is close to her and trusts her.
It would be the ultimate betrayal for Catherine to see her sister, whom she lives with and supported her while she was struggling with alcoholism, take Ryan to see her arch nemesis behind her back.
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Could Catherine’s own sister Clare be responsible? (Picture: BBC/Lookout Point/Matt Squire)
However, fellow social media accounts have disagreed, explaining they can’t see Clare doing that to her own sister.
Rising star officer Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy) and Daniel Cawood (Karl Davies) are another couple some believe could be behind the visits.
One fan remarked that Ann and Daniel bought Ryan a skydiving lesson in Sheffield- which could be a possible cover to allow him to meet his dad without suspicion.
Fingers have also been pointed at Ryan’s grandad Richard (Derek Riddell) and his wife Ros Cawood (Kelly Harrison), with several accounts on Twitter asking if others thought they were the pair taking Ryan to prison.
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Another suggestion, although she didn’t appear in episode 1, is that Frances Drummond (Shirley Henderson), who was infatuated with Tommy and meddled in the previous season, is back.
‘Please don’t let Catherine die before she gets her retirement (as happens in so many police dramas). She deserves so much, she IS the best police officer in the world! Also, is it Claire? Or is Frances back? #HappyValley,’ one fan asked.
Happy Valley returns to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday at 9pm.
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Who do you think they could be?
