What time is Happy Valley finale on tonight? How many episodes in season 3, when does BBC crime drama end?

Happy Valley will come to a dramatic conclusion tonight when the final ever episode in the BBC crime drama is released. The show returned for season three on New Year’s Day following a long hiatus.

The Yorkshire-set BBC One series follows sergeant Catherine Cawood on her beat in as she solves grisly cases and deals with personal issues. Cawood is haunted by her past as she continues to grieve for the loss of her daughter who killed herself after being raped by her boyfriend Tommy, whose child she gave birth to.

Throughout the series, Cawood has been brought into contact with her daughter’s rapist several times and the pair have an immense hatred for each other. In the third season of the show, Cawood is now about to retire from the force when she takes on the case of a suspected gangland killing.

Once again, Cawood finds herself back on a collision course with Tommy. As she attempts to solve the murder case, she also struggles with protecting her grandson, who wants to have a closer relationship with his father.

How many episodes are in season 3 of Happy Valley?

There are six episodes in Happy Valley season three - there were also six episodes in season one and two of the show.

When is the Happy Valley season 3 finale on TV?

Season three has been confirmed as the final season of Happy Valley - the final episode will air on Sunday 5 February at 9pm on BBC One. Episodes of the show are normally just under 60 minutes long, but the grand finale will be extended by roughly 10 minutes.

The final episode is expected to pull in millions of viewers when it airs - the programme will be competing with BBC Two documentary Warship: Tour of Duty, detective drama Vera on ITV1, and of course Love Island on ITV2.

These programmes are unlikely to pull viewers away from the crime drama, however, as even the second episode of season three outperformed the much-hyped Prince Harry interview on ITV.

What happens in the Happy Valley season 3 finale?

The official synopsis for the final episode states: “Catherine works her final shift, when scores are settled for good, while grandson Ryan faces a moral dilemma. The conclusion of Sally Wainwright’s gripping drama about a Yorkshire police sergeant tormented by the ghosts of the past, starring Sarah Lancashire.”

The penultimate episode of the season saw Tommy asking Darius for a gun, and it looks like he’s planning to kill Catherine on the eve of her retirement. Series creator Sally Wainwright previously teased a "very big face-to-face showdown" involving Tommy and Catherine and that is likely to provide the main thrust of the finale.

Several burning questions will need to be answered including what the future holds for Tommy and Catherine, and if both of them will live to see it. Additionally, someone is going to take the fall for the murder of Joanna Hepworth, and Ryan will finally have to decide what kind of relationship he wants with his father.

Where can you watch all of Happy Valley?

All of Happy Valley season one and two and episodes 1-5 of season three are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. The season three finale will also be available on iPlayer shortly after it is first broadcast. Episodes are listed as being available to stream for more than  a year - due to the popularity of the series they are likely to be available for a long time.