James Norton has said he “loves” his Happy Valley character Tommy Lee Royce, even though he is “obviously despicable”.
The actor attended a premiere of the hit BBC show’s third and final series in Halifax, West Yorkshire, ahead of its eagerly anticipated return.
Norton told the PA news agency at the red carpet event: “I love him. It’s a complicated relationship I have with him because he’s a monster and he’s obviously despicable, but he’s also undeniably kind of compelling.
“Everybody’s fascinated by that kind of character and so am I.”
The BBC show, set in West Yorkshire, is returning in the new year after a seven-year hiatus.
Created by Sally Wainwright, the six-episode series will see Sarah Lancashire’s Sergeant Catherine Cawood back on the trail of murderer and sex offender Tommy, played by Norton.
The 37-year-old, who attended the premiere along with co-stars Siobhan Finneran and Rhys Connah, said that at the beginning of the new series, “Tommy’s in prison and he’s spent seven years getting more and more obsessed with Catherine and his hatred of her and his love for his son”.
A trailer for the series shows Catherine preparing for retirement.
However, she is thrust back into an investigation when she discovers news about Tommy.
Catherine’s grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) is now 16 and has ideas of his own about the kind of relationship he wants to have with Tommy – the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father.
On saying goodbye to the show, Norton said: “It’s classy to end. Sally always wanted to make three series and if we carried on and on, we could, and the audience would probably dwindle and slowly get smaller.
“We’re very proud to make something which is going out with a proper bang.
“I think everyone’s going to be pleased and excited by the way Sally’s tied it all up.”
The actor, who has starred in Grantchester, War And Peace and McMafia, added: “For me this was a massive thing because it changed my career, it opened up opportunities I wouldn’t otherwise have had and it was the first big meaty role I took on a TV show so I will always cherish it and owe it a lot.”
