IT’S the show everyone is talking about - and tomorrow at least eight million viewers are expected to be glued to the last ever episode of Happy Valley.
Sally Wainwright’s gripping hit series about Calderdale cop Sergeant Catherine Cawood and her nemesis, Tommy Lee Royce, has had us hooked. The stellar cast, led by Sarah Lancashire, includes James Norton, Siobhan Finneran and Con O’Neill. An impressive cast of younger actors has shone too, not least Rhys Connah, who played Catherine’s grandson Ryan as a child in the first two series and now, as a teenager, is at the heart of the drama. Also stealing scenes is five-year-old Bonnie Stott who plays Poppy, young daughter of teacher Rob Hepworth and his murdered wife Joanna.
Poppy and her sister Florence are played by real sisters Bonnie and Bethany Stott, from Bingley. They attend screen acting classes at Articulate in Bradford - along with Myra-Sofia Iftikhar, who plays Faisal’s youngest daughter Haniya, and Freddy Smith, Ryan’s school pal Cesco.
Fans have been speculating about why Poppy, troubled by her parents’ tense relationship, has never taken off her coat throughout the series. Bonnie reveals: “The directors told me the coat protected Poppy. I tried lots of different coats on before they chose my special coat. I was allowed to help pick the one I liked. I was told Poppy didn’t like the way daddy treated mummy and she just wanted mummy to be okay.”
Adds Bethany, 10: “We were told Poppy wanted to protect her mummy, and felt her dad’s presence upsetting. Florence is the opposite - she watches TV or plays a computer game and just ignores what’s going on.”
The sisters did a self tape to audition. Bethany says they loved working together: “We’ve never done anything like this before. It was amazing. All the actors were really nice. I loved meeting Sally Wainwright, I like to write stories and she read one of my stories between takes.”
“It was super fun,” says Bonnie. “I enjoyed the different scenes. I liked being at the grandma’s house, sat on the sofa with my cuddly cow. It was a night scene so I got to stay up late. Mollie and Mark (playing Poppy’s parents) were really kind.”
The series was filmed in and around Halifax, with some scenes in Thornton and Denholme. Says Myra-Sofia Iftikhar, 11, from Birkenshaw: “I didn’t realise how big a show it was, it’s only now it’s aired I’ve realised how popular it is. Each week my teachers come up and say: ‘Myra, we saw you on telly last night’ and people my parents know message them with photos and videos of me on TV. Filming Happy Valley was an unforgettable experience. Three of my scenes were directed by Sally Wainwright; it was an honour to have her directing me. At first I was intimidated as she’s worked with some of the best actors in the industry, but she was lovely. It was fascinating to see how she works.
“I got to work with talented actors like Amit Shah, who plays Faisal, my on-screen dad. Although I wasn’t in a scene with Sarah Lancashire, I saw her at unit base. My mum was really excited. Sarah was really nice, she smiled and said hello. Now I know who she is, I understand why my mum was excited that day!”
Myra’s favourite scenes included one where Faisal comes home and his daughters are dancing to a music video: “We were doing TikTok. It was fun to rehearse. A choreographer taught us a dance which we had to learn in a couple of hours, it was fast-paced and initially we twirled into each other, arms flying in the wrong direction, and burst into giggles. The full dance didn’t make the cut but trust me, we did master that dance! Between shoots Amit and Yasmin Ali, my on-screen sister, Maira, had a good time joking and singing. Amit loved vibing to Bollywood songs.”
Myra is no stranger to TV, having been in Ackley Bridge and CBBC hit The Dumping Ground. Her Happy Valley scenes were mostly filmed in Ripponden and Rishworth School. “One scene, a family barbecue, was at a beautiful farmhouse in Bailiff Bridge, with breathtaking views,” she recalls.
Freddy Smith, 17, of Thornton, enjoyed school scenes with Cesco and Ryan: “My favourite was when they got into an argument with Hepworth about their bikes being locked together, I found it funny and interesting to film due to the contrasting emotions.”
dds Freddy, who was also in CBBC’s The Dumping Ground: “It was quite scary at first, but when I arrived on set everyone was friendly, which settled my nerves. I really enjoyed working with Rhys, we got on well and all my scenes were with him. It was nice to work with someone the same age as me in such a popular series.”
Youngsters from Articulate have been in other Sally Wainwright dramas Gentleman Jack, Last Tango in Halifax and To Walk Invisible. Principal Stacey Burrows said: “There’s an abundance of talent in Bradford. Casting directors from all over the UK and overseas come to us to source children for shoots. In January we had over 200 children, most from Bradford, on film sets. A Bingley boy was flown to Dubai for a shoot and a Bradford teenager has been shooting a big brand advert in Germany. One of our younger members, aged seven, is shooting a movie starring Hollywood actress Megan Fox. There’s something about Yorkshire kids, Bradford particularly, that intrigues casting directors and Articulate is their first port of call.
“We’re gutted this is the last of Happy Valley, but can’t wait to see what Sally’s working on next.”
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