Happy Valley: James Norton shares behind-the-scenes footage from final episode

Virgin Radio

9 Feb 2023, 14:23

Happy Valley star James Norton has revealed how one of the most memorable scenes in the finale was put together.

The actor, who played baddie Tommy Lee Royce in the hit BBC drama, has taken to Instagram to show fans just how they filmed the scene that took place in the car towards the beginning of the last ever episode.

There are spoilers ahead if you haven’t finished the series yet. 

The finale sees Tommy being told that he is being moved to a different hiding place. However, he soon realises that the Knezevics are actually planning to do away with him. A violent, bloody encounter ensues in a car as it travels through the countryside, and Tommy manages to escape with his life… just about.

Now, Norton’s Instagram post - which combines photos and video footage and is soundtracked by Jake Bugg’s Trouble - shows that parts of the gruesome scene weren’t actually filmed in the countryside at all. Rather, green screen was used.

The video post also shows that some of the epic scene was filmed live in the picturesque West Yorkshire fields.

The Happy Valley antagonist messes around in front of the screens in the clip, and the video also shows photos of the actors covered in fake blood. James captioned the post: “BTS from Series 3 😘 #happyvalley”

Have a look here: 

Commenters admitted they were fooled by the green screen. One said: “My gosh just shows how great actors you all are and the talented production team. I really thought the car was rolling down that hill!”

Another added: “Would never have guessed the road scenes weren’t real! So we’ll done!”

Others commented on the actors having a good time on set. One person wrote: “It's so weird seeing the fun you all had filming scenes that had us all on the edge of our sofas😂😱”

In other news related to the dramatic finale, Happy Valley creator and writer Sally Wainwright has revealed that she rewrote the ending, after lead actor Sarah Lancashire "made it clear that she wasn't happy" with how the first draft of the story reached a conclusion.

Catch up with all three seasons of Happy Valley on BBC iPlayer.