It's official: The third season of Happy Valley is in production. AMC Networks and the BBC have shared a first-look image of Sarah Lancashire back in character as Sergeant Catherine Cawood, which you can check out above. 
The new season was announced in October, when it was confirmed that Lancashire would be reprising her role alongside James Norton as her nemesis, the murderer and sex offender Tommy Lee Royce, and Siobhan Finneran as her sister Clare, who is a recovering addict.
Now it has been announced that they will be joined by fellow returning cast members Derek Riddell (who plays Richard Cawood), Karl Davies (Daniel Cawood), Susan Lynch (Alison Garrs), Rick Warden (Mike Taylor), Vincent Franklin (Andy Shepherd), and Rhys Connah (Ryan Cawood).
Three new cast members – Amit Shah (The Other One), Mark Stanley (The Girl Before) and Mollie Winnard (All Creatures Great and Small) – have also been announced, in roles that are described as "pivotal."
A synopsis for the new season teases: "When Catherine discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir it sparks a chain of events that unwittingly leads her straight back to Tommy Lee Royce. 
"Her grandson Ryan is now 16 and still living with Catherine, but he has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with the man Catherine refuses to acknowledge as his father. Still battling the seemingly never-ending problem of drugs in the valley and those who supply them, Catherine is on the cusp of retirement."
Written and created by Sally Wainwright, Happy Valley debuted on BBC One in 2014 and returned for a second season in 2016. Season three will continue shooting on location in West Yorkshire in the coming months, before premiering on BBC One and AMC+ at a date yet to be confirmed. 
Are you looking forward to the new season of Happy Valley?