Did you spot James Norton's War and Peace reference hidden in Happy Valley?
Prince Andrei was pretending to read Tolstoy's Russian epic way before he actually became Prince Andrei...
War and Peace star James Norton has been keeping us entertained for the last six weeks as Prince Andrei, the proud, disillusioned heart-breaker of the BBC1 period drama.
But this wasn't Norton's first involvement with Tolstoy's Russian epic.
Journalist Kevin O' Flynn, who reports from Moscow, pointed out that the actor's Happy Valley character Tommy buys a copy of War and Peace in series one.
I told you that one should forgive a fallen woman.But I never said I would be able to
Do I look silly in this hat? pic.twitter.com/XH1r3I0KdF
— Kevin O'Flynn (@oflynnkevin) February 5, 2016
Earlier this year, Norton himself told 5050London that, "weirdly enough, when I did Happy Valley, I carried War and Peace at one point as my character (psychopath Tommy Lee Royce) goes into a charity shop to disguise himself.
"And he picks a red book which is War and Peace. Sitting at that bus stop and waiting for the cameras to turn around, I got through about ten pages.”
Frankly, this is all a bit too meta for us...
Norton's War and Peace casting was announced in December 2014, a year after filming took place on Happy Valley series one. So yes, this little Russian 'easter egg' is just a lucky coincidence.
