Happy Valley star on how finale moment 'sets up how story will carry on’

However, one scene in particular has set up any future Ryan (Rhys Connah) scenes perfectly and speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, the actor has revealed more about how that scene in the police station sets up the post-credits life of Ryan.

He explained: “Me and Sarah were speaking about that scene on the day we were filming it. She said for her, that sets up how the story is going to carry on after the cameras have stopped rolling.

"This is the final season of Happy Valley. This is the end, but that provides context for the story after, so we can see a little bit past how season 3 ends. And I do think that Ryan would become a police officer.”

The scene in question is when Ryan is taken to the police station for questioning about Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). Going up the stairs with Catherine (Sarah Lancashire), Ryan is complimented by Detective Superintendent Andy Shepherd (Vincent Franklin) who says there's "something about him" that made him think the teen was a new police recruit.

Ryan cracks a smile and bounds up the stairs after his grandmother. Soon after, he comes clean about the contact he's had with Tommy and tells the police all about the games console communication.

While we like to think that Ryan was always going to be honest – and betray Tommy – it does seem as though Andy's nod of approval for policing could have had more of a profound impact on the teen after all.

While season 4 isn't happening, we can remain satisfied in the fact that Ryan could very well follow in his grandmother's footsteps and be the no-nonsense police officer she was.

The 16-year-old also came into his own in the final episode when he confronted Catherine about her fallout with sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran). When asked about bridging the divide between the two sisters, he said: “It shows how strong all the characters’ relationships are. And it shows how the characters can develop as well.

"It's not like, ‘Oh the series has ended, we’ve got to make up now.’ There's a reason for it. It’s not just, ‘They’ve caught Tommy, we’re making up.’ There’s a reason for it and that’s something that’s done really well.”

In the run-up to the tense finale, rumours were circulating about the multiple endings that were filmed for the BBC drama, but Connah played it down as "a rumour that's gone around a bit".

He explained: "A lot of TV shows do this – when they film the ending they film it in a lot of different ways, if that makes sense. It's the same ending but how it’s shot, how it’s framed, how it's lit, how the characters are, the emotions behind the words they say – that can all affect a scene in ways that a lot of people can't even imagine.

"It’s crazy just how much the lighting can affect the scene. So shooting things differently allows them to have a bigger choice so they can pick the perfect combination of things to make the best ending possible.”

Happy Valley seasons 1-3 are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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