Happy Valley fails to beat Line of Duty viewing figures
The final episode of Happy Valley was watched by 7.5 million people, falling far short of Line of Duty.
The climax of the West Yorkshire crime drama was given five stars across the board by critics for its "shocking twists" and "satisfying" conclusion.
However, it failed to draw anywhere near the 12.8 million viewers that tuned in to watch the finale of Line of Duty – which many reviewers thought fell flat.
Despite the gulf in ratings, Sunday night’s episode attracted the largest overnight audience of any drama on UK television since May 2021, when the Line of Duty series six finale aired.
Just under half – 41.6 per cent – of TV viewers in the UK were watching the programme last night.
It drew nearly as many viewers to BBC as the King's Speech, which boasted an average audience of 8.1 million.
Consolidated figures, which include catch-up views, are also expected to significantly boost overall ratings as almost half of the show’s audience are now watching on catch-up via BBC iPlayer.
Episode one of the latest series consolidated to 11.3 million viewers in its first 30 days, while the overall viewing figure for the final episode is likely to be more than 10 million.
It represents another ratings victory for the series, which had the highest viewership of any show last month. In the week of Jan 16 - Jan 22, it had more than 9 million viewers, compared to 7.3 million for Death in Paradise, and 6.9 million for Call the Midwife.
The finale was lauded by critics who noted the "electrifying" writing of Sally Wainwright, as well as Sarah Lancashire's performance as West Yorkshire Sergeant Catherine Cawood.
The BBC One drama, which has had three series' across nine years, was also applauded for having an "unreservedly, unapologetically northern, middle-aged, female point of view".
Reviewing the show in The Telegraph, Anita Singh wrote: "Not since Line of Duty has a drama finale been so eagerly awaited.
"Thankfully it didn’t end like Line of Duty, or else we’d have seen hapless Neil unmasked as the linchpin of the Knezevic crime family. Instead, show creator Sally Wainwright delivered an ending that satisfied."
Reviewers from The Times, The Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the i and The Guardian all focused on the final showdown between Catherine and her nemesis, the murderer, sex offender and escaped convict Tommy Lee Royce, played by James Norton, as they gave it their highest rating.
