***THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE HAPPY VALLEY FINALE***
Police officer Catherine Cawood had a happy ending to Happy Valley as the final ever episode aired on Sunday night. Fans of the hit BBC drama have hailed the finale as "powerful" with many saying they're "sad to see it go".
In dramatic scenes which aired earlier this evening, Catherine's nemesis Tommy Lee Royce burned to death as they clashed for a final showdown, writes The Mirror.
Catherine, played by Sarah Lancashire, ended her last ever episode on a high and even broke a rare smile at the very end, as she appeared to be heading off traveling, following her retirement from the police force.
During her last day in uniform she had been involved in one huge final confrontation with the man responsible for ruining much of her life. At the climax of their last row, murderer Tommy, took his own life.
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Earlier on in the nail-biting episode, the killer, played by James Norton, broke into Catherine's home after escaping prison and then fleeing from the gang he had been working with.
But by the time he reached her home he was bleeding badly and seemed unable to physically attack her as he had done in the past. In a tense scene that millions of viewers have been waiting for, the pair traded insults for 15 minutes in an incredibly nerve-wracking final meeting.
At one point, Catherine read Tommy his rights, arresting him for escaping lawful custody, but they continued to talk as police back up raced to the scene. She then told the murderer she was "glad" his son, Ryan - Catherine's grandson - refused to run away with him to Marbella.
She told him: "You're not a dad, you wouldn't know how to be a dad, I am sorry to be the bearer of such difficult news." Tommy replied that he came close to bruning down her house the night before but didn't as he caught "a glimpse of what a nice life [Ryan] had" with Catherine.
He said he no longer hated her and forgave her, to which she replied: "And you forgive me? You delinquant f**k." But before other police had time to arrive, Tommy then doused himself in petrol saying the taser would no longer work and he was going to kill himself.
He lit a match and set himself on fire, with Catherine unable to put the flames out with a blanket. She was later seen leaving the police station having tipped off her boss about a pharmacist illegally selling drugs, which meant all her cases would be effectively solved in the town.
The episode then ended with her going to the grave of her daughter, who had been raped by Tommy, which led to her giving birth to Ryan, who was brought up by Catherine after she committed suicide. Catherine kissed the headstone and then received a text saying Tommy had died in hospital as she walked back to her van to start her new life.
Taking to social media, someone wrote: "That was absolutely fantastic, I have loved Happy Valley, what a drama." Another commented: "That is probably the most powerful ending to a programme ever WOW WOW WOW"
A third said: "I am gutted Happy Valley is over but what an ending that was just amazing" While a fourth tweeted: "Amazing ending to Happy Valley. I am sad it is over. What to watch now?" And a fifth penned: "Sarah Lancashire has got to be the best actor. What a performance."
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