James Norton, who played baddie Tommy Lee Royce in the hit show Happy Valley, says he thought the grand finale was "sort of perfect".
Over 7.5 million viewers tuned in on Sunday night to watch the last ever episode of Sally Wainwright's show, making it the most watched drama since May 2021, when the Line of Duty series six finale aired, according to The Mirror.
One scene that had viewers on the edge of their seats was when Tommy set himself alight and burned to death after a tense conversation with police officer Catherine Cawood, played by Sarah Lancashire.
Speaking about Tommy Lee Royce's fate for the first time, Norton said: "The ending was sort of perfect, in a Sally Wainwright sort of way.
"It was fireworks but it wasn’t fireworks. It was sitting over a kitchen table and that is where Happy Valley really thrived. That’s the heart of the whole show. Cups of tea over kitchen tables in kitchens in Yorkshire.
"It’s not a big stunt set pieces on wires and jumping off cliffs, and guns and fireworks. It’s gentle, it’s domestic, it’s human."
In the kitchen scene, Catherine and Tommy traded insults and emotional home truths for 15 minutes in an incredibly tense final meeting.
Before the police arrived on the scene, Tommy doused himself in petrol and told Catherine that her taser would no longer work and he was going to kill himself.
Lighting a match, he said: "I've already taken a load of pills anyway, belt and braces me. I'm not going back to prison."
Reflecting on the scene, Norton said: "I mean, it genuinely was one of the most exciting, if not the most exciting moment I’ve had on a film set. It was very, very special. Sarah and I had received the scripts earlier and people who were there in the crew had received it, but it was kept fairly quiet as to who was able to read it. And it was shot quite late on in the shoot.
"You’ve got Sally Wainwright at her absolute best. Sarah Lancashire, standing opposite me, giving her absolute best.
"These absolute heroes, these Queens of our industry, are the best there are. So it was an absolute privilege. I know actors throw those big words around a lot, but it was genuinely one of the most special moments of my career."
Despite Tommy being the villain of the series, James said he feels he's not a psychopath just 'incredibly damaged'. Speaking to GQ, he explained: "My final conclusion on Tommy is that I don’t think he is a psychopath, he’s just incredibly damaged. The fact that he can find this incredible love for Ryan. Over the last seven years, that is what drives him, and all of this plan to go get to Marbella.
"He could have gone on his own, but he wanted to take his son with him and build a life. He has a fairytale dream of having a house, a job, and living together as father and son.
"The more we went through the series I felt that I was able to tap into [his] humanity. I read episode six before shooting the beginning of this series, so I was trying to find that love for Ryan all the way through.
"A person who is void of feeling and empathy, if anything I was playing someone completely opposite. Tommy was so charged up and full of love and full of hope."
Despite Happy Valley coming to an end it's definitely not the last we will see of James Norton and he is even now a rumoured contender for the next James Bond.
According to IMDB, the star has two confirmed upcoming projects.
He'll star in drama Men of Divorce and also, an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness opposite Rosanna Arquette. He is also set to feature in Bob Marley biopic, The Sun is Shining, where he will play Island Records boss Chris Blackwell, who helped make the musician a huge star.
*All three series of Happy Valley are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now
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