James Norton says he thought the ending to Happy Valley was "sort of perfect".
The hit BBC drama came to an end on Sunday night with 7.5 million viewers tuning in, making it the most watched drama since May 2021, when the Line of Duty series six finale aired.
Millions watched as Norton's character set fire to himself and burned to death after clashing one last time with police officer Catherine Cawood, played by Sarah Lancashire.
Discussing the ending of his character Tommy Lee Royce for the first time, Norton said: "The ending was sort of perfect, in a Sally Wainwright(writer) 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."
Norton said the crew rebuilt the kitchen normally used in a house in a studio for the scene in Catherine's home kitchen where he was waiting for her, so he could set fire to himself after being doused in petrol.
In a gripping scene, millions of viewers had been waiting for, the pair - brilliantly played by Lancashire and Norton - traded insults and emotional home truths for 15 minutes in an incredibly tense final meeting.
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.
"I've already taken a load of pills anyway, belt and braces me. I'm not going back to prison," he said before lighting a match.
Looking back 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."
And despite viewers hating his character, he insisted he felt Tommy was not a psychopath but more someone troubled by a terrible upbringing.
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.
"So, yeah, it was really heartbreaking for me. I recognise that there are absolutely despicable acts which he has committed along the way. But along that journey, I have been with him for ten years, I feel deeply sorry for him. I feel immense pity and empathy and I sort of really love him."
After Tommy Lee Royce perished Catherine 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 Lee Royce which led to her having her son Ryan, 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.
