The actor Sarah Lancashire has said that she “adored every scene” of Happy Valley, after winning a slew of prizes at the National Television Awards (NTA), including the special recognition award and award for best drama performance.
The star of the popular crime series looked overwhelmed as she received the special recognition award on Tuesday, presented by Sir Ian McKellen, as the audience chanted her name.
“I have been so very fortunate to spend my working life doing a job I love,” she said, thanking the “enablers” who rarely got credit but who had helped her achieve her dreams, including her family, agent and “a very vital component – you, the audience. Without you, all this would grind to a crashing halt”.
Lancashire beat her co-star James Norton to the best drama performance prize for her portrayal of the police officer Catherine Cawood, and also saw off competition from Brenda Blethyn (Vera), India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story) and Judy Parfitt (Call the Midwife).
Collecting the award for best drama performance, she said: “Thank you so much for this. I have adored every scene, every moment of Happy Valley and I know I will never forget it.
She praised the show’s production team and its creator, Sally Wainwright, saying that she was “what makes Happy Valley”, adding that each colleague was the “luckiest actor in the world” to perform words written by her.
The BBC series also won the returning drama prize, but fans hopeful that the show’s creators would bring it back for another series after its continued success will be disappointed, after Lancashire confirmed its run was complete.
Happy Valley, set in Hebden Bridge, ended its three-season run in February, with 7.5 million viewers tuning in to learn the fates of Sgt Cawood and her criminal nemesis, Tommy Lee Royce.
“It was a story told as a trilogy which has been a great way to tell a story arch. The danger is you carry on and it loses its potency but I think this way it keeps it on top,” she said from the writer’s room.
Asked if she thought her casting would encourage more storylines starring older women, the 58-year-old actor said: “I do hope. I think things are changing and they’ve needed to change for a long time, evolution is slow but we’re catching up.”
Other NTA winners, which are nominated and voted for by the public, included: EastEnders for best serial drama; Wednesday for best new drama; The Traitors for best reality competition; and Lewis Capaldi, who won best authored documentary for his exploration of his mental health in Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now.
Serial NTA award-winners Ant and Dec picked up best presenter for the 22nd year running, but missed out on the Bruce Forsyth entertainment award for their shows I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, losing to Gogglebox.
The ITV show This Morning – a 12-year winner in the daytime, live magazine and topical magazine programme categories – went away empty-handed.
The show, which was hit by scandal in May when Phillip Schofield quit his presenting role after admitting he lied about an affair with a colleague, was nominated for best daytime programme but was beaten by The Repair Shop.
