The latest and final series of Happy Valley has left viewers on the edge of their seats as it returns after years off the air.
Sarah Lancashire plays Catherine Cawood, a police community officer for the West Yorkshire Police Department, in the BBC cop drama. The third season sees Catherine discover the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, which sets off a chain of events and leads her to Tommy Lee Royce, the man who raped her daughter.
Following the gritty drama, many fans are concerned that a throwaway scene could hint towards the demise of a fan-favourite character. Fans have picked up on the frequent references to Catherine's upcoming retirement, which they worry hints at her death in the upcoming season finale.
But, what do we know about the show's lead actress? Here, we take a look at Sarah's life outside the show, reports the Mirror.
Sarah had links to the TV industry before finding fame herself, as her father Geoffrey Lancashire, who died in 2004, was a TV script writer. During his career, he wrote 171 episodes for ITV soap Coronation Street and penned other TV series including Inheritance, Shabby Tiger, and The Cuckoo Waltz.
Meanwhile, Sarah's mum Hilda worked as his personal assistant.
Before her best-known role in Happy Valley, Sarah marked the start of her career on stage instead of on screen. She said "the start of her career as an actor" came after she took part in two plays with the Manchester Library Theatre Company.
In 1987 she went on to make a brief appearance in Coronation Street as Wendy Farmer, a nurse and prospective lodger for the Duckworths. Four years later, Sarah returned to the soap in a new role January 1991 as Raquel Wolstenhulmer.
She played the dizzy shop worker role at
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