Happy Valley's Ryan Cawood has literally grown up in front of the eyes of the millions of viewers tuning into the gritty BBC drama. When the show started back in 2014, Ryan, played by Rhys Connah, was just eight years old. Now, he's become a level-headed teenager, despite being the son of murdering criminal Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton) and fans love him.
But it's fair to say that grandmother Catherine (Sarah Lancashire) has given him a tough time over the years, blaming his birth for the suicide of her beloved daughter Becky.
While she worried that Ryan would turn out to be just like his villainous father, during her final face-off with Tommy in the long-awaited finale of series 3 on Sunday, February 5, Catherine told the escaped criminal exactly what we already knew - that her grandson was actually nothing like him.
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During her final confrontation with Tommy in the kitchen of her home, Catherine taunted him, saying: “What I’ve seen in these last few days is how much [Ryan] is nothing like you. I’ve worried long enough but now, that boy is a prince. For all his ups and downs, he is about as unlike you as it is possible to be.”
And viewers were quick to take to Twitter in response with many just repeating her line "that boy is a prince" and posting the crying emoji.
One said: “'That boy is a prince' and you Catherine are a queen." Another added: "'That boy is a prince'. I'm in tears thats pretty much the highest praise anyone could get from Catherine Cawood.
A third said: “'That boy is a prince'. I am SOBBING."
Earlier in the episode, Ryan was questioned by police regarding the contact that he’d had with his father. It was here, to viewers’ surprise, that he ‘fessed up about talking to Tommy over a games console in the previous episode.
Ryan was also responsible for healing Catherine and Clare’s relationship. He told his grandmother: “Clare’s always been there, ever since I can remember… You can’t fall out with her and not because of me.” In the penultimate episode, Ryan provided viewers with the most emotional 10 minutes of TV in ages and you can read about that here.
After three series, the massively popular drama by Sally Wainwright has now reached its conclusion. The writer waited almost seven years between the second and third series as she wanted actor Rhys to be old enough to be involved in tough scenes exploring the relationship between Ryan and his convict father.
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