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Wales Online
Wales Online
Lifestyle
Lydia Stephens

BBC Happy Valley viewers 'swoon' over villain Tommy Lee Royce's prison haircut

Happy Valley viewers have described how pleased they were to see TV villain Tommy Lee Royce get a haircut in Sunday night's tense episode. The character, played by James Norton, had his long scruffy locks and grown out beard transformed into a short back and sides with a clean shaven face.

One viewer asked "Did anyone else accidentally swoon when Tommy was having his haircut?" and another said: "Who knew that watching a fictional psychopath having a haircut could be such a sensual experience?"

Viewers revelled as they saw Tommy shirtless in his cell receiving the haircut from a fellow prisoner in return for four cans of tuna. The haircut itself was actually done by a real-life barber called Gaz from Manchester's Cutthroat Barbershop, the Guardian reports.

Read more: The Happy Valley actors who starred in an '80s film classic together that's really filthy

As his hair was being shaved off, Tommy was listening to Nirvana's acoustic version of Where Did You Sleep Last Night? or In The Pines. The song is about a man who asks if his wife has been cheating on him. The song seems to grow louder as Tommy was transformed.

Viewers couldn't get over the character's transformation, and one person described it as the "world's most menacing haircut to the most nonchalant bust out ever".

James Norton has played Tommy Lee Royce since the first series of Happy Valley and Tommy is attempting to build a relationship with his son Ryan in the third series, despite the utter disapproval of Ryan's grandmother and police woman Catherine, who blames him for her daughter's death.

James was born in London in 1985 and grew up in Yorkshire. After studying theology at the University of Cambridge James attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. You can keep up to date with the latest TV news by signing up to the newsletter here.

His early roles include Guy Edwards in the 2013 film Rush and he shot to fame as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley where he won a Bafta for Best Supporting Actor in 2015. You can read more about James here.

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