This is the gripping story at the heart of the hit BBC drama Happy Valley – Sarah Lancashire’s police sergeant Catherine Cawood tries to keep her grandson Ryan away from his psychopathic father.
But in real life, the teenage actor who plays Ryan has forged a heartwarming bond with James Norton, the Hollywood star who portrays dangerous convict Tommy Lee Royce with such manipulative menace.
Sources say Norton has even become something of a father figure to his protégé, Rhys Connah, who has become estranged from his own father.
In real life, teenage actor Rhys Connah, who plays Ryan, developed a heartwarming bond with James Norton, the Hollywood star who plays dangerous inmate Tommy Lee Royce.
“It’s the best bond they have, they’ve loved working together through the three series and they keep in touch outside of Happy Valley.” It was so inspiring for Rhys to see James’ rise to fame and success.
Connah, now 16, was indeed full of praise for his mentor, saying: “He adds as much to the character as the energy. You see him on set between takes and he’s such a nice person, and then we start filming and he immediately calls and there’s this psychopath.”
The pair shared photos of their encounters on social media, including an afternoon in London enjoying an orange juice when Connah was just seven.
They also posted heartwarming pictures of themselves on set together. One shows Norton, 37, handing Connah a picture frame with three photos of them together with a sign reading “The Boys.”
The couple play father and son, Tommy Lee Royce and Ryan, in the hit BBC drama Happy Valley
Connah was raised by his single mother, Jennie Hoolahan (36). Outside of acting, he uses her surname in place of his absent father’s. Connah is his middle name and also his beloved grandmother’s maiden name.
The three live with Connah’s younger brother in a three-bedroom house in Oldham. In another example of art imitating reality, his Happy Valley character Ryan also lives with his grandmother. Jennie also posted pictures on social media of her son Norton seeing Grantchester in another BBC drama.
And after the first season of Happy Valley aired, Norton urged his Twitter followers to vote for Connah to switch on the Christmas lights in his nearby town of Heywood – although he was ultimately unsuccessful.
After filming the third series of Happy Valley last year, the pair met on the red carpet in December for the premiere at the Vue cinema in Halifax, Yorkshire. They posed for photos together and were spotted having deep conversations and laughs at the event.
Since playing the breakout role of Tommy Lee Royce, Norton has appeared in films such as Little Women and Rogue Agent, as well as TV shows such as McMafia and War And Peace.
The pair shared photos of their encounters on social media, including an afternoon in London enjoying an orange juice when Connah was just seven.
Connah has also grown his acting career, appearing in the 2017 TV adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s novel The White Princess alongside Jodie Comer and Suki Waterhouse and starring in the 2019 British film The Runaways.
Wainwright rates Connah so highly that she had to wait seven years between Seasons 2 and 3 of Happy Valley to allow the actor to age a little and give his character a more central role.
“The plan was to wait until Ryan is older so he can make his own decisions about whether he wants to interact with his father or not,” she said.
In season three, which airs tonight at 9pm on BBC1, Ryan visits Tommy in prison behind his grandmother’s back.
She desperately tries to keep him out of Tommy’s life as she believes he is responsible for her daughter Becky’s suicide after raping her.
Despite his acting skills, Connah has kept his feet on the ground and is still a member of the Red Dragon Explorer Scout Pack in Heywood.
In November he was their flag bearer for the Remembrance Sunday service. It certainly won’t be the last starring role for this talented young star.
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Ashley Root is an author and celebrity journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for all things celebrity, Ashley is always up-to-date on the latest gossip and trends in the world of entertainment.
