A strong heroine we really believe in
WHAT a fantastic article by Special Constable Penny Lancaster — aka Mrs Rod Stewart — about Sarah Lancashire’s portrayal of a superb female police officer in TV’s Happy Valley series (Mail).
Like Penny, I love it when Sgt Catherine Cawood patiently explains things to her superiors and the shots of her walking in such an authoritative, no-nonsense manner.
Sally Wainwright’s scripts are immaculate in their descriptive writing. What are we all going to do when this series comes to an end?
DOREEN BATES, Huntingdon, Cambs.
I AGREE with Penny Lancaster that Happy Valley is an accurate picture of policing in Britain. I’m thrilled that I live near where the series is filmed. JULIE BOTTOMLEY, Hebden Bridge, W. Yorks.
WHY is Happy Valley such a popular programme? Because the storylines are realistic and Sarah Lancashire is a brilliant actress. The characters and dialogue are based on common sense.
M. BUSBY, Birchington, Kent. ANOTHER female storyline that fits the BBC Goddess mould. Sgt Catherine Cawood is middle-aged, overweight, not been to a hairdresser for months and her uniform is tatty. She has a dysfunctional family. Most of her potty-mouthed dialogue is lost as she mumbles into her high-viz chest. Her only friend is her former husband, who apologises — often — for being a male. But she’s a rough, tough copper and that soothes the BBC profile for its heavily feminist output. Every male character is a wimp, stupid or abusive and misogynistic, while all the women are intelligent, worldly wise, sarcastic and anti-men. DAVID LLEWELLYN, Swindon, Wilts.