Happy Valley Page #2

Season #1 Episode #6

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11 EXT. CANAL TOW PATH, HEBDEN BRIDGE. DAY 15. 14.30 11

TOMMY’s taking shelter under a canal bridge along the tow

path. He inhales deeply on a cigarette. He sees the narrow

boats parked all along the canal bank, all of them closed up

for the winter. The whole place seems odd and silent and

deserted. TOMMY flicks his fag into the canal, pulls his

collar up, and walks along the tow-path.

It gets more and more eerie and deserted and quiet the

further he goes. The narrow boats become more and more

sparse. Some of them look like they’ve been deserted for

years. You wouldn’t be surprised to see The Lady Of Shallot

floating along. TOMMY sees one with nothing more than a

padlock keeping it secure.

He steps on board and knocks on the window - tap tap tap. He

waits. As he suspected, nothing, no-one. He looks around. He

finds a lock key - a weighty metal shaft used for opening the

locks - and uses it to lever off the padlock. It’s an effort,

but eventually it works: the padlock pops off.

HAPPY VALLEY. EPISODE SIX. BY SALLY WAINWRIGHT. 7.

TOMMY falls over with the effort, and it takes a moment for

him to recover himself in his weakened state.

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12 INT. NARROW BOAT. DAY 15. 14.31 12

It’s dark and sparse inside the narrow boat, but it has some

basic amenities:
a kitchen, a gas hob, even a kettle. TOMMY

closes and bolts the doors behind him, looking out again to

check that no-one’s spotted him. He wanders through to the

next bit, and finds a narrow double-sized bunk. He levers

himself down onto it. He’s exhausted but his mind’s buzzing.

He knows this is the end, in some shape or form. And the only

really clear thing in his mind is RYAN. We get into his

(slightly delirious?) thoughts, his memory of his earlier

encounter with CATHERINE, the one before he beat her up

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13 EXT. STREET, HEBDEN BRIDGE. DAY 10. 15.16 13

TOMMY LEE ROYCE appears right in front of CATHERINE

TOMMY:

You wanted to see me.

-but it’s RYAN he’s looking at. We now see the whole thing

from RYAN’s point of view (which we didn’t last time).

CATHERINE pulls the car door open and bundles RYAN in...

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14 INT. CATHERINE’S CAR. DAY 10. 15.17 14

We’re with RYAN as he witnesses the scene between his granny

and this stranger. A lot of it’s hush hush; RYAN can’t make

out everything that’s being said [and maybe the following

scene shouldn’t be played out literally, it’s more like an

impression, a memory, a truncated version of the original

scene] and what he can make out doesn’t make much sense to

him. RYAN’s fascinated and terrified

CATHERINE:

Where’re you living?

TOMMY:

Is that my son?

CATHERINE:

I know you’re not at your release

address. Which is where you should

be living, so where you living?

HAPPY VALLEY. EPISODE SIX. BY SALLY WAINWRIGHT. 8.

TOMMY:

I am living there. Is that my son?

CATHERINE:

No. Not according to your mother

you’re not. What were you doing at

Milton Avenue?

TOMMY:

What?

CATHERINE:

Number sixty two Milton Avenue,

Sowerby Bridge. What were you doing

there?

TOMMY:

Must be somebody who looks like me.

CATHERINE:

Okay. Well we’ll see. When I get

the swabs and prints back from the

lab.

TOMMY:

How come Becky’s dead?

CATHERINE:

I’m not talking to you about my

daughter.

TOMMY:

That’s my lad.

CATHERINE heads for the driver’s door.

CATHERINE:

He’s got nothing to do with you.

TOMMY:

You know me and your Becky had a

thing going on.

She goes back and gets right in his face.

CATHERINE:

A ‘thing going on’? You twisted

little bastard, you raped her.

TOMMY:

I didn’t.

CATHERINE:

I know what you did to her because

she told me. You better not cross

me, arse hole. Because if you do, I

will chop your dick off and I’ll

make you swallow it.

(MORE)

HAPPY VALLEY. EPISODE SIX. BY SALLY WAINWRIGHT. 9.

CATHERINE (CONT'D)

Is there anything I’ve said you

don’t understand?

CATHERINE gives it a moment to sink in, then heads for the

car. TOMMY goes and bangs on the window, his face only two

inches from RYAN’s.

TOMMY:

You’re my son! I’m your dad! You’re

my son, Ryan! I knew your mum!

TOMMY pulls at the door handle, but terrified RYAN’s locked

in (terrified but fascinated). CATHERINE gets in and drives

off, a bit too fast, doesn’t pause to put her seat belt on.

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15 INT. RYAN’S SCHOOL, CLASSROOM. DAY 15. 14.45 15

On RYAN. He’s also thinking about that same incident (and has

been on and off ever since it happened). MRS.MUKHERJEE’s

reading The Railway Children before home-time. The children

sit around her in a circle. RYAN’s miles away, thinking about

the man who said he was his dad (and maybe MRS.MUKHERJEE’s

reading a story that happens to have ‘dad’ in it).

MRS MUKHERJEE:

"I knew something wonderful was

going to happen," said Bobbie, as

they went up the road, "but I

didn't think it was going to be

this. Oh, my Daddy, my Daddy!"

"Then didn't Mother get my letter?"

Father asked.

"There weren't any letters this

morning. Oh! Daddy! it IS really

you, isn't it?"

The clasp of a hand she had not

forgotten assured her that it was.

"You must go in by yourself,

Bobbie, and tell Mother quite

quietly that it's all right.

They've caught the man who did it.

Everyone knows now that it wasn't

your Daddy."

"I always knew it wasn't," said

Bobbie.

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16 EXT. SCHOOL. DAY 15. 15.15 16

CATHERINE waits for RYAN as he emerges from the school. No

MRS.MUKHERJEE, much to CATHERINE’s relief.

HAPPY VALLEY. EPISODE SIX. BY SALLY WAINWRIGHT. 9A.

CATHERINE:

Y’had a good day?

RYAN:

Yep.

CATHERINE:

You sure?

RYAN:

Yes.

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17 EXT. NISA. DAY 15. 15.30 17

RYAN leaves the Nisa, CATHERINE’s right behind him (we

recognise the street where TOMMY bought pills just a few

hours ago). RYAN (with bike and helmet) has a packet of

sweets that CATHERINE’s just bought for him.

HAPPY VALLEY. EPISODE SIX. BY SALLY WAINWRIGHT. 10.

CATHERINE:

I’m sorry I’ve not been much fun

lately.

RYAN:

(struggling to open his

sweets)

S’all right.

CATHERINE:

(she offers to take the

sweets off him to open

them)

I miss your mum sometimes, that’s

all.

Saying that just suddenly makes her emotional.

RYAN:

(he notices)

Why’re you crying?

CATHERINE:

(brushing it off, trying

to smile)

Oh, it just happens. When you get

to my age.

RYAN takes his opened sweets back and heads off. He calls

back happily

RYAN:

It’ll be reight.

CATHERINE watches after him. She’s still struggling with how

she feels about him. She wants to get over it. But bad

feelings keep dragging her back.

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18 EXT. NARROW BOAT. DAY 16. 06.45 18

Dawn over the canal. A new day. It’s grey, cold, damp.

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19 INT. NARROW BOAT. DAY 16. 06.46 19

TOMMY’s awoken by the gentle movement and sound of another

narrow boat as it chugs past on the canal.

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