Sally Wainwright on Happy Valley: 'We know where the story's going to go'

It must the question that Sally Wainwright gets asked most during interviews – is there any news about Happy Valley season 3?

Now the BAFTA-winning writer has opened up on where she’s at with the next instalment of the hit drama. But it might not be the answer her fans are wanting to hear.

She told Digital Spy: "We’ve got pretty clear ideas of where the story's going to go."

But that doesn’t mean we should expect to see more episodes any time soon, sadly.

She explained to the entertainment website, "It's not on the back-burner as such, it’s just going to take me a long time to get to it because I’ve got to do Gentleman Jack 2 now, and I’ve just finished writing series five of Last Tango, which I start filming in September."

Wainwright brought Gentleman Jack, her passion project about real life Yorkshire woman Anne Lister, to BBC One this April. The drama, developed with HBO, has been a massive success and has already been commissioned for a second series.

Read more: ‘Gentleman Jack’: HBO & BBC Renew Sally Wainwright’s Suranne Jones-Fronted Period Drama For Season 2

When Happy Valley first debuted on BBC One in 2014, it shook up drama fans with its tough storylines and unexpected twists. It also made a star out of James Norton and won Sarah Lancashire a BAFTA (her second. Her first was for Wainwright’s Last Tango in Halifax).

Several of the Happy Valley cast have roles in Gentleman Jack. Fans of both shows will recognise Sophie Rundle (who played the young cop, who met a sticky end), George Costigan and Joe Armstrong from Wainwright’s earlier work.

So while Happy Valley season 3 is still happening it won’t be any time soon. Until then, both seasons of the drama are available to watch on Netflix.