Cucumber stars Julie Hesmondhalgh, Con O’Neill and Vincent Franklin will join Sarah Lancashire in the new season of Happy Valley.

Six new episodes of Sally Wainwright’s drama will air on BBC One in 2016.

The first season of Happy Valley pulled in a weekly consolidated audience of almost 8 million and an average overnight audience of 5.5 million last year.

> Buy Season 1 on DVD on Amazon.

Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango In Halifax) will be back as police sergeant Catherine Cawood in Season 2, alongside returning cast members Siobhan Finneran (Downton Abbey), James Norton (Granchester), George Costigan (Homefront), Karl Davies (Emmerdale) and Charlie Murphy (The Village).

New additions to the cast include Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge), Julie Hesmondhalgh (Cucumber), Shirley Henderson (Jamaica Inn), Amelia Bullmore (Scott & Bailey), Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey), Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter), Con O’Neill (Cucumber) and Vincent Franklin (Cucumber).

Writer Sally Wainwright commented: “I am thrilled to be embarking on a second series. We were delighted and overwhelmed with the viewers’ response to series one and it’s clear that there’s a huge appetite to see more of the characters and drama among the TV-viewing public.”

Executive producer Nicola Shindler added: “Sally created a truly magnificent series with very real, complex characters, an engaging plot and breathtaking storylines. I am delighted and excited to be delving deeper into Catherine’s world in series two.”

Are you looking forward to Season 2? Let us know below…