A Yorkshire-based crime drama set in Calder Valley (sarcastically called Happy Valley), Happy Valley (2014-2023) follows the life of policewoman Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), whose personal life is as complicated as the area is full of crime.
The show ended with rave reviews in February 2023 and is currently available on BBC iPlayer in its entirety.
the character
Con plays Neil Ackroyd, the new love interest for Catherine’s sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran), for 11 episodes in the latter half of season two and all of season three.
Gif: feelmyskin – tumblr
Clare and Neil attended the same school, but after a random meeting outside the corner shop Neil is working at, they reconnect and become fast friends.
Neil, we find out, has a troubled past. He’s divorced from his wife and estranged from his kids after an affair with a woman who had blackmailed him. The same woman will blackmail another character in the show leading to another plot line. I just want to give the highlights and it’s worth checking out the show in its entirety to get all the details.
What I think makes the dynamic believable between Neil and Clare is how they support and complement each other. They’re both recovering addicts and both use during the series but above all they seem at ease together. It’s not smooth sailing though, Catherine, isn’t a fan, and Neil immediately seems uneasy around her, he isn’t a big fan of the whole cop thing. It doesn’t stop Clare and Neil from starting a relationship and later moving in together, though.
If this is the first time you see Con onscreen, you might be surprised to see some of his other roles. Neil comes across as meek when we first meet him, or maybe it’s just me watching a normal, realistic character after seeing Con’s portrayal of Izzy Hands in Our Flag Means Death. Either way, this corner shop clerk isn’t loud and brash yet, (we’ll get to that), instead, he’s a little shy and awkward talking to Clare. He come across as likeable and it sets up sober vs drunk Neil.
Or maybe it’s just the glasses… are those prescription lenses?
the experience
Let’s get into it.
When I first started watching these episodes, I was multi-tasking and just listening since Con, as a supporting character, only shows up for a few minutes at a time for the first few episodes of series two.
Quiet and meek Neil goes out the window for episode five of series two when he gets drunk and gets into a fight. We’re treated to a much louder, more aggressive and shirtless Neil.
As the tweet above says, I heard him before I saw him.
Creating a public disturbance is generally not a good impression to make on the police officer sister of the woman you’ve been seeing. Needing her help to get your shirt back on even more so.
This TikTok shows the entire drunk!Neil interaction – every cringey moment.
This is not the last time you’ll hear a Con character call another character a twat, and not the last time in this project I’ll mention a character that Con O’Neill has played being amazing if occasionally cringey. I use the term cringe in the way drunk people make you cringe, or someone embarrasses themselves, and you cringe for that person.
I’ll touch on it when we get to the project but there is a very specific unhinged laugh that Con does that is that kind of cringe. It’s awkward but effective.
Some of Con’s best performances come as reactions to things that happen off-screen. His introspective and efficient portrayal of Neil is paired with a plot where Neil steps in to help Ryan (Rhys Connah), Catherine’s grandson, secretly visit his father Tommy in prison, played brilliantly by James Norton.
Neil just wants to help, he is a dad after all and thinks that taking Ryan there is better than him finding another way. However, when Clare gets involved and hides it from Catherine their entire relationship is put in jeopardy. Ryan’s father is someone Catherine has expressly forbidden Ryan to associate with.
Going against Catherine, not liking police, and helping Ryan combined with his past affairs led to many fan theories and entire newspaper articles speculating that Neil was much darker and more than he appeared – that he was a killer, that he was helping Tommy, or was related to Tommy and even the idea that he was Tommy’s father and Ryan’s grandfather.
Spoiler: He’s not related. Con is just a very, very good actor, and he was able to work with the writing the show gave him. Plenty of tweets apologizing to the character for thinking he was a bad guy were posted after the finale aired.
Conversely, Tumblr has identified the Neil character with more important and nuanced hashtags: “baby” and “soft.”
Agree.
the wrap up
Con does a great job playing a supporting character in this show, but that’s something he does well in all his roles, and we’ll see that going forward in this Con Collective Project. He doesn’t steal the spotlight or chew the scenery, he has all of three lines in the last couple of episodes but he has the ability to keep you aware that he’s there and the screen wouldn’t look right with his absence.
So, if you’re thinking: Kat, I’m here to observe Con O’Neill’s acting talent, but I don’t really want to watch 11 episodes of a BBC crime show and don’t care about spoilers, how can I fix that?
Well, reader I just made up, Tiktok has you covered with this Neil montage.
Let’s end it with the video that seems to be the one most people found when they went looking to hear Con’s “actual voice” based on the comments. Just ignore the Youtube doctors who keep trying to explain his voice.
Enjoy an interview he gave at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2017 in London, where he talks for two minutes, mostly praising the cast of Happy Valley and his hopes for the last season of the show.
Join us next time for another Con O’Neill performance as I attempt to consume his entire filmography.
Have you watched Happy Valley, and if so, what did you think? What else do you want to see in these entries?
Leave a comment and let me know!
Pondering Fandoms 