Happy Valley fans stunned to discover secret link from series one that blows murder case wide open

HAPPY Valley fans have been left in shock at discovering a secret link from series one that could alter everything known about Tommy Lee Royce's current court case.

Viewers of the wildly popular BBC series have seen Tommy Lee Royce escape jail after breaking out of court while on trial for his role in the murder of Gary Goggowski.

It is believed that the murder was something to do with the mysterious Knezevic's who appeared to help break Tommy out of the court.

Fans will remember that at the start of the series, Tommy refused to answer questions on Gary's murder and his participation in it but an unearthed clip from series one proved Tommy was aware all along where Gary had vanished to.

In the throwback scene, Tommy was working up at the farm with drug dealer Ashley Cowgill and Lewis Whippey.

With the abduction of Ann Gallagher underway, Lewis became increasingly nervous about the chances of getting caught and what they would have to do with her body should they have to kill her.

As Tommy goads Lewis into telling him he should be the one to kill Ann, Lewis makes the stunning link to the current series' main chain of events.

The young lad says to Ashley: "You must know somebody higher up, somebody who can make people disappear."

A bewildered looking Ashley replies: "Do you think?"

Lewis then bites back: "Gary Goggowski disappeared, Tony Stead says he's sat at the bottom of Scammonden Dam in concrete underpants."

Ashley quickly deflects by insisting no one higher up will know anything about the situation as Tommy looks on.

The current third series opened with Catherine Cawood discovering the human remains of Gary at the bottom of the same dam that Lewis had said.

The shocking connection has left fans wondering if the story has been in the works all along and just how much Tommy does know.

It has also prompted further questions between Tommy and his connection to the Knezevic's after it appeared they were primarily responsible for the death of Gary.

Could Tommy have been the one to tip them off about Ashley when he was brutally shot by two unknown men shorty afterwards?

With Lewis and Ashley both dead, neither of them have been able to speak on Tommy's current case relating to Gary's disappearance.

Commenting on the scene from nine years ago and the connection to today, one fan said: "Omg they literally referenced the body found in series 3 in series 1!"

Another wrote: "Ooo so many connections."

A third echoed: "Omg goes deeper than I realised."

While a fourth penned: "I love how everything's connected."

Fans also heaped praise on the show's writer Sally Wainwright for her impeccable attention to detail in the script.

One fan labelled her the 'Queen of foreshadowing'.

As another said: "Brilliant multi-layered story telling & even that makes it sound too simplistic!"

Happy Valley next airs Sunday at 9pm on BBC One. All episodes so far as well as series 1 and 2 are available on BBC iPlayer.