The opening sequence from Happy Valley's long-awaited third season has been released early, ahead of a New Year's Day broadcast.

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The BBC has released the pre-titles scene for episode one online, featuring Sarah Lancashire in her iconic role of Sergeant Catherine Cawood.

You can watch the five-minute sequence – which contains adult themes and language – below:

In the teaser, Catherine – who is nearing retirement – discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir.

As the new season continues, viewers will see this discovery spark a chain of events that leads Catherine straight back to her nemesis, the jailed murderer and rapist Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton).

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The new episodes will also see Lancashire's character have to contend with her now 16-year-old grandson Ryan, who has ideas of his own about what kind of relationship he wants to have with his biological father Royce.

Norton recently told Radio Times magazine that the final season would leave the audience "reeling", while series creator Sally Wainwright has teased a "big face-to-face showdown" for Catherine and Tommy.

If you're struggling to recall the specifics of where we left the show's character, you can get up to speed ahead of 1st January with our Happy Valley recap.

Read more:

Happy Valley season 3 will premiere on New Year's Day at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The first two seasons are available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.

If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our Drama hub for more news and features.

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