“You’d just open your capsule door, stick your antennae out briefly and turn around and go home, wouldn’t you,” says Joyce to Sergeant Catherine Cawood, talking about aliens landing in Todmorden, the next town along from Hebden Bridge. There were dozens of moments in the third series of BBC’s crime drama Happy Valley, which has just picked up six BAFTA nominations, that resonated with Hebden Bridgers, but perhaps none more than this.
But what could be wrong with the place? The West Yorkshire town has become famous for being a social and cultural oasis in the old weaving heartland: it’s known as the lesbian capital of the UK (at one point it reportedly had more lesbians per square foot than anywhere else in the UK, and this reputation has stuck), has a booming arts community, a Picturehouse cinema, and is home to an iconic music venue that’s hosted the likes of The Fall and Patti Smith. And all with a population of around just 4,500 people.
