A HAPPY Valley star has landed a role in HBO smash-hit House of the Dragon – while series three gets a major filming update.
The Game of Thrones prequel debuted in August 2022 and takes place almost two centuries before the original show.
According to Variety, James Norton has signed up to star in the third series.
Happy Valley viewers know James, 39, portrayed Tommy Lee Royce in the BBC crime drama.
He will now be stepping into the world of Westeros as Ormund Hightower.
A description for the character reveals he is “Otto’s (Rhys Ifans) nephew, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Gwayne’s (Freddie Fox) cousin, and the Lord of Oldtown. He is presently leading the Hightower host in a march on King’s Landing to support his house against Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy).”
Ormund had been referenced in the show previously, but is now being introduced physically.
Reacting to James’ casting as Ormund, one viewer wrote on X: “Great actor! Looking forward to it.”
Another penned: “Good addition.”
While a third said: “Oh, this is going to be good!.. House of the Dragon just keeps getting better and better.”
A source close to the show told The Sun that series three is in production, with filming starting next month for airing in 2026.
Elsewhere, James also had a starring role in the ITV detective drama Grantchester.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Happy Valley’s James Norton comes to blows with rival in first loop at gripping new ITV drama Playing Nice” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6365462440112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]He played 1950s Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers, who turns sleuth in the village.
This saw him team up with DI Geordie Keating (Robson Green) to solve crimes.
Since leaving the show in 2019, James was replaced by Tom Brittney and more recently, Rishi Nair.
James was also previously announced to star in Netflix epic historical drama House of Guinness.
It will see him team up with Game of Thrones legend Jack Gleeson, who played infamous villain Joffrey Baratheon.
The upcoming series has been penned by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
He also stars in four-part ITV drama Playing Nice, portraying the role of Pete Riley.
The premise follows two couples discovering their babies were switched at birth.
