Tommy Lee Royce

Royce displays many traits of psychopathy, which become evident when he callously and sadisdicly runs over and kills a young police woman to evade being caught in the middle of a kidnapping plot, and it seems the only thing he takes an interest in other than maintaining his signature hair-do is the obsessive pursuit of his son, Ryan, by the woman he raped eight years earlier. Royce is a serial rapist, drug offender, and, as the series progresses, eventual triple murderer. He is both cold and vindictive, and seems to delight in displaying dominance and testing people's limits. Finding that she has none, he despises Catherine Cawood and, seemingly, all women, including his own mother who he is physically abusive towards.

Series 1
Recently released from prison after serving eight years for drugs related offences, the seemingly quiet and unassuming Tommy finds himself a job working for Ashley Cowgill, a property developer with a successful drugs dealership on the side.

Before spending time in prison, Royce was seemingly in a relationship with troubled teenager, Rebecca "Becky" Cawood, daughter of Catherine and Richard, who he is believed to have raped, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy, and Becky's eventual suicide. Tommy was never reported for this crime.

Through Ashley, Tommy becomes involved in the kidnap and abduction of Ann Gallagher, the daughter of millionaire businessman Nevison Gallagher - an uneasy plan cooked up between Ashley and Nevison's employee Kevin Weatherill, who rents one of Ashley’s caravans as a weekend retreat for himself and his family.

Once Ann Gallagher has been abducted, Tommy quickly reveals his true colours when left alone with Ann while she is being held captive in a basement and menacingly asks her if she is a virgin before raping her, later realised by Lewis when he finds her underwear on the floor.

After 3 days of her being held captive, Ashley agrees with Tommy, and believes they should kill Ann because she knows too much. Tommy takes on the responsibility of killing her, the others involved not nwating to know any details; with this freedom, Tommy takes Ann to his mother's cellar, where he plans on keeping her as a sex slave before killing her. Following up on Tommy because his Mother's address is down as his release address, Sergeant Catherine Cawood visits Lynn's house and after becoming suspicious, discovers Ann tied up in the basement. Catherine sets about freeing her just as Tommy returns. A fight breaks out, Tommy viciously beats Catherine, Ann frees herself and attacks him and Catherine puts pepper spray in his eyes. Ann drags a near-fatally injured Catherine out of the cellar, leaving Tommy blinded. He later escapes the scene before Catherine's colleagues can find him. Royce turns to Lewis after he is cut loose by Ashley. Lewis organises for them to hide out in the flat of his mate, Brett McKendrick. Things turn ugly following a sudden house to house by the police searching for them in connection with the murder of P.C. Kirsten McAskill, after hearing Lewis begging Brett to come with him to turn Royce in, a fight presumably breaks out between Tommy and Lewis, as when Brett returns to his flat later, he finds Tommy in the bathroom with stab wounds and when he offers to give Lewis a doing over as punishment, Tommy is confused that Brett thinks Lewis is asleep in the living roomConcerned, n he goes to checkand e finds Lewis lying in a pool of blood having had his throat slit. Tommy comes out of the bathroom to check Brett isn't going to be a problem, but when he becomes hysterical with shock, Tommy wrestles him to the floor, strangling him before taking his clothes in order to escape the flat. Finding wanted posters of him and Lewis everywhere, he slips into a charity shopaand emerges ina simple disguise and catching a bus to Hebden Brid, being narrowly missed by a nearby Catherine and Ryange.

Having been watching his son Ryan at a distance, Royce catches him outside a local shop and takes his chance to approach him, as they chat, he convinces Ryan to go with him to a boat on the canal he has broken into and is taking refuge in. Ryan makes an error of judgement by bringing his friend Chesco to meet his dad, infuriating him. Believing he will soon be caught and suffering with septicemia, Royce plans suicide for him and Ryan as an act of revenge and on Ryan's next visit he pours petrol over himself and his son, seeing too much of himself in him and believing that neither of them will ever be able to live a normal life. Before he can light the two of them on fire, Catherine is alerted by Clare that Ryan has been visiting his Dad and they go to find the boat and when Ryan screams out, Catherine runs to save him, getting him out, she severely batters Tommy, who is already weak from his injuries, despite him begging her to kill him, she sprays him with foam before kicking him again, having to be pulled off by her colleagues before she does kill him. It's a bitter-sweet victory for Catherine, as Royce is taken to the hospital for treatment before being convicted and sent to a prison in London.

Series 2
Prison life, it seems, suits Tommy. He’s healthy again, has been making use of the allowed gym time, his signature hair has been shaved and he now bears a crucifix tattoos on his neck and head, indicating a possible foray into religion. Tommy's notoriety has earned him an army of hybristophilic women who want to save him from himself and will stop at nothing to please him, such as regular visitor, Frances. Tommy receives the disturbing news that his mother has been brutally murdered.

Royce seemingly convinces himself that Catherine Cawood is responsible as an act of revenge against him, and to stop his mother, who shares with Catherine the role of grandmother to Tommy's son Ryan, from trying to see the child after Catherine left threatening messages on Lynn's answering machine when she told Ryan that she is his other Granny, although it is never made clear if this is just part of his manipulation of Frances in order to get her to carry out his revenge against Catherine on his behalf. Catherine makes a bold and ill-judged appearance at Lynn's funeral, with the full intention of goading Royce. After being made aware of her presence by infatuated Frances, it provokes an explosive, foul-mouthed and violent outburst, in which he has to be restrained to the floor by guards as he attempts to attack a glaring and unphased Catherine before he is carried out of the crematorium, he can still be heard shouting abuse in the distance.

Enlisting the help of Frances, Royce encourages her to make Catherine's life a misery. Frances, only willing to help build a relationship between him and Ryan begins sending Ryan letters and gifts on his behalf in the hopes of gaining his affections towards his father, Tommy is not particularly impressed by this, looking for direct action towards Catherine. The attempts are foiled by Catherine, though Ryan expresses lots of interest in meeting his dad again, desperate for a father figure. As the series ends with Frances realising she is one of many in Tommy's affections, and he is informed by prison staff that he won't receive anymore letters or visits until further notice, causing him to start trashing his cell and having to be restrained. In a further scene, where his privileges have been reinstated, an officer who referring to him as "sweet cheeks" gives him his 'fan mail', amongst which is a letter from Ryan, thanking him for his birthday present and telling him that he loves him, leaving Tommy smiling smugly.

Catherine watches Ryan as he runs along the moors, thrashing the ground with a stick. It is clear to the audience that she sees too much of Royce in him, too.

This thought is disturbing enough without thinking about what would happen if he was to succeed in fulfilling his twisted fantasy of putting Catherine out of her misery and claiming what’s his… his son Ryan.

Series 3 is confirmed as of 26th October 2021 and is to begin filming in early 2022, airing later in the year, where according to Creator and Writer, Sally Wainwright, the story of Tommy is expected to be told and seeing what a now teenage Ryan is like.