Hit TV series Happy Valley, starring Oldham actress Sarah Lancashire, was the most searched TV show on Google in the UK last year.

The tech giant has revealed the top searches on its engine during 2023, including TV shows, films, celebrities and more.

The Yorkshire-based drama aired in February this year and took the nation by storm, with Lancashire stealing the show as the no-nonsense Sergeant Catherine Cawood.

Lancashire's stunning performance on the most-searched show of the year saw her win both best drama performance and the special recognition award at the National Television Awards (NTAs) in September, as well as a Rose d'Or award last month.

Shortly after the NTAs, the 59-year-old opened up about her struggles with menopause, telling The Mail on Sunday: “I’m having the most terrible menopause. I’ve got brain fog.

“I was in Sainsbury’s the other day, and I found myself just stood there in the aisle and could not remember what I was there for. It just comes over you all of a sudden.

“I can’t remember things that happened 30 years ago either.”

She added that she was struggling with heat and had to have two fans on her at all times during the NTAs.

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Elsewhere, Oppenheimer was the number one searched for film on Google in the UK, with Barbie in second.

The two films had the same release date, leading many to dub the phenomenon Barbenheimer.

Google says the death of Friends star Matthew Perry was the most searched for celebrity death of the year, according to the multinational technology company.

Among the most searched for artists were Sam Smith, rock band Arctic Monkeys, Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, the recently reformed S Club 7 and American pop star Taylor Swift, who has recently been announced as Time Magazine’s person of the year.