Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
THANK THE LORD – THEY’RE BACK!
It took nothing short of a miracle to make the bumper new series of Grantchester, which sees DI Geordie’s marriage fracture as his secret post-traumatic stress disorder is exposed
The new series of Grantchester begins with a well-deserved trip away that promises joy... yet fails to deliver. Sound familiar? It is fitting in these times of pandemic, travel restrictions and torrential rain that the characters in the hugely popular crime series based in 1950s Cambridgeshire are finding it as tricky to have a jolly holiday as the rest of us.
Thankfully, the cast who were filming the scenes managed to thoroughly enjoy themselves while shooting at the fictional Merries camp, constructed in abandoned barracks in Aldershot.
‘It was lovely,’ says Al Weaver, Grantchester’s sweet, fluttery curate, Leonard Finch. ‘After the lockdown lay-off, it felt like a nice big holiday for everyone.’
The Grantchester team definitely deserved a break, because production on this sixth series was so beset by challenges it’s a miracle it was ever made.
If the hazards of planning a shoot under Covid restrictions weren’t enough, leading man Tom Brittney, who plays Reverend Will Davenport, caught the virus just before filming started. ‘I got very ill,’ says Tom. ‘I
hospitalised but I was very unwell. It was scary. At one stage I coughed so much I passed out. ‘I remember crying, thinking,
going to shut down filming. ruined everything!” Luckily recovered just in time.’
Then, on the very first day at work, another spanner was thrown in the works by Tessa Peake-jones, who plays the vicar’s grumpy housekeeper Mrs Chapman.
‘I was walking down the stairs in the vicarage and, one step from the bottom, I thought I’d reached the ground and went over on my ankle,’ she says. ‘I broke that and, it later turned out, my foot.
‘In the event, I wore a sort of boot so I didn’t need crutches. Indeed, I was dancing with my screen husband [Nick Brimble] in the scenes at the holiday camp.’
Thankfully filming continued without another hitch and they’ve delivered an eight-episode series – longer than the usual six – that Robson Green, who plays Detective Inspector Geordie Keating, says is going to be a real thriller. ‘It’s explosive in parts,’ he says, ‘and sometimes incredibly funny. Without a doubt, it’s the best yet.’
In the early days, James Runcie’s Grantchester novels provided the source material for a series that has built in popularity since its first outing in October 2014. ‘But we ran out of his books a couple of series ago,’ says producer Richard Cookson. ‘Now the writing team originate the stories although James is actively involved as a script consultant.’
Richard says the extra episodes have allowed them to put a few of the best-loved characters through the wringer. ‘It lets us explore subjects in greater depth. There’s a theme of how morality and legality butt into each other – perfect when the two principal characters are a vicar and a policeman. The truth is on trial, if you like.’
DI Geordie is one of those facing a torrid time. ‘His corrosive past comes to the surface,’ reveals Robson. ‘We know he was a prisoner of war in Burma, but he’s never talked about it.’ Then a man Geordie knew in Burma, played by Shaun Dooley, turns up. ‘And he triggers all of those secrets Geordie’s kept hidden. I think viewers will be moved. They’ll have a better understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder.’
So, how does this impact on Geordie’s relationship with his wife Cathy? ‘It fractures in a gutwrenching scene because she wants to know why he’s going down this path of self-destruction. It’s shocking,’ says Robson.
The pair end up butting heads, says Kacey Ainsworth, who is cast as Cathy. ‘She isn’t a wallflower. Since going back to work she’s become a union leader who stands up for people. And that includes herself.’
Another character in the firing line is curate Leonard, who gets caught in a compromising situation at the holiday camp with his partner Daniel Marlowe (Oliver Dimsdale), at a time when samesex relationships were illegal. ‘One of the staff wants revenge because he feels slighted by Leonard and starts telling people certain things,’ says actor Al Weaver.
Leonard’s plight affects Mrs Chapman too, who has come to care for Leonard deeply, says Tessa Peake-jones. ‘He’s become her surrogate son. She clucks about
round him and Will. But her morality is tested over Leonard’s problems.’
All of this, of course, has huge repercussions for Leonard. ‘The writers take this character you love, and they torture him, forcing him to go inside himself and find every part of strength that he has to come out on top,’ says Al.
How does he think fans will react to this potentially ruinous chapter in Leonard’s life? ‘There are no funny bits for me this time and I love doing all that stuff, running into a room with some Marigolds on. We’re dealing with big issues so I hope fans understand we want to shine a light on a very dark period in history.’
All the tough storylines and drama on set helped to bring the cast together this series like never before, says
‘The writers torture this character that you love’
Tom Brittney, whose character Rev Will came into the show to replace the lead role of Sidney Chambers, played by James Norton. ‘This is my third series and now I really feel part of the family,’ says Tom. ‘In fact, I was talking to some of the others and we’re going to design a Grantchester tattoo. I’ll never reveal where it is on my body. I’m a vicar. I can’t have it on my face.’
Will Al follow suit? ‘Tom can go first! Then we’ll see. Maybe I’ll get one of Mrs C with a duster?’ What about Kacey? ‘I bought a Jack Russell and called him Leonard. I thought that would get me out of the tattoo situation. But apparently he won’t be enough for me to demonstrate my devotion to this show.’ n