MORE MURDER, VICAR?

As Grantchester returns for series seven,william falls in love – but first he must help Geordie find the killer of a globetrotting toff

When aristocrat Edmund Fitzgerald is found dead in an outhouse on his rambling Cambridgeshire estate, it looks like an open and shut case. A heart attack, says DC Larry Peters. Don’t be so sure, cautions more experienced detective Geordie Keating. Instinct tells him there’s more to this death than meets the eye… and so it proves.

The seventh series of Grantchester, the whodunnit show that rivals Midsomer Murders for suspicious deaths in picturesque locations, begins with an episode set in the long, hot summer of 1959. It involves love, lust, jazz, plus poetry, a punch-up and... murder.

Edmund had just returned to England after more than ten years abroad. Evidence of a blow to the eye suggests his homecoming wasn’t peaceful, and several potential killers start to emerge.

A love letter Edmund received from girlfriend Irene Gibbons is found in his jacket pocket. Interviews with Irene, and her handyman father at their home in Grantchester, reveal more about the young lovers’ relationship.

Edmund’s sisters, Adele and Maude, are also grilled as Geordie and his crime-solving partner the Reverend William Davenport try to discover how much they knew about their brother’s return to the family home... and his untimely death. ‘William accompanied

Geordie to the open day at the Fitzgerald estate, when Edmund’s body was discovered by police,’ explains Robson Green, who plays DI Geordie Keating. ‘Adele is a bride-to-be who William had visited in his capacity as vicar.’

The case proves challenging for Geordie. He’s off-duty when the crime comes to light and his overbearing new boss, DCI Wallace, puts DC Peters in charge. But he’s clearly out of his depth, and Geordie has to launch his own more skilful investigation. DI Keating is also dealing with agony in his private life – the breakdown of his marriage to Cathy. ‘He’s moved from the family home into the spare room at the vicarage, but is desperate to win back Cathy,’ says Robson. ‘He sees horticulture,

and one flower in particular, as a way of winning back her heart.’

William’s love life appears far more promising. He falls for the mysterious Maya after meeting her at a jazz club. But as their romance blossoms, he’s stunned to discover an uncomfortable truth about her private life.

It’s ex-curate Leonard Finch who provides some light relief in the first of the six episodes, which also see

Geordie and William on the trail of a potential serial killer and the arrival of Cathy’s niece Bonnie (Ghosts star Charlotte Ritchie). With money provided by vicarage housekeeper Mrs Chapman and her husband Jack, Leonard opens The Cherry Orchard Cafe, giving a poetry recital at the launch that stuns his audience. ■

Tim Oglethorpe Grantchester, Friday, 9pm, ITV.

MRS CHAPMAN (Tessa Peakejones) The vicar’s housekeeper is accused by Leonard of trying to call the shots at the new cafe. DI GEORDIE KEATING (Robson Green) He’s hoping the split from wife Cathy will be nothing more than a blip in their relationship.

REV WILLIAM DAVENPORT (Tom Brittney) His involvement in the Fitzgerald case is frowned upon by DCI Wallace but he proves his worth.