Latest news with #Grantchester
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
This Popular British Crime Show Is Ending — Here's Why You Should Watch It Now
All good things must come to an end — even massively popular British crime shows that serve as comfort food for Anglophiles like myself. Grantchester, the long-running ITV mystery series that currently streams on PBS Masterpiece, is ending after season 11, and mystery nerds everywhere are in mourning. The bright side is that the show is wrapping up season 10, so we still have one more season to look forward to and over 60 episodes to rewatch. If you're a newbie or already a fan, here are a few reasons why you should check out Grantchester. 'Grantchester' Has a Great Premise Stop me if you've heard this joke before: 'A cop and a priest walk into a bar …' Grantchester takes the beginning of that joke and turns it into a show about found family. Set during the 1950s in the idyllic hamlet of Grantchester, the series follows Detective Geordie Keating (Robson Green) as he solves crimes — usually murders — with the town's vicar. From seasons 1-4, that was Sidney Chambers (Black Mirror's James Norton), a free-thinking Anglican who liked to listen to jazz and wasn't opposed to romance. Sidney eventually left in season 4 and passed the torch, er, cassock to Will Davenport (Superman finalist Tom Brittney), who loved his motorbike almost as much as the God he worshipped. Will left after season 8 and was replaced by Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair), whose South Asian Indian ethnicity makes him stand out among the lily-white residents of the small English town. Whoever he's paired with, Keating establishes a professional and personal connection with the vicar, and it's this relationship that makes Grantchester so fun to watch. The conservative Keating doesn't always get along with his religious partner, but he recognizes his need for guidance — forensic as well as spiritual — when he needs it the most. 'Grantchester' Is More Than Just a Crime Show This odd couple pairing is also a great source of comedy. It's a hoot to see Keating get dragged to a jazz club by Sidney or roll his eyes as Will suffers another setback in his love life. With a priest as a lead character, you'd expect him to be the straight man, the stick in the mud, the rock; instead, Sidney/Will/Alphy are often the source of all the romantic melodrama that occurs throughout the series. I appreciate that. Grantchester makes its men of faith fully human and flawed without mocking them. And even though Keating can be judgmental, he's not one to cast the first stone and leave someone behind. Grantchester has its fair share of crime and mysteries, but at its heart, it's a drama about two men who connect with one another because of their differences. Geordie likes that his priest partner is a bit idiosyncratic, while Sidney/Will/Alphy appreciates Geordie for his stability and loyalty. The Two Leads Are Terrific There's a reason why Grantchester lasted for over a decade, and that's because of its stellar cast of TV veterans and fresh faces. Robson Green has been on the British small screen since the early '90s, but his Geordie is the role he'll be most remembered for. His detective has seen a lot, but he's not too cynical to appreciate Sidney's charm, Will's humor or Alphy's shrewd observations. Robson lets you see the soft center behind Geordie's hard shell, making him a cop you'd want on your side if you're falsely accused of murder. (Hey, it happens.) As the lead priests, each actor brings something different to the role. Norton made Sidney a romantic hero, a sexy priest long before Andrew Scott's in Fleabag, who fought for the underdog and pined for his married (!) and pregnant (!!!) true love. Brittney's Will was more rock 'n roll, a preacher not afraid to put a little swagger in his sermons, while Nair's Alphy is more reserved and suspicious due to his outsider status. Cast changes usually spell doom for a series; just compare the Kim Cattrall-less And Just Like That with Sex and the City to see how damaging it can be when an original star doesn't return for another season. But Granchester made it work because all three priests offered something unique that essentially rebooted the series every few years. With the arrival of Will and then Alphy, we slowly get to know them and see how all the other regular characters react to them. Despite Its Many Dead Bodies, 'Grantchester' Is Oddly Comforting You might think it's a bit odd that I've barely mentioned what Grantchester is ostensibly about — murder. Yes, the show has its fair share of corpses to discover and mysteries to solve, but that's not why I keep coming back to it. For all of the crimes it features, Grantchester is an oddly comforting show to watch, one that clears away any discontent I have about life in the present. That's due to the cast, which also encompasses Tessa Peake-Jones' saucy housekeeper, Mrs. C, and Al Weaver's jittery, clumsy and closeted parish priest, Leonard, but also its time and setting. The show begins in the 1950s and is currently set around the mid-1960s, which gives me some respite from cell phones, social media feeds and other modern headaches. The series is shot in some of the most gorgeous places in Britain, including Cambridge, West Sussex, London and, of course, Grantchester. The show depicts life moving at a slower pace, with town meetings, bake sales and picnics occupying some of the characters' social activities. Is it idealized? Probably, but Grantchester doesn't make the mistake that everything was perfect. It tackles issues of racism, sexism and homophobia head-on, and doesn't pretend this era is filled with flawed people and ways of thinking. Soon to Be Gone, 'Grantchester' Will Never Be Forgotten Still, Grantchester is a welcome respite from 2025, and it has a cast of characters that feels like a second family. Whenever it airs, I always tune in to see what Georgie and company are up to, Sidney's latest romance, Mrs. C's newest grudge and, yes, a new mystery that needs solving. In the world of Grantchester, justice, order and compassion always prevail. I'll miss it more than I care to admit. You can stream all ten seasons of Grantchester on PBS Masterpiece.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Pregnant Coronation Street star Melissa Johns heartbroken over cruel 'cripple' jibe
Former Coronation Street star and Grantchester actress Melissa Johns has opened up about her pregnancy and how it has made her love her body after years of struggling with the world's perception of her Grantchester star Melissa Johns says pregnancy has finally taught her to love her body after years of loathing it. Her online announcement that She and her husband Dan Hampton were expecting prompted a flood of celebratory messages – and made her rethink her relationship with her body. Born without a right forearm or hand, Melissa, 35 – who has also appeared in Coronation Street and Adolescence – says, 'I was eight when I really started to feel I was different. We were playing tag in the playground and someone said, 'If you touch Melissa, you've got Melissa disease.' It was like a punch to my stomach.' Aged six, she was in the local paper under the headline 'Girl with one arm rides bike'. 'Some of the other children would scream and run away when they saw me,' she adds. Even more shocking has been the ignorance of adults. Blissfully happy with Dan, a senior transport planner, she reveals, 'On our honeymoon we had people saying to Dan right in front of me 'Do you not mind?' (referring to her disability) and one man called me 'a cripple'.' But, as a pregnant woman, she says people's focus is now on her bump. 'People have commented on my body all my life. Either it's something horrible or something about me being inspirational.' 'But now people are talking about my body in a lovely way,' she says. 'For once in my life it's not about my disability, it's about my bump.' The disability activist revealed her pregnancy to her online followers last month alongside a picture taken on the beach with 36-year-old Dan – who she married in her native Herefordshire last year – cradling her bump. 'I have a strong history of loathing my body,' she admits. 'It came from society telling me that my body was wrong. But there is so much positivity around pregnant bodies, and now I really do very much like what I see when I look in the mirror. It feels lovely.' Like most first-time mums, Melissa feels both excitement and trepidation, but when people ask how she will cope, she says, 'That just adds an extra layer of anxiety to the pressure that all first-time mums feel. 'We're all worrying, how does this work? And on top of that I'm thinking, 'What about when my husband is at work – will I be able to find a one-handed pram that I can collapse with one arm? How will I get the pram in and out of the car on my own? How will I drink a cup of coffee with my friends while holding the baby?' 'I feel like saying, 'I don't know yet, I haven't worked it out, but I will find a way.'' Steely determination has certainly served her well in life. A turning point came in her twenties after watching old camcorder footage of herself as a girl at a family party. 'I saw this happy little girl dancing and spinning, without a care in the world and thought, 'I'm so sorry for the life I'm giving you,'' Melissa recalls. She would hide her arm on dates, saying, 'It would get to the third date and I'd have to tell them that I'd got one arm. I'd see that as winning, that I'd hidden it so well. I needed to control how people saw me. I thought that part of my body was ugly and they shouldn't have to look at it. 'Now I know that winning is having a wonderful husband, where my disability doesn't even come into play.' Training at East 15 Acting School, she was one of the first disabled actors to win the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award and, in 2015 aged 25, she landed her first TV role, alongside Jo Joyner and Trevor Eve in the BBC One drama The Interceptor. Two years later she was cast in Coronation Street as Kate Connor's girlfriend Imogen Pascoe. She played school nurse Carla in Adolescence and joined Grantchester in 2021 as police station secretary Jennifer Scott. She is currently filming the 11th and final series, with series 10 due to air early next year. It will pick up where series nine ended, with Miss Scott finally kissing policeman Larry Peters. 'It's been a will-they-won't-they for many years,' says Melissa, who plans to work until two weeks before her baby is due in November. On other shows, she's been asked if scriptwriters can make reference to her arm, as the audience might wonder about it. 'I don't think in the six seasons I've been in Grantchester we've even brought it up,' she says. 'They couldn't be more supportive. They've been so nice about my pregnancy, too.' When Robson Green spotted her coming out of a lift as they began filming, his delight was obvious, she tell us. He said, 'Oh, my gosh! Look! I'm just made up for you.' And Kacey Ainsworth and Tessa Peake-Jones both went, 'Oh! Can we touch it?'' Melissa is working on a TV adaptation of Snatched, the one-woman show she wrote in 2022, exploring her experience of having explicit photos leaked online after her iCloud was hacked. And, of course, she is looking forward to becoming a mum. 'Because of looking very different to other people growing up, the world questioned whether I would have a family of my own,' she says. 'Now, I'm in my own home, with my incredible husband and a baby on the way that I just can't wait to hold and cuddle.'
Daily Mirror
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Grantchester star: 'People have commented on my body all my life'
Grantchester, Corrie and Adolescence star Melissa Johns gives her first interview about her pregnancy and reveals hurtful comments she's endured about her disability Proudly displaying her baby bump, the bloom of pregnancy isn't the only reason for Grantchester star Melissa Johns' radiant online announcement that she and her husband Dan Hampton were expecting prompted a flood of celebratory messages. And people wanting to touch her baby bump makes her appreciate the beauty of her body for the first time. For Melissa, 35, who also appeared in Coronation Street and Adolescence, has been programmed to hate her body - by other people. Born without a right forearm and hand, she recalls:'I was eight when I really started to feel I was different. We were playing tag in the playground and someone said: 'if you touch Melissa, you've got Melissa disease.' It was like a punch to my stomach. 'In the summer we'd go on caravan holidays. I'd take my little brother to the play area and some of the other children would scream and run away when they saw me.' These shocking reactions have not just come from kids. More shocking in many ways has been the ignorance of adults. Blissfully happy with Dan, a senior transport planner, he makes her feel like 'a winner.' Yet, she reveals: 'On our honeymoon we had people saying to Dan right in front of me 'do you not mind?' (referring to her disability) and one man called me 'a cripple'.' As a pregnant woman, for the first time, people's focus is on her bump and not her disability. She explains:'People have commented on my body all my life. 'Either it's something horrible or something about me being inspirational - I was in the local newspaper when I was six years old and the headline was 'Girl with one arm rides bike.' 'But now people are talking about my body in a lovely way. They're going: 'oh my God, look at you!' or 'Ooh, can I touch?' And for once in my life that's not about my disability, it's about my bump. 'I've been in shows where even other actors have said about my arm, 'can I touch it?' So, my pregnancy feels even more special. Now it's my bump they want to touch and for the first time they're mentioning my body in a positive way.' Disability activist Melissa, who plays Grantchester's Jennifer Scott and previously starred as Coronation Street's Imogen Pascoe, revealed her pregnancy to her online followers last month alongside a picture taken on the beach of Dan - who she married in her native Herefordshire last year - lovingly cradling her bump. 'I have a strong history of loathing my body,' she says candidly. 'That never came from me – it came from society telling me that my body was wrong. 'But there is so much positivity around pregnant bodies and now I really do very much like what I see when I look in the mirror. It feels lovely and I think to some degree it takes away from the other parts of my body that I have questioned for so long.' Like most first-time mums, Melissa is approaching things with excitement and trepidation. But when people, clearly referring to her disability, ask how she will cope, she says: 'That just adds an extra layer of anxiety to the pressure that all first-time mums feel. 'We're all worrying - how does this work? How does that work? How will I do this?' And then on top of that I'm thinking 'what about when my husband is at work – will I just stay in the house all day, or will I be able to find a one-handed pram that I can collapse with one arm?' ''How will I get the pram in and out of the car on my own? How will I drink a cup of coffee with my friends while holding the baby?' There are so many things. I feel like saying 'I don't know yet, I haven't worked it out. But I will find a way.'' Steely determination has certainly served her well in life. A turning point came in her 20s, after watching old camcorder footage of herself as a young girl at a family party. 'I saw this happy little girl dancing and spinning, without a care in the world and I thought 'I'm so sorry for the life I'm giving you,'' she recalls. 'It was at a point where I had really stopped doing most things. I wouldn't dance anymore and I wouldn't go out without a cardigan – I'd essentially stripped myself of my own freedom, because I needed to control the way that people saw me. I thought that part of my body was ugly and they shouldn't have to look at it. 'I had boyfriends where it would get to the third date and I would have to tell them that I'd got one arm. I'd see that as winning, that I'd hidden it so well. 'Now I know that winning is having a wonderful husband, where my disability doesn't even come into play.' Training at East 15 Acting School, she was one of the first disabled actors to win the Laurence Olivier Bursary Award. In 2015, aged 25, she landed her first TV role, working alongside Jo Joyner and Trevor Eve, in the BBC1 drama series The Interceptor and two years later was cast in Coronation Street, spending two years as Kate Connor's girlfriend Imogen Pascoe. She played school nurse Carla in Adolescence and joined the cast of Grantchester in 2021, as police station secretary Jennifer Scott. She is currently filming the 11th and final series, with series 10 due to air early next year. It will pick up where series 9 ended, with Miss Scott finally kissing policeman Larry Peters. 'It's a wonderful storyline,' Melissa enthuses. 'It's been a will-they-won't they for so many years.' Melissa plans to work until two weeks before her baby is due in November. 'Grantchester has been a brilliant show to work on,' she says. 'Some other shows in the past have said: 'do you mind if we write something in to acknowledge your arm, because the audience might wonder?' But I don't think in the six seasons I've been in Grantchester we've even brought it up. 'And they couldn't be more supportive. They cut my food up for me and I have help into my costumes when I need it. Things like that have such a positive impact on my day. 'They've been so nice about my pregnancy too. Robson Green was the first person I saw when I came out of the lift when we started filming the new series. 'He said 'Hi gorgeous' and then he went 'Oh my gosh! Look! I'm just made up for you.' 'Later he texted me and said 'Welcome to the most beautiful club.' 'And Kacey Ainsworth and Tessa Peake-Jones both went 'Oh! Can we touch it?' in such a loving way. They're such close colleagues that I was happy to say yes.' When Grantchester finishes Melissa will be working on a TV adaption of Snatched, the one-woman show she wrote in 2022, exploring her experience of having explicit photos leaked online after her iCloud was hacked. She says: 'It sold out around the UK and I got offers from TV companies, so I'm currently developing a six-part series with Kudos.' For now, though, Melissa is looking forward to becoming a mum. 'Because of having one arm and looking very different to other people growing up, the world questioned whether I would have a family of my own,' she says. 'I didn't know what else to believe, so I believed what I was told. Now, I'm in my own home, with my incredible husband and a baby on the way that I just can't wait to hold and cuddle.'
Daily Mirror
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
James Norton spotted filming huge new role for very first time
Happy Valley star James Norton's latest acting role has been unveiled and he's due to star alongside some big names, including Matt Smith James Norton has been pictured on the set of his latest acting project for the very first time, as he gets set to make his debut in hit series House of the Dragon. James, famed for starring in the likes of Happy Valley and Grantchester, was spotted filming scenes for the third season of the Game of Thrones spin-off alongside Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen. James will be portraying Ormund Hightower, the head of the powerful House Hightower, and could be seen surrending his sword to Daemon in the snaps. It is unclear if Ormund is surrending or allying himself with Daemon in the scenes. In the rare glimpse into filming, the stars could be seen acting in the Surrey countryside. James was snapped in full costume, which feature his house's colours of greens and silvers. A release date for the third season of House of the Dragon is yet to be confirmed. After the premiere of the second series last year, it was confirmed that the show had been renewed. Filming commenced in March and it's currently predicted that the third series will land at some point in 2026. The season will consist of eight episodes, with the story of the Targaryen civil war continuing. Fans of the show were left disappointed with the end of the second season, with many even issuing complaints over how it concluded. House of the Dragon had been teasing big battle scenes between two Targaryen factions as Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) tried to force his sister Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) to fight as a dragonrider. Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) prepared for battle with the stark army marching south to support Rhaenyra's claim. At the time, fans took to social media to complain about the ending, as it did not live up to expectations. One person said: "Rhaena's been tracking this damn dragon all season and I don't get to see her claim it?! Ryan Condal when I catch you!" "I'm tired of things being put into motion. BE IN MOTION," another person fumed on X. House of the Dragon was created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal, and is a prequel to hit series Game of Thrones, which finished in 2019. It is the second series in George's A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. House of the Dragon is based on parts of George's 2018 book Fire & Blood, and begins around 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest. This is nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The show focuses on the events leading up to the decline of House Targaryen, a war known as the Dance of the Dragons. House of the Dragon is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV
Daily Mirror
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Grantchester star shares filming update as series comes to an end
The beloved series is coming to an end with an eleventh and final season. Kacey Ainsworth discusses writing an episode of Grantchester Grantchester star Kacey Ainsworth has shared an emotional update as filming for the final series has come to an end. Fans were left sobbing when ITV confirmed earlier this year that the beloved show would be returning for a final eleventh series. The crime drama first aired in 2014, with a tenth season yet to air, though it'll be the penultimate. Sharing a look at filming with behind-the-scenes selfies with her co-stars and snaps of scripts, Cathy Keating actress Kacey wrote on Instagram: 'On a hot hot day last week we all came together for our final readthru. 'What a joy it is, it has been for the past ELEVEN! Series. 'Thank you @emlyjkl @daisycoupow and everyone @kudostv past and present. 'Cathy has evolved in all ways thank you all for the opportunists you have given me on screen and on the page and to @masterpiecepbs for our international success.' 'I am so sad to see the end of Grantchester. I love it so much. Thank you to everyone involved in such a wonderful programme,' one fan wrote. Another said: 'I'm so grateful for the longevity of the series. I discovered it during Covid and it's become one of my favorite shows ever. I've even begun reading the books because of it and I'd love to visit the real Grantchester one day. I'll have to cherish all the remaining episodes that much more. Thank you for all your wonderful work on the show!' A third added: 'I have been watching and loving this show from the very first episode!! Cathy's evolution has been the best throughout the series and you have played her to perfection!! So sad for us viewers but so happy for you and the entire cast and what your futures hold!' Former EastEnders actress Kacey has starred as Cathy from Grantchester's conception, alongside the likes of James Norton, Robson Greene, and Rishi Nair, who began starring in the series from season nine. Fans were left sobbing at the news Grantchester was coming to an end, though ITV promised that Geordie (Robson) and Alphy (Rishi) would be 'going out with a bang'. Daisy Coulam, writer, series creator and executive producer, said: 'At its heart, Grantchester is a show about the power of friendship and love. We've been so lucky over the last 11 series to experience that on and off screen. 'For over a decade now - cast and crew (many who've been there since the beginning) have met each Summer to film. And it's been an absolute joy. 'Thank you to James Runcie for entrusting us with his characters. Thank you to the lovely people of real Grantchester. Thank you to everyone who's been a part of the show in any way - big or small. I'll miss you terribly.'
