Grace: John Simm and Richie Campbell on tension in series six of detective drama
John Simm and Richie Campbell have such a great time on the set of ITV’s Grace that they are happy to keep reprising their roles on the Brighton-based detective drama.
Adapted from the Roy Grace novels by author Peter James, the show stars Leeds-born Life On Mars and Doctor Who actor Simm as the titular detective superintendent, while Campbell portrays DI Glenn Branson.
“I realise how lucky I am to be playing the lead in a police show,” reflects Simm. “I love it. I love the job, I love the people, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done; it genuinely is like a family. We have the same crew, the same people come back to make the show every year, and every time we start again and walk on set, it feels like coming home. So, I’m absolutely thrilled to be doing more.”
Campbell adds: “I think the beautiful thing for us is that each season, we’re constantly thinking about upping it. It doesn’t feel like we’re just churning stuff out. It’s like, ‘What can we do next?’ People must get bored of us saying it, but every season, I’m like, ‘This season’s the best… No, this season’s the best.’ And that’s a testament to everyone who works on it.”
As the show returns for a sixth series, tensions are high for East Sussex Police. A few months have passed since the arrest of Assistant Chief Constable Cassian Pewe, played by Sam Hoare, at the dramatic conclusion of series five, and there are new cases to solve. From a missing persons case with a dark web of secrets and a university campus with a sinister stalker, to a devastating death on a Brighton council estate, and a fatal car crash where all is not as it seems, it’s not long until Grace and his team must get back to investigating.
With the stakes high, the friendship between Grace and Branson is tested. “They do have an argument. Which was quite interesting, and quite weird to do, actually,” says Simm. “Because we never actually argue. They’re not superhuman and they make mistakes, which is why I love these characters; they’re real.”
It was uncomfortable being stroppy with each other, he continues. “It was very strange. It’s just really weird. Richie joked that we went a bit method, and we didn’t talk to each other for about 20 minutes, but it was probably 15 minutes, let’s not get hysterical.”
There’s a lot of tension throughout the series, notes Campbell. “There are points where it feels like Branson’s saying, I need to go and do this to facilitate the situation, because it potentially could go one way or the other. It’s like a ticking time bomb
“And so, we do see, later on, that he decides to kind of go off and investigate something, and do something that ultimately he believes is right. We end up seeing the consequences of this, which is where Grace and Branson have this tension.
“But he definitely feels that these cases, especially the ones that are so closely connected to them as people, the need to fight for what he believes is right.”
Grace returns to ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, March 29.