Grantchester is a British ITV detective drama set in the 1950s and 60s in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester. Its first series was broadcast in 2014. The series originally featured Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers (James Norton); subsequent series have featured vicar William Davenport (Tom Brittney) and vicar Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair). Each of them develops a sideline in sleuthing with the help of Detective Inspector Geordie Keating, played by Robson Green.
The series is based on The Grantchester Mysteries, collections of short stories written by James Runcie. The first series was based on the six stories from the first book, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death. A second series aired in March and April 2016, and a third series began its run on 23 April 2017. A fourth series was announced on 12 April 2018, and it was confirmed that this would be the last to feature James Norton in the lead.
Tom Brittney as the Reverend Will Davenport took over the lead from Norton in series four. The fifth series commenced in January 2020. A sixth series was commissioned on 17 July 2020, and began transmission on 3 September 2021. A seventh series was commissioned on 28 July 2021; it started production in summer 2021 with Brittney also directing for the first time. It premiered on 11 March 2022 and concluded on 15 April 2022.
In August 2022, ITV announced that the drama had been commissioned for an eighth series, with Al Weaver directing for the first time, to be broadcast on ITV from 11 January 2024 to 15 February 2024, a year later than planned due to the scheduling conflicts.
A ninth series was announced in July 2023, with Brittney announcing it would be his final series. He was succeeded by Rishi Nair as vicar Alphy Kotteram. A tenth series was announced on 18 June 2024 by Masterpiece on PBS. In June 2025, ITV announced Grantchester had been renewed for an 11th and final series. The eleventh series aired on PBS in June–July 2026.
Contents
Plot
In the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester during the 1950s, Anglican vicar and former Scots Guards officer Sidney Chambers (James Norton), and subsequently his successors Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) and then Alphy Kotteram (Rishi Nair), work with the overworked Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green) to forge an unlikely partnership in solving crimes. Keating's gruff, methodical approach to policing complements Chambers' more intuitive techniques of coaxing information from witnesses and suspects. Some sub-plots deal with Leonard Finch's homosexuality before decriminalisation of male homosexual behaviour in England and Wales (1967).
Cast and characters
Main
James Norton as the Reverend Sidney Chambers, MC (series 1–4), an Anglican vicar who had been a Scots Guards officer during World War II.
Robson Green as DI George "Geordie" Keating (series 1–11), a WWII veteran
Morven Christie as Amanda Hopkins (née Kendall) (series 1–3), an heiress and art restorer at London's National Gallery; she has a romantic relationship with Sidney.
Tessa Peake-Jones as Sylvia Chapman (formerly Maguire) (series 1–11), the vicarage's devoutly religious housekeeper
Al Weaver as Leonard Ernest Finch (series 1–11), a curate whose licence is revoked in a later series, when he is discovered to be gay.
Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman (series 1–11), a retired businessman who later marries Sylvia
Kacey Ainsworth as Catherine "Cathy" Keating (series 1–11), Geordie's wife
Oliver Dimsdale as Daniel Marlowe (series 2–11), a photographer who gets secretly involved in a romantic relationship with Leonard
Tom Brittney as the Reverend William "Will" Davenport (series 4–9), an Anglican vicar who was formerly an inner-city chaplain
Bradley Hall as DC Larry Peters (series 4–11), Geordie's colleague
Melissa Johns as Jennifer Scott (series 6–11), a police secretary
Charlotte Ritchie as Bonnie Davenport (née Evans) (series 7–9), who later becomes involved with Will
Recurring
Skye Lucia Degruttola as Esme Keating (series 1–11), Geordie's eldest daughter
Pip Torrens as Sir Edward Kendall (series 1–2), Amanda's father
Fiona Button as Jennifer Chambers (series 1–2), Sidney's younger sister; Amanda's former classmate
Ukweli Roach as Johnny Johnson (series 1), Jennifer's boyfriend
Nakay Kpaka as Walter Sterling (series 1)
Tom Austen as Guy Hopkins (series 1–3), Amanda's husband, whom she later leaves and then divorces
Pheline Roggan as Hildegard Staunton (series 1), a young German widow with whom Sidney has a brief romance
David Troughton as DCI Benson (series 1–2), Geordie's immediate superior
Joe Claflin as DC Billy Atkins (series 1), Geordie's colleague
Lorne MacFadyen as DS Phil Wilkinson (series 2–3), Geordie's colleague
Seline Hizli as Margaret Ward (series 2–3), police secretary, who has a relationship with Sidney and later an affair with Geordie
Geoff McGivern as the Archdeacon (series 1–2), Sidney's superior
Gary Beadle as Archdeacon Gabriel Atubo (series 3–6), the church's first Archdeacon of colour
Neil Morrissey as Harding Redmond (series 2), Abigail's father
Production
Filming for the first series began in London, Cambridge and Grantchester from March to June 2014. The second series was filmed in autumn 2015, and guest stars included Neil Morrissey, Claudie Blakley, Nigel Planer, Andrew Knott, Nicky Henson and Oliver Dimsdale. The third series was filmed between August and November 2016, and filming for the fourth series commenced in June 2018. The fifth series was filmed in Cambridge and elsewhere during the summer of June 2019.
Grantchester itself is used for filming, with the Church of St Andrew and St Mary used for the church interior and churchyard scenes. Although the vicarage in Grantchester is used for exterior shots, a private home in Lemsford, Hertfordshire, doubles as the interior. The Windmill pub in Chipperfield is used for The Red Lion. King's Parade in Cambridge has been transformed to represent various 1950s street scenes, complete with period cars and buses. Horsted Keynes railway station, on the Bluebell Railway, in West Sussex has been used to double for Cambridge station.
Chatham Dockyard in Kent has doubled for various London locations, including the exterior of Kings Cross Station, Borough Market, and the exterior and interior of a warehouse and ropery. Commissioner's House was also used for filming.
After the third series, James Norton wanted to leave the series to pursue other acting opportunities. Also, actress Morven Christie had departed the show since her storyline involving Sidney Chambers and Amanda had concluded. Without Norton's participation, there was talk of ending the series, but Grantchester had proven to be so popular with television viewers that the producers felt that the show could continue with a new male lead.
At the start of the fourth series, actor Tom Brittney joined the cast as Will Davenport, a former inner-city chaplain who was appointed as Sidney Chambers' replacement as the Anglican vicar of Grantchester. James Norton made his last appearances as Sidney in the first two installments of the fourth season to help with the transition. At the end of the second episode, Sidney Chambers leaves Grantchester and moves to America. Starting with the third episode, actor Robson Green began receiving top billing in the opening credits.
Critical reception
The first episode was generally well-received by the critics. Michael Pilgrim of The Daily Telegraph wrote: "Delightfully neat and economical of plot, it's Cluedo with cassocks and just enough noir for the modern palate. Victoria sponge with a tablespoon of battery acid." He added that "There could be a worse antidote than Grantchester" in a grim October in the early 21st century. Ellen Jones of The Independent thought the programme "delightful, a new treat for fans of period-set, gently paced detective series like Endeavour, and also for fans of top TV totty James Norton." Nancy deWolf Smith of The Wall Street Journal wrote, "Grantchester is a revelation."
The first series was given a Metacritic score of 70 based on 14 reviews, indicating a generally favourable reception.
Broadcast
The first series was broadcast in the UK on ITV starting 6 October 2014. The show premiered in the United States on 18 January 2015 on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. It premiered in Australia on 28 February 2015 on ABC, as well as 9Gem. A French version premiered on France 3 from 12 July 2015. Series two was broadcast on PBS in the US from 27 March 2016. The series was licensed to Amazon Prime in a multi-year deal; that network gained the rights to air the episodes of all series after PBS affiliates had done so. On Amazon Prime, the 2016 Christmas Special listed in the Episodes section below is identified as Episode 1 of Series 3, with a total of seven episodes in the series.
Series overview
These dates note the UK broadcast of the show. Its later series premiered on PBS in the US prior to the UK broadcast.
Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.
Episodes
Series 8 (2024)
Production on the eighth series began in August 2022, with broadcast originally set for early 2023, as per the usual broadcast schedule. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the series did not arrive on UK screens until January 2024, despite the DVD of the series being made available on August 16, 2023. Series 8 also aired in the US ahead of its UK broadcast on PBS Masterpiece from 9 July to 13 August 2023.
Series 9 (2025)
Production on the ninth series began in 2023, but due to the delayed broadcast of Series 8, was not broadcast until 2025.
Series 10 (2026)
Production on the tenth series began in 2024 and aired on ITV at 9pm Wednesdays from 7 January 2026. The series aired in 2025 on PBS Masterpiece in the United States.
Series 11 (2027)
Production on the eleventh and final series began in 2025 and is scheduled to air on ITV in early 2027. It aired on PBS in June-August 2026.