Interview: The author behind ITV's 'Grantchester' on his Cambridge childhood and why his dad is no Sidney Chambers
ITV News Anglia's Claire McGlasson talks to James Runcie, the author of the books the Grantchester series is based on:
The author who wrote 'The Grantchester Mysteries' still can’t quite believe his stories have been made into an ITV drama.
James Runcie stops to point out the locations of his invented murders and clandestine meetings as we stroll around Cambridge in the sunshine.
Actors Robson Green and James Norton have been causing quite a stir filming key scenes for the new six-part series in the city centre.
But the author who created it all can wander around unnoticed.
Our walk takes us along King’s Parade where James points out a window above number 21, the flat where he was born.
Putting aside the obvious health and safety implications, James spins a great yarn.
The line between fact and fiction is one that is often blurred, even in 'The Grantchester Mysteries.'
The hero of the stories, Sidney Chambers, bearing a striking resemblance to his real father, former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie.
I ask him whether viewers tuning into ITV are watching a version of his father.
His stories are mysteries of morality solved by a vicar facing dilemmas of his own.
Sidney Chambers is a man of the cloth with a taste for whisky, a love of jazz and an eye for pretty parishioners.
So how does James feel to hand his creation over to a scriptwriter?
Grantchester continues on ITV1 on Monday at 9pm.
Click below to see more of Claire's chat with James