ITV detective drama, Grace, begins filming in Brighton

[Left to right - Zoe Tapper, John Simm and Richie Campbell]

ITV detective drama, Grace, begins filming in Brighton

ITV detective drama, Grace, begins filming in Brighton starring John Simm, Richie Campbell and Rakie Ayola, written by acclaimed screenwriter Russell Lewis, based on the best selling novels from Peter James and co-produced by Second Act Productions, Tall Story Pictures and Vaudeville Productions.

Zoe Tapper joins Grace as Cleo Morey alongside guest actor Arthur Darvill

A new series of Grace films, adapted from international bestselling author Peter James’s award winning novels, have commenced filming in Brighton with John Simm in the lead role of the tenacious detective.

Acclaimed screenwriter and Endeavour creator, Russell Lewis, has adapted  the 4 x 120 screenplays entitled Looking Good Dead, Not Dead Enough, Dead Man’s Footsteps and Dead Tomorrow which are devoted to the work of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a hard-working police officer who has given his life to the job, but walks a career tightrope, as he has the capacity to clash with his boss, ACC Vosper. 

Commented John Simm about his return to Grace:
"Everyone involved with Grace is very excited to be back in Brighton bringing the next Peter James novels to the screen. Like the first, they’ve been brilliantly adapted by Russell Lewis and we can’t wait to get started.”

Richie Campbell and Rakie Ayola also reprise their roles as DS Glenn Branson and ACC Vosper following the success of the first film, Dead Simple, which aired on ITV in March 2021 and achieved consolidated ratings of 8.8m viewers. 

Grace has been recommissioned for ITV by Head of Drama, Polly Hill, and Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair Jones.  Huw will oversee the production of the series from the channel’s perspective. A further Grace film, Looking Good Dead, produced last year is also due for scheduling on ITV.  

Arthur Darvill (World on Fire, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Broadchurch) guest stars in the second film with Zoe Tapper (The One, Liar, Nightflyers) also joining the cast as recurring character, Cleo Morey, a mortuary technician, who takes a shine to Grace.

Co-produced by Second Act Productions, Tall Story Pictures and Vaudeville Productions, the first of the new films, Looking Good Dead Detective Superintendent Roy Grace suspects the sudden death of a former schoolteacher found in suspicious circumstances in a respectable Brighton backwater may not be the drugs overdose it first appears. And, when human remains are discovered in a Sussex crop field, Grace and Detective Sergeant Glenn Branson are drawn into an investigation that will test their abilities and their friendship to breaking point.

Not Dead Enough, sees Grace and Branson investigating the murder of wealthy socialite and patron of local charities, Katya Bishop, wife of a prominent Brighton entrepreneur, played by Arthur Darvill, who becomes the main suspect in the investigation. The Bishops seem to have led a charmed life, until Grace digs deeper behind the respectable facade and discovers all is not what it seems. Doing so, however, places him unknowingly in grave danger.
 
In Dead Man’s Footsteps, Grace leads the inquiry into the discovery of a woman’s skeletal remains in an old storm drain, believed to be the wife of a failed Brighton conman, who died several years prior in a plane crash. Grace must re-trace the man's steps in the years before his death, which leads him on a murky trail through the world of Brighton's oldest crime families but it’s not only on the professional front that Roy is chasing ghosts.
 
When in Dead Tomorrow a body is dredged up from the seabed of the English Channel it initially appears a burial at sea gone wrong, but a strange incision on the victim soon points to something very sinister. When two more bodies are found, news spreads like wildfire through Sussex and Grace begins to unearth that this is part of an altogether more chilling design, one which forces him to confront the question of just how far anyone would go to save the ones they love.

Kiaran Murray-Smith (Grace, Bulletproof, Silent Witness) returns to produce the series again this year with Henrik Georgsson (Tsunami, The Bridge, Marcella) directing the first film, Brian Kelly (Poldark, The Lock and Downton Abbey) directs the second film and Kate Saxon (Endeavour, Silent Witness, Casualty) will take the helm for the third title, Dead Tomorrow.
 
The Executive producers are Andrew O’Connor and Paul Sandler for Second Act Productions, Patrick Schweitzer for Tall Story Pictures, Michael Vine for Vaudeville Productions. Russell Lewis and Peter James will also be executive producing the new films. 

ITV Studios will be responsible for the international distribution of Grace. 

The new series will be exclusively available on BritBox North America.

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Note to Editors:

Tall Story Pictures, Second Act Productions and Vaudeville Productions, for Grace are adhering to the TV and film production industry wide guidelines published in May and the guidance developed by all UK broadcasters, the Association of Commercial Broadcasters and On-Demand Service (COBA) and Pact covering how pairs and small groups of actors can interact closer than two metres safely on set.  This guidance is also complementary to the British Film Commission guidelines on managing the risks with film and high-end TV drama production.

About Peter James

Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 18 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 21 million copies to date, and has been translated into 38 languages. 
Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an executive producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage. 
Peter James’ latest novel Left You Dead was published by Pan Macmillan in May 2021. 

About Tall Story Pictures

Founded in 2016, Tall Story Pictures, part of ITV Studios, produces television drama for UK and international broadcasters, working with the very best established and emerging writing talent.
Their aim is simple: To place the writer’s vision at the heart of everything we develop and produce, and to engage and entertain audiences with exceptional storytelling.

About Second Act Productions

Second Act Productions was created in 2015 by Andrew O’Connor and Paul Sandler to focus primarily on scripted comedy and entertainment commissions.  Grace is the company’s first scripted drama commission for ITV.

About Vaudeville Productions

Founded in 2014 by Derren Brown and Michael Vine, Vaudeville Productions is behind Derren’s TV specials and live tours, it also produces other stage shows as well as scripted drama and 'event' television.