Virgin Radio
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show
30 April 2022
John Simm joins The Chris Evans Breakfast Show to talk about his highly anticipated second series of Grace.
Play Full Interview – Audio Only (00:15:04):
Simm plays the part of Roy Grace, a detective who uses unusual methods to solve his cases that usually ruffle the feathers of the Brighton Police department. However, there is one case that he has never been able to solve. John explained:
“Roy is a superintendent detective who is very good at his job. His wife went missing about six years ago, so he’s a bit haunted by that. “He’s a brilliant detective, but can’t solve that particular crime. And he’s got no drinking problem or anything like that- he is a decent bloke. On Sunday, we’ve got a new element that comes into the show in the form of Zoe Tapper who plays a character called Cleo, and she takes a shine to him.”
Grace has been adapted from the books by Peter James, which have claimed 17 number one Sunday Time Bestsellers and sold over 12 million copies worldwide- and John revealed he was a fan of them himself. Speaking to Chris about the new series, he said:
“The brilliant thing about it is they’re all feature-length, standalone stories, and they’re novels. “So, we adapt each novel at a time and even though you’ve got a line going through with the characters and a storyline going through, there’s a different case in each story.”
Despite there being 17 books in total, the series only contains four feature-length episodes. However, John admitted he was keen to make more. When asked by Chris if the series could continue, he said:
“That would be great. I’d be well up for that. I mean, it’s brilliant to do it because the more we do, the more the whole cast, we all get into it. We’re sort of like finding our feet with these characters now and the more we do, it’s just great. He added: “They’re all tried and tested formulas and great plots. So hopefully, if we do them justice, there’ll be brilliant thriller every Sunday night.”
The screenplay for the series was adapted by Russell Lewis who is the man behind Endeavour and Inspector Morse, so it’s fair to say we’re in good hands.
John Simm Society Blog 