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By Jo Macfarlane
Published: 18:00 EDT, 7 October 2023 | Updated: 18:53 EDT, 7 October 2023
As a cosy 1950s crime drama set in the bucolic Cambridgeshire countryside, Grantchester has been a ratings triumph.
But the same cannot be said for the vintage cars on set.
Filming of the ninth series for ITV was halted this week after a red open-top Triumph Herald broke down while trundling through the winding lanes – forcing Robson Green, who plays Inspector Geordie Keating, to get out and push.
Green, 58, wearing Keating’s trademark beige mac, saw the funny side as the cast and crew scrambled to get the classic motor running again.
In the driving seat was his co-star Rishi Nair, 32, who takes over from Tom Brittney as Grantchester’s vicar. It took half an hour of tinkering under the bonnet before the car roared back into life.
As a cosy 1950s crime drama set in the bucolic Cambridgeshire countryside, Grantchester has been a ratings triumph.
But the same cannot be said for the vintage cars on set. Filming of the ninth series for ITV was halted this week after a red open-top Triumph Herald broke down while trundling through the winding lanes – forcing Robson Green, who plays Inspector Geordie Keating, to get out and push.
Green, 58, wearing Keating’s trademark beige mac, saw the funny side as the cast and crew scrambled to get the classic motor running again
The series has been hugely popular here and in the US since it began in 2014. At one time, six million tuned in every week in Britain, though that has fallen to about four million now.
Adapted from The Grantchester Mysteries, a series of short stories by James Runcie, the first three seasons starred Happy Valley actor James Norton as the village’s vicar Sidney Chambers.
He teamed up with Detective Inspector Keating to form an unlikely crime-solving partnership.
When Norton left to pursue other filming projects he was replaced by Brittney as the parish’s new vicar Will Davenport.
After Brittney’s five seasons, the baton is being handed to former Hollyoaks actor Nair, who will play the Rev Alphy Kotteram.
After landing the part, Nair said: ‘I’m excited to get started. I can’t wait for the fans to meet Alphy.’
Regular cast members who are expected to return this series include Al Weaver as curate Leonard Finch, Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs C and Kacey Ainsworth as Green’s wife Cathy.
King’s Parade in Cambridge has been used to depict 1950s street scenes, complete with period cars and buses.
Season eight is being shown in the US and is expected to arrive on ITV1 and ITVX later this year.
Share or comment on this article: The latest puzzle for Robson Green’s Grantchester detective to solve? How to get his sidekick’s car back on the road!
