James Walton

Makes a change to see such reassuringly competent policemen: ITV1’s Grace reviewed

Plus: the latest episode of Imagine felt like a throwback to the sort of arts programming many of us grew up with

Brad Morrison as DC Nick Nicholl, Laura Elphinstone as DS Bella Mo, Craig Parkinson as DS Norman Potting, John Simm as DS Roy Grace and Richie Campbell as DS Branson in Grace. Image: ITV Plc 
issue 25 March 2023

Sunday-night dramas on the two main terrestrial channels definitely aren’t what they used to be. Not so long ago, you could bid farewell to the weekend with a reliable cocktail of lovely scenery, eccentric but good-natured rustics and plots carefully designed to warm the cockles. Now we have The Gold on BBC1 providing a meticulous analysis of recent economic history – while on ITV1 the new series of Grace began with an episode that hinged on one simple question asked early on: ‘What kind of sick mind dresses up in a full latex bodysuit and assaults his victims with a dildo?’

The programme is based on the bestselling novels by Peter James, whose avowed fondness for Brighton coppers extends to being a patron of the Sussex Police Charitable Trust. As a result, he tends to portray them – and certainly Dep Supt Roy Grace himself – not just as reassuringly competent, but also as unfailingly decent, even somewhat priggish, in their commitment to justice.

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