Grace under pressure

The heat is on for John Simm’s Brighton detective as he hunts a notorious killer

- SEAN MARLAND

NEW CRIME DRAMA
Grace
Sunday, 8pm, ITV1

Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has suffered years of anguish since the disappearance of his wife, Sandy, a decade ago, and when we last saw the Brighton detective, his world had been turned upside down by a reported sighting of his much- missed spouse.

Now, as Grace returns to ITV1 with three brand-new episodes, he’s still unable to put his past behind him despite a bright future with his new girlfriend, forensic pathologist Cleo, seemingly within his grasp.

‘He’s still hiding the sighting of Sandy from Cleo,’ reveals John Simm, who plays the troubled detective. ‘He doesn’t speak to her about it because he’s still not sure – but Sandy’s spectre is still hanging over them.’

It’s a situation that’s made even more uncomfortable in this week’s opening episode when Grace is asked to investigate a complex case that takes him back 10 years – to the time when Sandy disappeared.

In a series of flashbacks to 2012, we learn that Grace may have romanticised his time with Sandy (Clare Calbraith), and it might not have been the perfect marriage he remembers.

‘In those flashback scenes, we see there were problems there,’ explains Simm. ‘Sandy finds it very difficult to deal with Grace’s work and to live in an environment where she plays second fiddle to his job.