Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Robson Green solves crime in the quaint British village drama Grantchester

Robson Green as Geordie and James Norton as Sidney (Kudos/ITV)
Robson Green as Geordie and James Norton as Sidney (Kudos/ITV)

And star Robson Green says he knew the 1950s drama, with the odd couple pairing of Robson’s cop and James Norton’s sleuthing cleric, would be a hit.

“There was brilliant feedback after the first episode, but to be honest, I knew it was going to fly at the very first read-through,” revealed Robson, 51.

“I immediately got on with James. It was friendly, warm and we were kind to each other.

“That relationship off camera transferred in front of it.

“Let’s face it, the coupling of a charismatic clergyman and a no-nonsense detective would be very hard to pitch to a commissioning editor.

“But because of how we got on, it has been really likeable.

“And that plays a major part in any television success.”

Just as there was a bit of a contrast between the two lead characters — troubled cleric Sydney Chambers and Inspector Geordie Keating — there was an appealing difference between the look and tone of the series.

While it appeared to have that quintessentially British, chocolate-box village image, the crimes and attitudes were quite shocking.

“There was an undercurrent of something incredibly uncomfortable,” says Robson.

“There were many taboos in the 1950s, be it racism, homophobia, domestic violence and abortion.

“I like the balance between tranquillity and darkness. James Runcie who wrote the original novel said that Grantchester was the perfect place for picnics — and murders!”

Robson reckons the series is “so at the top of its game” that he’d love a third batch of episodes.

But he would have a couple of must-have conditions.

“Our lead writer Daisy Coulam would have to be involved. And James would have to be, too,” he adds.

“Those two things are deal breakers for me.”

Robson turned 50 in December 2014 and admits he thought he’d be doing “bits and pieces and guest parts” by this stage.

But he’s never been busier.

He’s become one of the most engaging and personable documentary hosts with his Tales from Northumberland.

And as it’s where he grew up and still lives, he couldn’t be more proud of its impact.

“There has been such an amazing boost in visitor numbers as a direct result of the programmes,” he says.

“If I can take on board that I helped Northumberland I think that’ll be some achievement.”


READ MORE

Robson Green expects Grantchester to be an ‘absolute monster’

Robson Green set for more fishy tales