Robson Green expects Grantchester to be an ‘absolute monster’

“I think it’s going to be an absolute monster. It’s one of the best things I’ve done in the 30 years I’ve been on TV.”

Geordie star Robson Green was a man in a hurry when it came to his latest telly venture.

He was so sure it was going to be a hit he signed up in a matter of minutes.

Grantchester is ITV’s big new detective drama and, despite being thousands of miles away, Robson was desperate to be involved.

“The scripts were sent over to me when I was in Thailand doing Strike Back and, within an hour, I had said yes,” says Robson.

“I think it’s going to be an absolute monster. It’s one of the best things I’ve done in the 30 years I’ve been on TV.”

The setting is the fictional town of Grantchester in 1950s Cambridgeshire with Robson playing straight-talking copper Inspector Geordie Keating.

James Norton, who was chillingly convincing as the twisted killer in the BBC’s fantastic drama Happy Valley, couldn’t be playing a role further removed as priest Sydney Chambers.

The duo are partners in crime sleuthing with Keating’s methodical approach complemented by Chambers’ hunches and wily way of getting information from witnesses and suspects.

The series is based on a novel, Sydney Chambers And The Shadow of Death, and it looks like we’ll see much more of the duo.

“It’s a really good adaptation,” insists Robson.

“It’s beautifully written with stories just as relevant today as they were in the 1950s. You’ve got a relationship between a member of the clergy and this no-nonsense detective.

“You think it’s never going to work, a vicar and a detective solving crimes. But when you think about it, who do we confess our sins to most? Members of the clergy. That’s a very good tool for a detective to use.”

While there’s a lovely period look to the series something TV bosses think will be a real winner when it comes to overseas sales Robson insists there’s much more to commend it.

“There’s a very tranquil backdrop but there’s an undercurrent of the shadow of death. It’s set just a few years after the Second World War and characters still have the mental and physical scars.

“Everything looks beautiful as if people have never had it so good, but shell shock, or post-traumatic stress disorder was very prevalent. Men didn’t know how to deal with it or get on with their lives.”

And the cases that the sleuthing duo are involved with look like they’ll engage viewers.

“The crimes that are committed are crimes of passion,” adds Robson. “And because of the way it’s done, the audience understand why they’ve committed them and are asked to empathise.”