Grace Series 7: Everything We Know So Far

Every time ITV releases a new series of its hit crime drama Grace, more Brits are convinced to join the fanbase. It’s all thanks to John Simm’s compelling performance as protagonist Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, charged with untangling knotty crimes on England’s southeast coast.

With series 6 all wrapped up, we are already thinking ahead to the future of the gripping cop drama. So will there be Grace series 7? Here’s everything we know so far.

JOHN SIMM as DS Roy Grace and RICHIE CAMPBELL as DS Branson in Grace series 6. (Tall Story Pictures/ITV)

Grace Series 7: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

After the Grace series 6 finale aired on Sunday 19 April, it took ITV less than three days to confirm a seventh series of the hit cop drama was in the works. On the news, lead star Simm said: ‘Honestly, if someone had said we’d be doing this for seven seasons when we first started this in lockdown I would never have believed it. But the reason I and many others have remained part of this series for so long is down to the team and the writing. It continues to excite and be such a joy for all and we can’t wait to see what’s coming next…’

Best known for starring in Life on Mars (2006–7) and as The Master in Doctor Who, while Simm has held very few long-running roles, he has always been keen for Grace and his character DS Roy Grace to have a long life. Ahead of series 6 launching, he told ITV: ‘I will happily do this as long as people want it. I realise how lucky I am to be playing the lead in a cop show. I love it.

‘I love the job, I love the people, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever done, it genuinely is like a family,’ the star continued. ‘We have the same crew, the same people come back to make the show every year, and every time we start again and walk on set, it feels like coming home!’

JOHN SIMM as DS Roy Grace and RICHIE CAMPBELL as DS Branson in Grace series 6. (Tall Story Pictures/ITV)

The Cast

Simm has starred opposite Richie Campbell since the series’ beginning, with Campbell starring as DI Glenn Branson, the other half of Grace’s crime-fighting duo. Both are set to return for Grace series 7.

Ahead of series 6, Campbell told ITV: ‘I don’t think we thought [it would carry on like this], maybe one or two series, and we know that there’s the books… But it’s the appetite, it’s the fact that people really want to be a part of the show, viewers have grown with the show.

‘I think the beautiful thing for us is that each season, we’re constantly thinking about upping it,’ Campbell added. ‘It doesn’t feel like we’re just churning stuff out. It’s like, “what can we do next?” People must get bored of us saying it, but every season, I’m like, “this season’s the best… No, this season’s the best. “ And that’s testament to everyone who works on it.’

They will be joined by a roster of guest stars as Grace and Branson unpick four knotty crimes. That said, they will also be rejoined by the stellar supporting cast, including Zoë Tapper as Cleo Morey, Laura Elphinstone as DS Bella Moy and Brad Morrison as DC Nick Nicholl.

JOHN SIMM as DS Roy Grace, RICHIE CAMPBELL as DS Branson and LAURA ELPHINSTONE as DS Bella Moy in Grace series 6. (Tall Story Pictures/ITV)

What Will Happen In Series 7?

Together, across six series, Grace and Branson have solved Sussex’s most sinister cases, from long-buried murders to fresh corpses discovered on the Downs and dredged from the Channel – and we expect even more complex plots to be dreamt up for series 7.

ITV has confirmed series 7 will be made up of ‘four gripping, brand new standalone films, based on characters from the best-selling Roy Grace novels by globally renowned author Peter James’. Though details are being kept under wraps, we believe at least one, titled ‘Picture You Dead’, will be based on one of Peter James’ Roy Grace novels, of which there are no less than 21, with two novellas to boot. In Picture You Dead (2022), Grace is unexpectedly plunged into the rarefied world of fine art as a collector and a naive couple butt heads.

We are told another of the four episodes will be titled ‘When You Are Dead’, which could be based on the eleventh Roy Grace novel, You Are Dead (2015). In this instalment, Grace is tasked with finding a missing woman who vanished from an underground carpark while on the phone to her fiancée, the groom-to-be hearing her scream before the line went dead.

JOHN SIMM as DS Roy Grace in Grace series 6. (Tall Story Pictures/ITV)

No news just yet on how loyal these two episodes will be to the novels, and it seems series 7’s other two episodes will be based on original material. Luckily, there’s no shortage of stories for Simm and Campbell to bring to life. So far screenwriter Russell Lewis has adapted 10 of James’ novels for the small screen, with some episodes diverging from the source material with the help of the author, who is an executive producer.

‘I quite like the fact that people that have read all the books, they get the rug pulled from under them when they think they know what’s going to happen, but it’s completely different,’ Simm said at a Q&A for series 5. ‘I quite like that. Because it’s a different thing. A book is not a TV show and vice versa.’ Looking ahead, the star added he is ‘not really worried about’ the TV series running out of stories. ‘I think we’ve got plenty of cases to solve,’ Simm said, with author James chiming in to confirm there are ‘a hundred more cases lined up at the moment’.

RICHIE CAMPBELL as DS Branson and JOHN SIMM as DS Roy Grace in Grace series 6. (Tall Story Pictures/ITV)

Release Date

Since 2021, a new series of Grace has aired every year. When the broadcaster confirmed Grace series 7 was in the works, ITV also confirmed ‘the popular, Brighton based drama will return next year’ – that is 2027. Grace typically airs in spring.

All episodes of Grace are available to stream on ITVX.

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