Get to Know the Cast of Grantchester Season 5
You may think you know the cast of Grantchester, but we’ve got the real rundown on your favorite stars and your soon to be favorite newcomer! Get to know the talented stars of the Season 5, like Tom Brittney, Robson Green, Tessa Peake-Jones, Al Weaver and more, where you’ve seen them before, their famous family connections, and their surprising off-screen talents.
- 1.
Tom Brittney as Will Davenport
Grantchester’s newest crime-fighting vicar is played by Tom Brittney, who was previously known for roles as Jack Rawle in Season 3 of Call the Midwife, as rapist Roger Lockwood in UnReal, and as Lieutenant Jeremy Foster in Outlander.
His darker role on UnReal had him worried that he’d be typecast as the bad guy—something he, thankfully, no longer has to worry about. “I like to play it well enough that people believe the character – but hopefully they didn’t think I was Roger because he’s a terrible, terrible man,” he admitted to RadioTimes. “It’s not something I enjoyed doing, though Grantchester I enjoyed every day.”
Working on Outlander prepared him for the enthusiastic fan base for Grantchester. “With both shows, they have incredibly devoted fans,” he continued. “Outlander fans still send me birthday cards! I was only meant to be in it for a few episodes, but because of the fans, they brought me back. To kill me.”
When Brittney came onto the series in Season 4, he was replacing the beloved James Norton (Sidney Chambers) as the new vicar in town. Co-star Robson Green offered Brittney some advice, which the newcomer ignored. “Robson advised me, ‘don’t check any of the reaction’ and I ignored that and went straight onto Twitter,” he told Digital Spy.
Luckily for him, all went well, in the long run. “You hope that people want to see more of it so it was great they asked me to come back and come and play with my Grantchester family again. It’s just a dream.”
- 2.
Robson Green as Geordie Keating
For five seasons, Robson Green has played the lovably grumpy detective Geordie Keating, who despite his gruff exterior and any words to the contrary, is actually the kind of best friend who will always be there, whether it be with Sidney Chambers or Will Davenport. Before his days solving murders in Grantchester, Green was well known as half of the 1990s English pop duo, Robson and Jerome, alongside Soldier Soldier co-star Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones, Ripper Street).
Their fame came soon after singing “Unchained Melody” on their series, Soldier Soldier, in 1995. Fans were clamoring to buy the song, and they wanted more. Record producer Simon Cowell pursued them until they agreed to a record deal, and the duo went on to perform a handful of Number 1 chart hits and two albums in the mid to late 1990s.
Playing an on-screen detective and wooing crowds as a pop star isn’t where Green’s résumé ends. As a fishing enthusiast, Green has hosted a number of series, including Extreme Fishing with Robson Green and later Robson’s Extreme Fishing Challenge and Robson Green: Extreme Fisherman, all chronicling his adventures as he travels around the world participating in the sport.
Aside from his work on Grantchester and Soldier Soldier, Green is also recognized for roles in Touching Evil and Reckless. He also appeared in the series Being Human alongside Poldark star Aidan Turner.
- 3.
Al Weaver as Leonard Finch
Aside from his role as the ever-lovable Leonard Finch, Weaver is known for his role in the film Colette alongside Poldark star Eleanor Tomlinson, Mrs. Wilson star Fiona Shaw and Les Misérables star Dominic West. MASTERPIECE fans will also recognize Weaver from his role as journalist James Edwards in Press. (True, eagle-eyed MASTERPIECE detectives will also recognize him from an episode of Sherlock!)
Weaver’s mentor in drama school was none other than Grantchester co-star Tessa Peake-Jones. The two continue to be good friends, both on and off screen, today—they even share rides to work! “She buys me a custard every morning,” Weaver revealed in an interview with the MASTERPIECE Studio Podcast in 2019.
- 4.
Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs. C (formerly Mrs. M)
Prior to her role as Grantchester’s resident care-taker, Peake-Jones was known for her roles in the 1980 film Pride and Prejudice, the series Only Fools and Horses, and from her role in Season 1 of MASTERPIECE Mystery! series Unforgotten.
When asked if she knew from the start that Grantchester would be as successful as it has been: “Of course you never know, you hope it’s got all the right ingredients, sometimes you get fabulous programs and they don’t get recommissioned,” she said. “It’s a show we’re all proud of, we love the storylines, we love the new guests every week and Tom [Brittney] has fitted in amazingly, having walked into the new vicar role. I think he’s doing brilliantly and there’s a lot of energy in the show and it could go on and on – who knows we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”
- 5.
Lauren Carse as Ellie Harding
Newcomer Lauren Carse stars in Season 5 as Ellie Harding, a plucky journalist who catches the eye of a certain celibate vicar. Before her Grantchester days, Carse worked on a number of series, including Doctors, The Mallorca Files and Vera.
Coming into a beloved series in its fifth season wasn’t easy, but it was the opportunity of a lifetime, and she had one cast mate who could relate to her situation. “I was so excited. I rang everyone and no one picked up!” she said in an interview with This Morning. “I spoke to [Tom] about it, because, you know, he had the same thing last year. Obviously, there was a pressure to kind of fit in because it’s such a well-loved show with a big fan base, but everyone is just so nice. It’s the biggest thing I’ve done.”
One co-star in particular gave her some sage wisdom that that stuck with her. “I’d met [Robson Green] in rehearsals and he said, ‘Look, you’re never going to have a job again like this, there is something really special about Grantchester and you’re about to have a lot of fun so just enjoy it.’”
- 6.
Kacey Ainsworth as Cathy Keating
We may know and love Kacey Ainsworth as the charming, kind and supportive wife of Geordie Keating—and an independent working woman herself—but before her time on Grantchester, Ainsworth appeared in a number of series, including on the long-running British soap opera EastEnders. She’s also no stranger to crime-solving roles, herself. On Holby Blue, Ainsworth played police Inspector Jenny Black, and on Casualty she played DS Annie Reardon. (Watch out, Geordie! You’ve got competition.)
- 7.
Oliver Dimsdale as Daniel Marlowe
Before playing Leonard’s photographer love interest Daniel Marlowe, MASTERPIECE fans will recognize Dimsdale from his roles as the Prince of Wales in the Season 4 Christmas episode of Downton Abbey, and as Mr. Keen in Mr. Selfridge. He’s also appeared in series such as The Last Czars and Harley Street.
Dimsdale is married to actress Zoë Tapper, who appears in Episode 3 of this season of Grantchester, and who also appeared in Mr. Selfridge (as Ellen Love) and in Inspector Lewis.
- 8.
Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman
Before he was wooing Mrs. Maguire (now Mrs. Chapman) as Jack Chapman on Grantchester, Nick Brimble was starring in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves as Little John alongside Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood, and in 2001’s A Knight’s Tale as Sir Ector, alongside stars Heath Ledger and Victoria’s very own Rufus Sewell. Most recently, he starred in Watership Down alongside other MASTERPIECE stars such as Olivia Colman (Les Misérables), Miles Jupp (The Durrells in Corfu), and Charlotte Spencer (Sanditon).
- 9.
Jemma Redgrave as Amelia Davenport
The introduction of Grantchester’s newest vicar Will Davenport last season also meant the introduction of his family, including his mother, Amelia Davenport, played by Jemma Redgrave. Redgrave is best known for her work in the 1992 film version of Howard’s End as Evie Wilcox, starring alongside Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter and her real-life aunt Vanessa Redgrave. She’s also appeared in series such as Doctor Who and in Holby City.
Redgrave comes from a prolific acting family includes her father, actor and activist Corin Redgrave, who appeared in Foyle’s War, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and The Forsyte Saga; aunt Lynn Redgrave, who starred in films such as Gods and Monsters and Georgy Girl; aunt Vanessa Redgrave, who starred in Call the Midwife and Atonement; and her late cousin Natasha Richardson, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, who starred in The Parent Trap and Maid in Manhattan, and won a Tony Award for her performance as leading lady Sally Bowles in the 1998 revival of Cabaret, alongside MASTERPIECE Mystery! host Alan Cumming.
Don’t miss the premiere of Grantchester Season 5, on Sunday, June 14, 9/8c on MASTERPIECE Mystery! You can also catch up with all four previous seasons of the series now when you watch with PBS Passport, an added member benefit.
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