Grantchester Shocker: Tom Brittney To Exit Series — Find Out When
Will motorcycle-loving vicar Will Davenport get to ride off into the sunset...?
PBS has announced that Season 9 of Grantchester, which is currently filming across the pond, will be the last for leading man Tom Brittney.
In turn, the Masterpiece mystery — which just aired its Season 8 premiere (read recap) and co-stars Robson Green as detective Geordie Keating — has cast English actor Rishi Nair as Will's successor, Alphy Kotteram. The new vicar will be Nair's breakout role in America; he's best known for the long-running British soap Hollyoaks.
"I've had the most incredible time playing Will Davenport for the last five years," Brittney said in a statement. "I got to solve crimes with my best friend, and work with the best cast and crew I could ever ask for. I'll miss it more than anything. But it's time for the baton to be passed, as it once was to me, and I'm so excited for Rishi to join the Grantchester family."
While PBS hasn't confirmed how many Season 9 episodes Brittney will appear in, if history repeats itself, he could receive a two-part sendoff and share scenes with Nair. Will made his first appearance in 2019's Season 4 premiere, crossing paths with Grantchester's original crime-solving vicar, Sidney Chambers (played by James Norton), at a talk on religion's role in the civil rights struggle given by a visiting Black reverend from Alabama. At the end of the second hour, Sidney decided to leave for America with the reverend's daughter, with whom he'd fallen in love. Will officially rode into town in the season's third episode, and was reluctantly roped into assisting with Geordie's latest case in the next installment.
As seen in Sunday's Season 8 premiere, Will has finally found happiness with his new wife, atheist Bonnie, who happens to be Geordie's niece-in-law. Yet, having grown up with an abusive father he could never please, Will remains worried about the kind of dad he'll be to her 7-year-old son and their baby on the way. In the closing moment of the premiere, a stressed Will sped off on his motorcycle to clear his mind on the winding country road, and struck a man who ran into the street. In this coming Sunday's episode, he'll be accused of causing death by reckless driving. Whether or not Geordie can prove his innocence, the tragedy threatens to send Will spiraling.
"Grantchester" Season 8
Episode One
Sunday, July 9, 2023; 9-10pm ET on PBS
After a fun-filled charity motorbike race, a young biker is found dead. Will and Geordie struggle to work out who would want to hurt a gifted young man.
Shown from left to right: Robson Green as Geordie Keating and Tom Brittney as Will Davenport
For editorial use only.
Courtesy of Kudos and MASTERPIECE.
Grantchester fans may now wonder what Brittney's exit could mean for Green, who has starred in the series since its debut and admitted he considered leaving the show when Norton did. In the Season 8 opener, Geordie's boss told him he'd be eligible for early retirement at summer's end — and that he expects him to take it even though Geordie feels he has more to give.
Update: PBS's full announcement makes it sound like neither Green nor Geordie are going anywhere:
In Season 9, it's 1961 and life is good for Will and Geordie. The families are always together, from Sunday lunches to planning summer holidays and with honorary grandparents Mrs. C and Jack, and adopted uncles Daniel and Leonard, it's one big happy family! But when Will is approached with a life changing offer, can he leave Grantchester, and Geordie behind? As Geordie struggles with personal loss and ever-growing family conflict between Cathy and teenage daughter, Esme he has no one to turn to. But when he arrests an intruder breaking into the Vicarage, he may find his days of working with a Vicar are not over. Reverend Alphy Kotteram has an instinctive distrust for authority and absolutely no desire to get involved in murder investigations. But Alphy and Geordie will discover they have a lot more in common than they first think, and Alphy will find that in Grantchester, murder is never far away. From deadly circuses, abandoned babies, and hostile historians to vanishing valets and murderous satirists. Together, Geordie and Alphy witness first-hand how religion can be corrupted, but also how faith, love and friendship can offer hope – and renewal.
How do you hope Will's story ends? And would you like to see Geordie retire (and perhaps finally take that family trip to America to visit Sidney)? Or is it only Grantchester if Alphy assists detective Keating? Join the congregation in the comments to share your thoughts.
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