Granchester star admits she 'never thought public would get behind' show for 10 years
Period police procedural Grantchester is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and no one is more surprised than the cast.
Tessa Peake-Jones on the success of Granchester
Grantchester star Tessa Peake-Jones has revealed her surprise that the show is still running a decade after it first aired. Appearing on Loose Women on Tuesday (January 9) she admitted that she never expected to be still working on it.
"I love it. Love it. Every minute of it," she gushed. "But we did the first series and stood in the garden of the vicarage in Grantchester Village, the first day, all saying, 'Well it’s a new project. What’s it going to be like? How's it going to go down?'
"Never expecting that the public would get behind it and never expecting to be there a decade later," she admitted. "You don’t [expect it]."
"Because as actors you’re just very glad to get the work that year. You daren't hope that these things go on."
The 66-year-old, who first found fame playing Raquel in Only Fools and Horses has played Sylvia Maguire, the vicar's religious and cantankerous housekeeper since the very first episode of Grantchester in 2014.
The cosy drama returns for its eighth series on Thursday night (January 11).
As the series kicks off DI Geordie Keating (played by Robson Green) has found a new contentment in his relationship with Cathy Keating (Kacey Ainsworth).
However, spoilers released by ITV have shown that when they are both confronted with shocking announcements at work their happiness is threatened.
Meanwhile, vicar Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) is the happiest he’s ever been but his world will be rocked by a terrible accident and his despair leads him on a dangerous downward spiral.
Tessa's co-star Robson Green recently opened up about how much longer he will stay with the show.
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The 59-year-old has played DI Geordie Keating since the first episode however, he confessed that he is finding working on it more of a strain as he gets older. “I’m in the last third of my life and I thought, ‘I can’t do primetime drama 24/7 at that pace’,” he said.
“I’ve just finished four months on Grantchester, and it's long days. I love what I do, but I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the outdoors."
Pushed on when he may leave the show, he offered a definitive answer. “I’ll leave when [Grantchester writer] Daisy Coulam leaves.
“Daisy is the visionary of that show. And the team they’ve assembled provides me with a safety net,” he told Radio Times.
Grantchester is on ITV on Thursday nights at 9pm from Janauary 11.