John Simm teases dramatic rupture in Grace and Branson’s relationship: "Tensions are high"

If one thing has been certain and held steady across all five seasons of ITV crime drama Grace thus far, it's the unshakeable partnership of John Simm's Roy and Richie Campbell's Glenn Branson.

However, that dynamic is set to be rocked in the show's current run, season 6, with Simm teasing a rocky moment for the duo in an upcoming episode.

Speaking during a virtual Q&A for the show's new season, Simm said of Roy and Glenn: "They have an argument, which is quite interesting – quite weird to do actually, because we never actually argue.

"Tensions are high, they're not superhuman, they make mistakes, which is why I love these characters. They're real."

Grace season 6 will be made up of four episodes, with the first one having aired now. The second instalment, titled Capture You Dead, is a brand new story which has been created for the series, rather than being based on a specific novel by Peter James.

The synopsis for the episode says: "As Grace and Branson take steps to verify Cassian’s intel about Sandy’s murder, the body of a student, Charlie Downing, is found in a sea lock and Grace must find out who wanted this young woman dead.

"As the team investigates the campus and news of Charlie spreads like wildfire, it becomes clear that something, or someone, is making these students very afraid and this university harbours secrets - but are they connected to Charlie’s death?

"Meanwhile, student activist, Maddie Coleman, is determined to uncover the truth, and believes that Charlie’s ex-boyfriend, Davey, who was recently released from prison may be involved, but Maddie’s campaign for justice comes at a great cost.

"When a crucial piece of evidence unlocks the case, it seems the reason behind Charlie’s death lies deeper than meets the eye, and Grace now has his sights set on a killer who will stop at nothing to prevent a chilling secret from getting out. But when one of Roy’s team gets too close, will they make it out alive?"

During the virtual Q&A, producer Kieran Murray-Smith spoke about telling stories which aren't direct adaptations of James's novels, saying that "there's not really an overtaking the books", but that the team has put some of the books "aside, just in case we get an option of going further".

He continued: "And then what we have done is we've had producer led stories. So within the last few years, we've had producer led stories that have the backing of Peter James. We have a conversation, everything gets approved by Peter. I speak to Peter probably once every couple of weeks at least, but he's very on board with the stories that we come up with, especially in this last series.

"So everything that you see on screen that isn't specifically adapted from a Peter James book will be adapted from either a kernel of his ideas or whatever. So it's always going to have that DNA."

Grace season 6 will continue on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 5 April at 8pm. Seasons 1-5 are available to stream in full now on ITVX.

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