Grace author says Line of Duty went “off the wall” after season 2

James recently opened up on how other TV dramas compare, saying: "Obviously, I think Happy Valley did a good job. There was a lot of realism in that. I think the first couple of series of Line of Duty were good before it started going kind of off the wall.

"Endeavour is great. I really loved the American series Mare of Easttown with Kate Winslet. She’s superb in that. Mare is like the American Sarah Lancashire. We were flying back from a holiday in the Maldives this time last year and my wife said, ‘Watch this.’ I sat and I watched five episodes in a row on the plane. It was so good."

Line of Duty, starring Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar, ran for six seasons.

Over the past two seasons of Grace, fans have been given hints as to what exactly happened to Roy Grace's wife Sandy.

Read more:

• Grace star John Simm explains change to Craig Parkinson’s character
• Endeavour's Abigail Thaw: 'My dad would have approved'

Well, it seems we might be about to find out, with James also recently teasing a resolution to that story.

"One thing that John [Simm] and I discuss a lot is Sandy and her disappearance. It will ultimately resolve, and I think the audience will love it," he said.

Meanwhile, James also spoke about how the first episode in season 3, Dead Like You, contains flashbacks to Grace and Sandy's life together before her disappearance.

He said: "Grace has always idolised Sandy but what I have gently shown through the books is that maybe she wasn’t quite the perfect wife that he always thought. I’m writing Sandy’s story as a standalone novel at the moment, which is from her perspective from the day she leaves him and the real reason that she leaves him!"

Grace season 3 starts airing at 8pm on Sunday 19th March on ITV1 and ITVX. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

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