Grantchester newcomer Rishi Nair on new vicar Alphy: 'He's anti-police'

"So, he has this kind of perception about them, and he has this personality trait that anyone that abuses their power, or anyone in a position of power that abuses that, he always stands up to that morally.

"And obviously Geordie’s first interaction with Alphy is he's come to arrest him. He thinks that he's broken into the vicarage and he's stealing."

Nair continued: "So he immediately puts Geordie in that box of this police institution that he's grown up around, and that's why their relationship is really rocky to begin with.

"And Alphy actually doesn't want anything to do with Geordie, and Geordie comes and asks him for help with the case, and Alphy’s like, 'I'm a vicar, why am I going to help you with the case? Absolutely not.'

"But as the series progresses, Alphy sees Geordie for the man he is, and actually he sees that they have a lot more in common than they first thought. And how those two characters develop in that relationship is a really beautiful thing."

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Speaking about their relationship, Robson Green added: "It’s a great device, isn't it? A punch in the face. But very, very quickly, because it's Grantchester, we have to develop this relationship that these two people are going to go in and solve crimes.

"So there has to be a scene where there is an unstoppable force against an immovable object, but they have to discover a common ground in order to be together.

"He seeks intervention from Alphy because of one of the cases and it's over a religious matter, so he obviously goes to Alphy to seek guidance on how he should solve it, and Alphy wants nothing to do with it."

Green went on: "But like all the Grantchester vicars, he has this element of curiosity within each case, and very, very quickly, it's constructed in a way that when he's on his own, he's thinking about the case, and very, very quickly in the episode, the two minds meet and we're off."

Nair will be the third actor to helm the series, following in the footsteps of Brittney and James Norton.

Season 9 premieres in January 2025 with returning cast members including Al Weaver as Leonard Finch, Charlotte Ritchie as Bonnie, Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs C, Kacey Ainsworth as Cathy Keating, Oliver Dimsdale as Daniel Marlowe, Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman, Bradley Hall as DC Larry Peters and Melissa Johns as Miss Scott.

Grantchester season 9 will begin airing on ITV1 on Wednesday 8th January 2025 at 9pm.

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