This script has been lightly edited for clarity.

 

Jace Lacob: I’m Jace Lacob, and you’re listening to MASTERPIECE Studio.

Life in the sleepy English village of Grantchester is never without drama, and this season put our beloved characters through the wringer. As if a vicar transition wasn’t enough upset, they’ve also dealt with a fraudulent archaeologist turned treasure hunter, multiple crimes of passion, and a crazed conman who didn’t go down without a fight — a fight that ended with gunshots, and some characters wounded more than others. 

 

CLIP

Alphy: It’s a woodchip. Leonard, it’s a splinter!

Daniel: It’s a bloody splinter!

 

Our new vicar Alphy Kottaram has had to weather his own Grantchester baptism of sorts. From his racially tinged welcome to coming around to the idea of solving crimes with Geordie Keating, this role is nothing he could have imagined. But Alphy’s trials didn’t end there. Only a short while after coming to town, it seems as if his days as Grantchester’s new vicar are numbered.  

 

CLIP

Alphy: Just tell me the truth, did you set me up to fail?

Bishop Aubrey Gray: Why would I do that?

Alphy: Because I’m dispensable?

Bishop Aubrey Gray: You’re being irrational now.

Alphy: Why offer me the position if there was none?

Bishop Aubrey Gray: Circumstances changed.

Alphy: Or was I always the scapegoat? Indian vicar with a common accent? Yeah, he’s the one that’ll run the church into the ground. Yeah. Yeah, I thought so.

 

Unbeknownst to Alphy, Mrs. C fought tooth and nail to keep him in Grantchester, and it worked. By the end of the season, Alphy has finally settled in and been accepted into the Grantchester family. We’re left with a final shot of Alphy and Geordie walking their dogs together after a satisfying and heartwarming Sunday lunch at the vicarage. 

 

CLIP

Alphy: Hold on, what about the washing up?

Geordie: Eh, let the rest of the family do it.

 

Today, we’re joined once again by lead actor Rishi Nair, and Grantchester writer and creator Daisy Coulam to look back on this transformational season, and maybe peek into the future of the next.

 

Jace Lacob: This week we are joined once again by Grantchester star Rishi Nair. Welcome.

Rishi Nair: Thanks for having me back.

Jace Lacob: So, you’ve wrapped up your first series of Grantchester as Alphy Kottaram. What did you learn most from the experience, either about yourself or your craft?

Rishi Nair: It was the first time I’ve ever worked so intensely on something in terms of, as soon as we started this in mid-July 2023, we finished mid-November, so five, six months, it was like 12 hours a day, every day, Monday to Friday, for that whole period. I remember my first day actually, I had one scene, and it was actually the first scene that we filmed when I punch Robson. And I was probably at work for four or five hours that day. I got home and I was absolutely shattered. And I was just thinking, I was looking at a schedule and I was like, I don’t know how I’m going to do this. That was one scene. I’ve got like six scenes every day from now on.

But as the season progressed and as more weeks went on, I just got into the habit as you do, and you get into this rhythm and I kind of found my rhythm. And I think in ways it was actually really helpful for it to be like that because, throughout that whole kind of five, six months is just being really engrossed in this character and this world.

And even for the first month, I remember I only listened to music from the ‘60s, whether I was in the gym or driving to work. And obviously music from before then in the ‘40s, ‘50s, trying to put myself in Alphy’s shoes as to what he would be listening to, or even what sounds of music he would be hearing in that kind of world, just to kind of put me in that mind frame. You know, you never walk into a scene and you’re like thinking of a song or anything. But I think subconsciously, if that kind of information is in you somewhere, I think it kind of helps you find your feet as to where you are in that world.

Jace Lacob: It grounds you in that time.

Rishi Nair: Yeah, exactly.

Jace Lacob: So, when Episode 8 begins, Alphy is struggling to hold on to his new position in Grantchester. And it seems as if the congregation he’s just been given is being taken away from him. How does he reconcile this turn of events with his glass half-full nature?

Rishi Nair: Oh yeah, he is glass half-full, but I think at this point he feels very, very defeated. It’s probably the lowest moment we see Alphy in this season. And we see that even though he is very happy-go-lucky and strong, we can see that actually, he can be quite down and defeatist in this way.

The church for Alphy is everything. It’s what’s given him his purpose in life. And the fact that in this moment he feels like the church has turned its back on him, I think for Alphy, that is really kind of destroying. He’s really lost. He’s really lost at this point in time and he’s trying to look for a sign from God. There’s a scene where he’s in the church and he’s talking to God and he’s saying,

 

CLIP

Alphy: Amazing Grace. “I once was lost, but now I’m found.” Never really understood those words before. You found me and I don’t know, maybe this is the first time I’ve ever felt abandoned by you. You brought me here for a reason, I’m sure of it. So, do I fight this, or do I go? What is it you want from me?

 

Rishi Nair: And all the signs that he’s getting from people not accepting him in the village and other kinds of signs, everything is pointing to him leaving Grantchester and it not being the right thing for him to do. And I think Alphy is the kind of person that has always succeeded in life against the odds. And I think this is kind of a new situation for him and it’s quite unsettling. So yeah, it’s definitely a tough moment for him and he’s more glass half empty at this point.

Jace Lacob: There is a theme this series about false faith, which I think is definitely embodied in the character of Sam, who initially seems like this benevolent street preacher, but is revealed to be a cult leader and conman. How is Alphy’s belief in faith tested by Sam, someone who manipulates belief in such a damaging way?

Rishi Nair: Alphy doesn’t know anything about Sam. He just knows him as kind of a street preacher in the beginning of the season. And it’s kind of curious as to what’s happening. He’s not writing him off completely. He’s trying to look at, okay, maybe this is a way to do it, because he sees that congregations are dwindling, and he sees with Sam that they have this halfway house where he’s doing these talks and these events and there’s a lot of young people coming.

So, I think there’s a slight bit of jealousy from Alphy there as well as to how Sam is doing that. I think when he thinks someone is abusing or exploiting their position, that’s kind of where we see the steel from Alphy come out. And I think he slowly starts to see things with Sam that he doesn’t like, and that really kind of tests Alphy.

And again, Alphy, we see this other side of him that he’s not just this happy-go-lucky half glass full kind of chirpy guy just hopping around the village. There is this steel. There’s a line that Daisy put in the description for Alphy which was great, she described Alphy as an iron fist in a velvet glove. And yeah, that sums up Alphy brilliantly. And I think we definitely see that part of him with Sam.

Jace Lacob: So, Sam knows the pressure points to apply, telling Alphy,

 

CLIP

Sam: You’ve never felt wanted.

Alphy: Don’t even try.

Sam: Yeah, that’s it, isn’t it? You don’t know what it is to be wanted. No home, no family, no love.

Alphy: You have no idea who I am.

Sam: I have everything that you don’t have, and you can’t bear it.

 

Jace Lacob: Has Sam seized upon a hidden truth here? Is there any accuracy to the tale he’s spinning about Alphy?

Rishi Nair: Yeah, I think that he’s definitely hit a nerve there. I think we can see from Alphy’s reaction that there has to be some truths in there somewhere because it really hits a nerve. And I think it’s that classic thing, which the character of Sam is so brilliant at, is that he finds certain weaknesses in people and preys upon them. And that’s how he can get these people to follow him. He’s like, I understand you, I’ve figured you out. And it’s that same kind of thing he’s doing with Alphy there. He’s prodding him on these little things. And he doesn’t know. There’s no way of him finding out, this was before Google and everything. He couldn’t have Googled him.

But he’s definitely hit a nerve there. And I think he’s trying to get Alphy back on his side, maybe. But Alphy is definitely not having any of it. And yeah, there are a few truths in there and which ones are true and which ones are not, I think we’ll find out in the next season.

Jace Lacob: So, Alphy is looking for a sign from God. What does the villager’s victory, the campaign undertaken by Mrs. C, to insist that Alphy stays in Grantchester mean to Alphy? Is there a sense that he’s found a belonging, that he finally feels wanted?

Rishi Nair: Yeah, I think it’s very emotional for him, actually. I think he would never have expected that coming into the parish, and all the signs before that were pointing to him not staying. And so, when he confronts the bishop and they have this scene in the church,

 

CLIP

Bishop Aubrey Gray: Did you put your housekeeper up to it?

Alphy: I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Bishop Aubrey Gray: Well, it was one letter a week at first. Then, once a day from her. Then others, dozens of them increasing in number and venom. She even wrote to the archbishop suggesting that I had acted illegally. I suspect she was one step away from writing to the good lord himself.

Alphy: And what did they say, the letters?

Bishop Aubrey Gray: That you belong here. They want you to stay, and the archbishop agrees.

 

Rishi Nair: I think it really touches his heart, and the fact that it was Mrs. C that was leading this campaign. I love the relationship between Alphy and Mrs. C in this because it’s almost like in this town of Grantchester, she’s his mother. She annoys him, as you would with your mother, but there’s this real lovely motherly relationship. And I think in that moment, when he finds out that Mrs. C is the one that’s driving this force and has done it, especially after the way he’s been with her and said that he doesn’t need her, he, in that moment realizes he actually really needs her.

And it’s a really emotional moment. And he goes and sees Mrs. C and he just gives her a long, big hug and just holds her really close. And there’s so much more meaning behind that hug. She’s kind of given him a new lease of life again. We’ve seen him so defeated before this and it’s just very overwhelming for him, I think at this moment.

Jace Lacob: I love that hug between you and Tessa. As you say, it’s so emotional. There’s such devotion between these two characters, such love, such compassion. And it is like a declaration of belonging to a place, a people, to this woman, embedded in that one act. But I love the end of the series as Alphy, Geordie, Milburn, and Dickens walk out together, escaping the bustle of another Sunday lunch at the vicarage. And there’s this sense of peace for all of them, even comfort in each other’s company, the word family. What has Geordie come to mean to Alphy at this point, and what does this place mean to him?

Rishi Nair: Yeah, I think it’s that sense of family, isn’t it? It’s so important for Alphy. He’s such an outsider in this town and feels so alone. And I feel like he’s someone that’s always felt alone, wherever he’s been. So having these people here that have really accepted him, and Geordie and Alphy in that scene, they’re in the kitchen washing the dishes, you can hear the chaos in the living room with him playing charades and it’s this real kind of family sense, that kind of Christmas feel that you have when you have all the family around. It’s a moment where Alphy just realizes when they’re washing the dishes that it’s this moment where he’s like, God, I have a family here.

And again, with the scene when they’re walking out, and it’s just this real acceptance. It’s the same path that Alphy walks when he first arrived at the vicarage, when he walks towards the river to go for a swim and he’s kind of on his own and he’s looking around and he’s really optimistic about this new town. And then obviously we go through the whole season, and we see him being defeated and how tough it’s been for him. And then it’s so lovely again, he walks that same path, but this time with Geordie next to him, with the two dogs just left their home and Mrs. C and Jack and Leonard, everyone in the living room. And it’s this real kind of full, complete moment where he feels, I actually do belong here, which is a really lovely moment.

Jace Lacob: Rishi Nair, thank you so very much.

Rishi Nair: Jace, it’s been an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

 

MIDROLL – We’ll take a short break to hear a word from our sponsors and when we return, we’ll hear from Grantchester writer, creator, and executive producer, Daisy Coulam. 

 

Jace Lacob: And we are joined once again this time by Grantchester executive producer and head writer Daisy Coulam. Welcome.

Daisy Coulam: Thank you very much.

Jace Lacob: So, faith has always been a hallmark of investigation for Grantchester and Series 9 looks at false faith or how faith is misused or even abused by cult leaders or conmen. Why was this a theme that you wanted to explore in this series?

Daisy Coulam: Do you know, we’ve been wanting to explore the corruption of faith since about Series 2. We always used to discuss it. There was a guy who worked in the production office who was like, you should do a cult leader. And we were like, yeah, we really should. But how do we do it in a Grantchester way? And when have we earned the right to look at that? And I think by Season 9, we felt like we’d earned the right to look at that as a storyline, but we wanted it to be very subtle and never use the word ‘cult’, for example.

And also, there was, in that time in Cambridge, which was quite a forward-looking place, there was a new sort of wave of looking at religion in very different ways. And so, we wanted it to be a slow, creeping storyline, I suppose, if that makes sense.

Jace Lacob: It is, it threads its way through this entire series. What I love is that it begins with John Amos, or Sam, as he’s known then, as a street preacher, who actually does inspire Leonard and Daniel, and even helps inspire Will to make the leap to Newcastle. But he has this dark side that we slowly see throughout this entire series, as he manipulates people into turning over money or even killing for him. What were you looking to say with his character about that corruption of faith?

Daisy Coulam: It was almost an adversary really for Alphy. Just this idea that he has a very pure version of faith, which is about community. Alphy’s vision is that we’re all welcome in church and in a way that Sam’s vision of it, he’s saying, look at all these people that are flocking to me, but it’s been used for ill and it’s about ego really. Basically, I’m obsessed, Emma and I are obsessed with true crime and there are so many cults out there, so many documentaries about so many cults. And it seems to be, the similar thread is the ego of a man really. And it’s not about God, it’s about them. They think they’re God.

And that was what we wanted to explore really. And then we got Elliot Warren and we’re really lucky we got him because he’s warm and sort of approachable and then when he turns, he really turns. There’s a scene with him and Leonard where he’s so scary! Like, proper eyebrow, you know, sort of little veins in his eyes popping. You’re like, Oh my God.

Jace Lacob: He’s great.

Daisy Coulam: He is great. He’s really great.

Jace Lacob: So, when we talked about the character of Alphy initially, it does seem like things played out perhaps differently than he was originally envisioned. I remember there was a line in a script in which he did mention an absolute nightmare of a sister. I do remember someone named Kali, maybe.

Daisy Coulam: Yes.

Jace Lacob: That was potentially her name at one point. So how did he change then over the course of Series 9 from the image you had in mind initially when you started conceiving the character?

Daisy Coulam: Well, in a way, he changed completely, but in a way, he changed not at all, if that makes sense. Because he’s a person who is warm and kind and friendly and like the vicar you would love to have. That is a given and that is what he plays and that is what we see. And it was interesting, Emma and I sat down with him, and this tells you how late we changed the story, we were sitting on a truck in a field, having filmed, I think, four episodes and we were like, we’ve had some ideas about Alphy’s backstory.

And Rishi was really cool with it and was like, no, that really makes sense to me. Because I think all actors reach for what is playing underneath. And I think it helped him infuse that sort of warmth with just a teeny edge, which you get to see in the second half of the series. So yeah, he did have a sister. I think she was written in a script at one point, but she came out because it felt too early in a way to construct a family around him. His family is already around him, which is Mrs. C and Leonard and Geordie.

Jace Lacob: Well, and I think if he had a sister with him, if he comes in with someone, it removes any kind of impetus to force his belonging, to become a part of this family, to struggle in that way, if he has someone there.

Daisy Coulam: Exactly. And this is a show, as you said, all about found families and he’s now found his family. But will it explode in some way? Who knows?

Jace Lacob: Who knows? It’s Grantchester. Things never run that smoothly. I mean, it’s Grantchester. The bishop has plans to get rid of Alphy, but Mrs. C comes to the rescue. She organizes a campaign to keep the congregation in Grantchester and to keep Alphy to boot, and the bishop is forced to relent. What does Mrs. C’s effort mean to family, and does it come with that sense of actually belonging, of being part of a community and a family?

Daisy Coulam: Yeah, I think Mrs. C starts her campaign in the female episode and I think it speaks to the female way of doing things somewhat, you know, quietly behind the scenes, with no fanfare and with no thanks really, she is changing the world. And I think that’s sort of what we wanted to say in Episode 5, that these women are working away, working away, keeping everything going with little recognition. And yet, they’re sort of the silent heroes. And that’s where we sort of felt like Mrs. C was doing this off her own back, just her and a little typewriter and her letters, aligning her stamps and she changes things. And it sort of forges that friendship with Alphy, which I just adore. When they hug, I just want to be in that hug. Can I squeeze into the middle of that hug?

Jace Lacob: Grantchester sandwich. Yeah.

Daisy Coulam: Yes. I love it. Oh, wouldn’t you like to be in that sandwich?

Jace Lacob: So, my question is when Mrs. C petitions the bishop, is she campaigning, initially anyway, for Alphy purely because of his role in the village, the need to keep Grantchester‘s church alive, or because of who he is? In other words, is it for Alphy himself, or does it become for Alphy?

Daisy Coulam: You know, Mrs. C is not the most welcoming I would say in Episode 3, she refers to him as swarthy and she makes some terrible faux pas, but her heart is in the right place. I suppose she’s a product of her generation, isn’t she, really? She’s one of those women who once she gets to know you, she likes you kind of thing. But I think she sees that he has a place in that village and his warmth and kindness is something that she wants to keep there. So, it is about him.

And that last scene when he stands up for her and says, don’t throw away her apron to the horrible vicar David. They found each other, I think.

Jace Lacob: That’s lovely. When Alphy arrives, he’s skeptical of the police, resistant to helping Geordie, surprised to learn about Dickens, he even dismisses Mrs. C. These are things that have been imposed upon Alphy, but by the end of Series 9, he comes around to all aspects of his new role and embraces these impositions. Do you see these changes in Alphy as growth, defeat, or something else?

Daisy Coulam: Oh, I would say growth. Also, when we wrote in that he meets Dickens, we specifically put that he likes Dickens on first sight because I was like, no one likes a man who doesn’t like a dog. Our audience is going to hate him if he’s in any way remotely against that dog. But yeah, I think he’s pretty easygoing. He’s a man who’s had to adapt to all his life and I think he warms to this place. He’s used to that initial reaction he gets and the silence in the pub, but he wants these people who, as he says to the bishop, they deserve better than the way you’re treating them.

I think he speaks to the underdog really and he speaks to the community and he’s more a part of the community than I would say Will and Sidney. Will and Sidney, in a way, their troubles sort of kept them away from the community and Alphy’s opened him up to the community.

Jace Lacob: You put Leonard and Daniel through the ringer this season with Daniel falling under the spell of John Amos, Leonard nearly getting shot, albeit with a splinter. But they end the season recommitted to not only each other, but to the larger group as well. Are they in a better place having been so severely tested?

Daisy Coulam: Well, yes and no, I would say. I would say on the surface, Daniel has been accepted back into that family group because that’s the thing about the Grantchester family, you can do all sorts of things, and they will always welcome you back. Because that’s what families do, isn’t it I suppose, they see your foibles and they embrace you anyway. And in a way, Daniel, all he was doing was searching for belonging. It’s sort of like The Wizard of Oz, isn’t it really, there’s no place like home, you’ve had it all along kind of thing.

But we will continue to explore it because I think for Leonard, that’s quite a big betrayal, I would say, for somebody to literally walk away from their life, from you. So, there will be repercussions down the line, I think, but in a sort of interesting and different way. We’re not going back, so Sam doesn’t reappear, but there will be other ways to explore it.

Jace Lacob: Okay, the romance between Miss Scott and Larry. It was planted a few seasons back, but it reaches fruition this season. First with their ill-fated date in Episode 1, and then Larry’s even more ill-fated marriage proposal. But after Larry gets shot, he gets a shot at the girl. How did you decide to tip over the will they, won’t they for Larry and Jennifer Scott?

Daisy Coulam: I’ve been pushing for this for ages. Emma is a great proponent of holding back story and sort of teasing it out. And I was like, just let them kiss! I just want them to kiss! And she finally gave way. It felt like the right moment that he says, seize the day, boss, seize the day, and off he goes. Larry has found himself as a man. And I really like that she can’t even bring herself to look at him because she’s like, damn you, I suddenly fancy you and this is really awkward, and I don’t want to fancy you. It’s our Grantchester love story really, and I’m very excited to explore that further in the next series. They’re great, those two, they’re so good and they’re so lovely in real life.

Jace Lacob: The “Damn you, Larry. Damn you”, that kiss is such a great moment for both of them, Larry because he wins over the girl and Miss Scott because she allows herself to fall in love and she kisses him back.

Daisy Coulam: Because she’s so very closed. She’s very professional and now, yes, she opens up her world to him and it’s sweet. They’re really best mates in real life, those two. And so, everyone was like, is it going to be really awkward for them to kiss? But they really went for it. It was great.

Jace Lacob: Oh my God, that’s amazing. They have such great chemistry. I love the two of them together. So, going into Series 9, was there a plan in place to get them together or did it happen organically while plotting if Emma was sort of saying, you know, don’t rush this?

Daisy Coulam: Yeah, I think we were going to keep the will they, won’t they going onwards, but something about that final episode, and I think it’s like you say, there’s always a sort of a slightly present-y, wrap-y bow moment, and it always feels like something presented itself in that moment when Larry walks back in, and he’s the hero and she and she can’t face him, yeah, it felt like exactly the right moment to break down both of their barriers.

Jace Lacob: The final scene has Alphy and Geordie out walking the dogs and it’s clear that they’ve turned a corner. Alphy admits that he has people in his life, Mrs. C and even Geordie, and Geordie puts his arm around Alphy. “What about the washing up?” And he says, “Let the rest of the family do it.” What does this final image say about their dynamic? Are they firm friends?

Daisy Coulam: They are, and we always try to think about our end image. When Will got married and it was Will and Geordie standing in front of the church in the garden, which was a beautiful image. And then generally we’ve ended on the meadows with the two boys and then we were like, but we’ve done that with Will and Geordie. So, we wanted something a bit different. And that road is so beautiful. You’ll have to come and see it one day because it’s just so cute. And we realized it’s the perfect length for a scene, is to walk down from the church to the pub. So, we did it and we were all walking backwards watching that scene being filmed, walking backwards down the street as the steady cam filmed them. And it just felt right.

And I tell you what, there’s a really beautiful little moment that Rishi put in there that I hadn’t really noticed before, where he sort of looks to Geordie, there’s almost a little bit of vulnerability there, like, have I been accepted? And it’s so beautifully nuanced. And you’re like, oh God, this is great, because this sets them up for the next series. And this is perfect, I want to follow these two. So yeah, it worked out beautifully.

Jace Lacob: Oh, I love that. So, Grantchester has been recommissioned for a 10th series, which is an incredible feat. Double digits, Daisy!

Daisy Coulam: I know!

Jace Lacob: Series 10!

Daisy Coulam: Can you believe it?

Jace Lacob: It’s totally mad to me, I’m thrilled. I’m wondering what you can tell us in the broadest possible strokes where you see the story going in Series 10. What can we perhaps expect?

Daisy Coulam: It will be a look at identity, the identity of Alphy, the identity of the country as a whole, 1962. We’ve got loads of stuff. I’m really excited about 10.

It was quite funny; Emma and I were stuck in a traffic jam on the way back from filming on Series 9. And in an hour and a half, we’d sort of pretty much figured out what we wanted to do. We were like, this traffic jam was the best traffic jam that could possibly have been because we’d roughly figured it all out.

I don’t know what it is about this show, there’s something about it that things sort of find their place. I don’t know, maybe it’s divine intervention, something. It always finds its shape and it’s quite easily without too much. I mean, there is some struggle, there’s always struggle, but maybe I’ll just forget that bit.

Jace Lacob: You just elide over that. It’s just the good times. The happy place.

Daisy Coulam: Yeah, the happy place. Exactly.

Jace Lacob: Daisy Coulam, thank you so very much.

Daisy Coulam: Thank you. Thank you. It’s always a pleasure.

 

And with that, we conclude another cozy season of Grantchester. But not to worry, there are plenty more mysteries to solve.

 

CLIP

Klaus: So.

Susan: Good morning, Klaus.

Klaus: Atticus Pünd — you have considered my offer?

Susan: Yes.

Klaus: And?

Susan: It’s not enough.

Klaus: I don’t agree.

Susan: Well, you wouldn’t, would you?

Klaus: Come on Susan, we’re old friends. We don’t need to haggle.

Susan: Oh, I thought that’s what I was here for.

 

The rebroadcast of Magpie Murders begins next week, August 11th at 9pm on MASTERPIECE on PBS.