In a surprising revelation, actor Robson Green has declared his long-running character from ITV's Grantchester to be the worst detective in television history. Despite portraying Detective Inspector Geordie Keating for eleven years, Green insists the real super sleuths of the Cambridgeshire village are its clergymen.
The Vicar Outsmarts the Detective
As the popular series approaches its final run, Green provided a damning statistic against his own character. "In the past 11 years, there have been 78 murders in the quintessential, quiet, peaceful and sedate English village of Grantchester," the actor revealed. "Of the 78 murders, 77 of them have been solved by the vicar, which makes me the worst detective in history."
This remarkable solving rate has been achieved by the village's various reverends, played over the years by James Norton, Tom Brittney, and most recently Rishi Nair. Green's response to this fictional incompetence? "So next year I am going to have a change - I am playing a serial killer next in January. That is my next job!"
An Accidental Detective's Journey
Green's tenure as DI Keating almost never happened. The actor was originally filming the Sky One drama Strike Back in Thailand in 2013 when an accident involving co-star Sullivan Stapleton shut down production. "I was never meant to be in Grantchester," Green remembers. "I was not going to be paid and I was straight onto my agent saying 'you have got to get me another job. I need the money'."
His agent presented him with Grantchester, and Green began reading the books that inspired the series. He discovered the detective was "no stranger to the sweet trolley, he drinks for Britain and loves ale, whiskey and smokes 80 a day." This contrasted sharply with his previous role, where he was "looking a picture of health" as a lieutenant colonel in the special forces.
A Legacy of Cosy Crime and Global Fandom
Filming wrapped on the final series last month, with Series 10 airing next year and the finale scheduled for global release in 2027. Green admits the cast is in denial about the show ending. "We are going to be talking about for a while yet though as the final series won't be shown for another two years," he says.
Reflecting on his 42-year career and over a thousand hours of prime time drama, Green calls working on Grantchester "just a joy." He emphasizes that "There has never been any negative energy in 11 years" on the set.
The show's popularity has reached extraordinary levels, particularly in the United States. Last summer, Green and co-star Rishi Nair were mobbed by approximately 2,000 super fans during a promotional visit to Las Vegas. "It was like being at a Taylor Swift concert," Green recalls. "It was so surreal."
Back home, his toughest critic remains his 91-year-old mother Ann Green, who watches the show religiously each week in the north east with her friends. One of her neighbours, Rose, regularly teases Green: "Robson, I saw your show last week....I hope you weren't paid for that!"
As for DI Keating's iconic suit, which Green wore consistently for eleven years inspired by Peter Falk's Columbo, it now hangs "in a shrine at my home" with a special stand for his hat created by his cameraman son.
Though the series will conclude in 2027, Green hopes fans will keep the spirit alive by visiting Cambridge locations featured in the show. As writer Daisy Coulam told the cast: "Nothing really ends. Not really. The River Cam will keep flowing and swans will keep swimming. And if you look in a Cambridge pub hard enough you might see two old men, an ex-copper and a vicar having a warm pint and putting the world to rights. It is never goodbye."
