A seventh stage adaptation of Peter James’s classic Roy Grace is heading out on tour. The Brighton author tells us all about it
Hot on the heels of the latest instalment of the acclaimed ITV Series Grace, Superintendent Roy Grace is back in a brand-new Peter James stage adaptation and world premiere of the bestselling Picture You Dead.
Starring 2024’s multiple award-winning actor Peter Ash (playing all venues from 6 February–17 May), Strictly Come Dancing winner, presenter and stage actor Ore Oduba (playing all venues from 20 May–26 July) and known for his spectacular performance in The Rocky Horror Show, Fiona Wade, who starred this year in 2:22 A Ghost Story following 12 years in Emmerdale, Jodie Steele, and with Casualty’s George Rainsford returning as DSI Roy Grace.
Back home in Brighton, DSI Grace investigates a cold case that leads him to the secretive world of fine art, but beneath the respectable veneer lurks a dark underworld of deception and murder. When one unsuspecting couple unearths a potentially priceless masterpiece, they discover that their dream find is about to turn into their worst nightmare, and only Grace can stop them from paying the ultimate price.
Absolutely ventured to Brighton to sit down Peter to talk about everything from creating an iconic detective to why the city is perfect for murder mysteries.
Peter James on Picture You Dead: A New Roy Grace Stage Adaptation
We will come on to the stage adaptation of Picture You Dead a little later in the questions, but I wanted to begin by going right back to the start. When did you first realise you had a knack for writing?
I guess when I was 15 and won my school poetry prize – and my English teacher encouraged me to write more.
Initially, what kind of things did you enjoy writing about?
A mix of teenage angst and the usual pretentious stuff teenagers write about. But I also really enjoyed writing comedy.
How did it feel when Possession was published back in 1988?
It was a dream come true. But even more than that – I’d never really had any confidence as a kid, and suddenly every publisher in the UK and pretty much every major publisher around the world was bidding for it. It was the most amazing feeling ever!
The Origins of Roy Grace
When did you start to get an idea about DSI Roy Grace?
It was back in 1997 when I met a young DI in Brighton called David Gaylor. He and I really clicked and he helped me on three of my earlier novels. Then in 2002, after he was promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent, my publishers asked if I had ever thought of creating a detective as a central character – and I went straight to David and asked him how he would feel about being a fictional cop. He loved it. The name Roy Grace just popped one day.
When that came out, did you have an inkling that it was going to be a series you would continue to develop over two decades?
Not remotely! I had a two book deal – I thought I would set up the mystery of what happened to Sandy, Roy’s missing wife, in the first book and give the reveal in the second. I was not expecting the global deluge of correspondence after Dead Simple came out, from readers speculating what might have happened to Sandy!
Is it right that each story has its roots in true stories?
Most of what I write is drawn from true life – but some just comes out of my head, too.
Tell us about your relationship with the Sussex police?
I developed a relationship with a young detective after I was burgled, back in 1982, and my first novel, Dead Letter Drop had just been published. He came to take fingerprints, saw the book and said that if I ever needed research help from the police to give him a call. That was the start of a wonderful relationship with them that continues to this day, over 40 years on.
What true crime cases did you see first hand that will always stay with you?
I’ve seen so many, including a teenage Romanian girl who had had a kidney stolen and was left to die in a gutter (Dead Tomorrow). A woman distraught after her beloved dog was stolen in a Brighton park (Stop Them Dead). But the most heartbreaking of all was a 60-year-old man who had been scammed out of every penny he had in the world by someone he met online who he thought was his soulmate (Dead At First Sight).
What inspired the most recent DSI Roy Grace book, One of Us is Dead?
It was a friend who came up to me and said, “I have a story you are going to want to write!’ People say this all the time, but on this occasion he really did have a story I wanted to write. It’s about a man who turns up to a funeral, and sees a man sitting, six pews in front of him, whose funeral he attended two years earlier and gave the eulogy at!
Do you have a set way of writing the books today, i.e. set hours you sit down to write?
My best writing time is 6-8.30pm with a stiff drink and music! I made that my “me time” during the years I was working full time in film and television. I revise in the mornings, and try to write a minimum of 1,000 words a day, six days a week, once I’ve started a book.
The Thrill of Live Theatre
When you first sat down to write Dead Simple, how would you have reacted if someone said to you that DSI Roy Grace would, for want of a better word, grace both TV and the stage?
I would have said, ‘In your dreams!”
How involved have you been with the ITV series?
Very – ITV and the whole production team are just wonderful to work with. I’m consulted, along with my wife, in great detail on the scripts, and on every cast decision right down to the most minor role.
Did you always have an idea of what DSI Roy Grace looked like – and did John Simm fit the bill?
Honestly if back in 2002/3 when I was first creating Roy Grace, I had done a police E-Fit, it would have come up with John Simm. He is my absolute dream actor for this role on television. We have also been very blessed with George Rainsford, from BBC’s Casualty, reprising his role of Roy Grace on stage after playing him so brilliantly in the last adaptation.
It is hugely interesting to see how very different the adaptations of my novels are for the screen and for the stage. Within reason, the television adaptations can have the same large cast of characters, the wide number of locations including some overseas, car chases, action involving trains, boats, aircraft – everything. But to make a touring play viable the cast needs to be limited to around nine characters, and no matter how ingenious our brilliant set designer is, we are restricted to a very small number of sets – so it is pretty much all down to the script, direction and performances.
What I love about live theatre is the sense of shared experience. We used to get that to some extent in the cinema, but for me there has always been something magical about live actors on stage in front of a live audience – it is an extraordinary feeling of “togetherness”. The audience laugh together, jump together, gasp together. You just don’t get any of that when you are sitting at home watching your TV screen, no matter how big it is!
So to Picture You Dead – again, how involved have you been with stage adaptations of your work?
I’ve been very closely involved with every aspect of the stage adaptations right from the start. I find Josh Andrews brilliant to work with and we have a great respect for each other’s judgement. The six plays we have done together to date have been a huge success, even making a profit during the dark days of lockdown, which was quite a feat! So far the plays have been seen by well over half a million people around the UK alone. This has led to my novels-to-stage adaptations being described as ‘the most successful stage franchise since Agatha Christie’.
What excites you about this version of Picture You Dead?
I love this new adaptation of Picture You Dead – I think more than any other adaptation so far, and I’ve love them all. The script is just brilliant and I think very suited to our times in that it is both thrilling but also funny and overall hugely entertaining – without terrifying the audience… well, not too much! Anyone who goes to see it will get everything they expect from a Peter James story, but the one thing above all, I guarantee, is that they will have a fun time with a great cast.
The paintings of David Henty, which feature, are so brilliant, they are going to make an awesome backdrop, and I love that the story for the novel – and now for the play – are inspired by this amazing and hugely larger than life artist. David Henty, who lives very close to Brighton, is considered by many to be the world’s greatest living art forger.
Why Brighton is the Perfect Setting for Crime Fiction
This interview will come out just before the show heads to Brighton Theatre Royal. How important has Brighton been to your life and career?
I love Brighton so much, and it is so much a part of Roy Grace and everything that I’ve ever written. I was very lucky to have been born and raised in Brighton and Hove, and that not that many writers, before me, ever really wrote about it in depth.
Why was it the perfect place to set the scene for DSI Roy Grace?
Every city has its own kind of crime, but Brighton is pretty unique in having such a criminal pedigree. It began as a smugglers village, Brighthelmstone, became a haven for villains during the Victorian era, who moved here from London bringing prostitution, cockfighting and all other forms of illegal gambling, protection racketeering and so much more! More recent history has seen it a haven for bent antique dealers, drug dealers, gangs and smuggling of all kinds. Three previous Chief Constables have told me Brighton is the favoured place to live in the UK for First Division criminals…
What places in Brighton do you love to head to for a more positive spin on life?
I love the undercliff walk at Rottingdean on a blustery winter day, to walk up on the Downs and to roam the North Laine district browsing the amazing variety of shops. And I love the amazing variety of food the city’s restaurants offer.
What comes next for you?
I have a very exciting new Roy Grace coming out in September. Recently Queen Camilla announced that Roy Grace is her favourite fictional detective. Well, I cannot say too much, except that there may well be a Royal connection in the new story…
Catch the show at the Brighton Theatre Royal from 4th to 9th March 2025
