Grace season 5 is nearly here and we can't wait to return to Brighton for a new batch of cases!
The popular crime drama, which is based on the bestselling books by Peter James, has proved a real hit and viewers will be desperate to continue the story after the bombshell at the end of Grace season 4.
In a tense finale to last year's series, Grace finally learned the truth about his missing wife Sandy. She passed away in the closing stages of the final episode, but not before writing Roy a letter telling him they had a son called Bruno together!
Yet there was some good news, as Roy and Cleo found out they were expecting a baby of their own...
However before he can deal with all that, Grace will be getting his teeth into four new 120-minute tales this year, which are based on the novels; Dead If You Don't, Dead At First Sight, Need You Dead and Find Them Dead.
"When the first episode of Grace aired in 2021, it was a dream come true," said author Peter James in an ITV statement. "It is both heartening and astounding to me that we're already at series five!"
"The continued success of Grace is a testament to the outstanding cast headed by John Simm, and crew and, equally importantly, the fans, who have loved and devoted their time to these characters both on the page and now the screen. It is also a testament to just how faithfully ITV has adhered to both the characters and stories in the novels."
Here's everything we know about Grace season 5...
Grace season 5 release date
Grace season 5 premieres on Sunday 6th April at 8pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STVPlayer.
The series will be available on Britbox in the US, in Spring 2025.
Grace season 5 plot
Fans of Peter James' books will be familiar with the plots of the four new episodes, but for those who haven't read the novels, here are some episode synopses to whet your appetite...
Episode 1 - Dead if You Don't
Major Crime are called to a Sussex beach when an unidentified male washes up dead in a barrel. Presence of bleach on the body initially suggests that someone may have tried to destroy evidence but who is this victim and where did he come from? The same morning, Brighton football stadium receives a chilling anonymous call. Hundreds of fans are arriving for a match and their lives depend on an impossible demand: Pay £2,000,000 or an explosive device will detonate on the final whistle.
At the match, Roy Grace is taking a day off to bond with his and Sandy’s son, Bruno. A couple of months on since Sandy’s death, Bruno has come to the UK to live with his grandparents, while Grace and Cleo wrestle with the aftermath of a profound personal loss. Meanwhile, in the corporate box, wealthy businessman and club shareholder, Kipp Kavinda, is entertaining clients when his teenage son Frank storms off.
As Kipp learns about the bomb, he grows increasingly panicked when he can’t reach Frank. Grace’s team descends on the stadium to locate the device, while Roy finds himself in a frantic race to save hundreds of lives, culminating in huge personal risk. With a full-scale manhunt underway for the bomber, the day’s terrifying events are only just beginning when an eerie CCTV discovery outside the stadium comes to light, leading Grace to think that Kipp Kavinda’s family is being targeted - but why?
When forensic results on the body from the beach indicate chemicals used in bomb-making, Grace believes that all these events are somehow connected and the investigation soon points him to organised crime. To save an innocent life from imminent death, Roy must enter a cruel world of corruption, where normal rules don’t apply and human lives have no value.
Episode 2 - Dead At First Sight
When a man is found dead in his hotel, the scene reads like a crime of passion. The room was paid for in cash and booked under the name Travis Simmons. ‘Travis’ has no ID, no bank cards. It’s like he wanted to leave no trace. The only thing Grace discovers is a burner phone, so Roy suspects his victim was meeting someone in secret.
With tensions high in the aftermath of the stadium incident, ACC Cassian Pewe announces an Organised Crime task force, which Branson and Nicholl will oversee, and Major Crime gets a new recruit, DC Vee Wilde, who doesn’t start off on the best foot. Meanwhile, on a personal front, Cleo returns to work and Branson’s wife, Ari, faces a troubling professional battle, while Glenn worries she is hiding something.
CCTV reveals that two women visited the hotel on the night of Travis’s death. One, who Grace suspects to be his mistress, spent two hours in his suite before leaving. The other, who could be Travis’s wife, was seen hammering angrily on his hotel room door. Grace now has two suspects. There’s just one problem - the name Travis Simmons appears to be an alias. When the burner phone yields a clue as to the victim’s real identity, Grace tracks down the women but both are very convincing in maintaining their innocence. The team carefully retraces each suspect’s movements but things don’t quite add up and Grace believes that something in this case isn’t what it seems.
Then, two initially unrelated deaths provide the missing puzzle piece. Grace’s team is thrown into an online world, where a tangled web of mistaken identity leads to several individuals bound by a painful secret. Among them, hidden in the shadows, is a killer who will stop at nothing to get vengeance.
Episode 3 - Need You Dead
The murder of a woman discovered in her flat, initially presents as a break-in gone wrong, but soon appears to be something more. Her phone and laptop have been taken but her credit cards and valuables were left behind, which leads Grace to question whether this attack could have been personal.
The victim, Hannah Belling, was well known and liked - a former psychiatrist and founder of a popular mental health app, which was making a difference. However, as Roy delves into her life, it becomes clear that Hannah also had enemies. A number of suspects comes to light, each with a compelling motive - an ex-husband causing an acrimonious divorce, an obsessive stalker recently fired from Hannah’s company, a missing brother with a criminal past, along with a mysterious lover.
The team also discovers that Hannah’s office was broken into a few days before her death. Did she have something that her attacker was willing to kill for? As the team unravels the murder, cracks of tension start to show for Cassian and Nick, who are under real pressure from the Chief Constable to get crime in Brighton under control as part of their task force obligations.
Meanwhile, Ari shutting Branson out leads him to ask his contact at The Argus for help. A doctor’s visit for Grace and Cleo raises difficult questions about the future, and Cleo bonds with Bruno, who struggles with the loss of Sandy. An unexpected break in the case comes from blood found in Hannah’s flat, which reveals a crucial, chilling discovery. The investigation now becomes more sinister than Grace could ever have imagined - Hannah’s killer is just within reach and her death isn’t the only secret they are keeping. The painful truth at the heart of this murder will turn Grace’s world upside down.
Episode 4 - Find Them Dead
As East Sussex CID emerges from the ashes of their last case, they prepare for a major criminal trial, but Grace is still reeling from recent events and isn’t himself. Four months ago, Grace’s team dismantled a drugs operation, intercepting millions of pounds of cocaine being smuggled into Newhaven. The courier, Daniel Starr, worked for an elusive figure known as ‘The Merchant’ who for years had evaded the police. Starr gave up the Merchant’s identity and now, with the ruthless drug lord facing trial, Grace is determined to see him go down for his crimes.
Meanwhile, Brighton resident Megan Magellan’s daughter, Laura, leaves for a gap year in South America, and Megan receives a jury summons. Alone, after the death of her husband and son years prior, jury duty is a welcome distraction. But then everything changes, and Meg is faced with a terrifying dilemma. The defence starts strong but when a key witness unexpectedly fails to show up for court, Grace is convinced that the Merchant is trying to destabilise the case and that he must have a fixer on the outside doing his dirty work.
Soon, the prosecution is on the back foot, making Roy take questionable risks, which forces Branson to deliver some hard truths. On a personal front, Cleo wants to spend more time with Bruno, which causes hesitance from Grace and Branson rallies around Ari, who has a fight on her hands.
While Grace works doggedly to see justice done, a double murder at a park throws his team into a puzzling investigation, leading to an unexpected encounter for DC Vee Wilde, who struggles with old demons. With the case and trial pushing the team to the absolute brink, just as Grace thinks it’s all over, an unwelcome conversation burdens Roy with a terrible secret.
The films will be adapted for the screen by Jess Williams, Guy Burt, Caroline Carver and Ed Whitmore.
Grace season 5 cast
There would be no Grace without John Simm and the Life On Mars and Doctor Who star, who now lives on the South coast, will return as DS Roy Grace.
ITV have also confirmed that Richie Campbell (Top Boy, Stephen) will return as DS Glenn Branson, Zoë Tapper (Liar) will be back a Cleo Morey, Laura Elphinstone (Chernobyl) will reprise her role as DS Bella Moy and Brad Morrison (Outlander) will be back as DC Nick Nicholl.
Meanwhile, everyone's least favourite police chief, ACC Cassian Pewe, will also return, with Sam Hoare (The Castaways) playing him once again.
However DS Norman Potting (Craig Parkinson) won't be back for the new series and his pace in the team will be filled by DS Vee Wilde, who is played by Juliette Motamed (We Are Lady Parts).
Finn Guegan (Silo) will also join the show as DS Grace's son, Bruno.
Grace season 5 trailer
There's no trailer available for this one yet, but we'll be sure to post it online as soon as it lands.
