Grace boss reveals hard-hitting original season 6 case exploring women’s safety – and it’s not based on Peter James’s books

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Get ready to head back to Brighton for the sixth season of Grace! This season will include a unique episode that isn’t adapted from one of Peter James’s novels – a first for the show.

One particular episode, created by the writers and producers rather than based on existing material, focuses on the issue of women’s safety and is set at a university. Executive producer Phil Hunter recently discussed the episode during a question-and-answer session.

Hunter described the topic as serious and sadly, increasingly common. They collaborated with Caroline Carver on the storyline, ensuring it felt natural and consistent with the overall tone of the show.

We needed to handle the issue carefully, acknowledging that the events take place on a Sunday night – a time when people are out and about – and, crucially, to address the serious threat and violence towards women depicted in the story. When exploring the killer’s actions and motivations, we wanted to understand their perspective, though not necessarily condone them.

I believe it was equally important that our approach and filming locations felt purposeful and weren’t exploitative. We also carefully crafted the story to ensure the victims and those affected by their deaths had a voice and were empowered throughout.

Hunter explained that the project ended up at the university because they wanted to create a safe platform for people to report threats and harmful actions. The goal was to establish a university group where individuals could speak out against this type of behavior and hold perpetrators accountable.

The story empowers the young women and students, giving them a real voice and making them key to solving the mystery and catching the killer. It was crucial to handle this with care and sensitivity, and I believe we achieved that.

During the question-and-answer session, producer Kieran Murray-Smith explained that they’re focusing on telling stories inspired by, but not directly based on, Henry James’s novels. He clarified they aren’t trying to replace the books themselves, but have kept some aside as potential material for future adaptations if the opportunity arises.

We’ve been developing stories led by our producers, with the full support of author Peter James. We discuss each idea with him and get his approval – I usually speak with him every couple of weeks. He’s particularly enthusiastic about the stories in the most recent series.

Anything you see in the show that isn’t directly from one of Peter James’s novels will be based on his original concepts or ideas. It will always maintain the core elements of his work.

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Season six of Grace will bring back familiar faces including John Simm, Richie Campbell, Zoë Tapper, Laura Elphinstone, Brad Morrison, and Juliette Motamed.

Grace and Branson will return to Brighton to investigate four new mysteries. They’ll also have to navigate the consequences of Cassian Pewe’s deception and protect Roy’s rediscovered son, Bruno, from ongoing threats.

The sixth season of Grace starts on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, March 29th. You can watch the first five seasons anytime now on ITVX.

Don’t forget to add Grace to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app! Download it now to get daily TV recommendations, exclusive features, and stay up-to-date with everything happening in the world of television.

Authors

James HibbsDrama Writer

James Hibbs writes about TV dramas for TopMob, covering shows on streaming services and traditional channels. Before becoming a writer, he worked in public relations, first at a business-to-business agency and then at the international production company Fremantle. He has a bachelor’s degree in English and Theatre Studies and a journalism diploma.

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2026-03-19 04:12