Robson Green and Tom Brittany return for series 6 of Grantchester. Photo: ITV

It’s amazing how just a few words can make one happy these days as long as they are the right few words and in the right order. ‘Grantchester returns October 3rd‘ doesn’t quite erase all that 2020 has unleashed on Planet Earth but it does give us something to look forward to in the not too distant future.

With filming completed in Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire, Robson Green and Tom Brittney reprise their respective roles as DI Geordie Keating and Reverend Will Davenport and it’s pretty clear that the DI and the Reverend are pretty psyched about returning to the streets of Grantchester.

Grantchester (ITV) ITV

Alongside Green and Brittany, Dominic Mafham reprises his role as St John Gurney-Clifford, Tessa Peake-Jones returns as Miss Chapman and Al Weaver will once again play Leonard Finch, while Kacey Ainsworth (Cathy Keating), Oliver Dimsdale (Daniel Marlowe) and Nick Brimble (Jack Chapman) will also reprise their roles. A number of special guest stars have been confirmed for the series, including Jemma Redgrave, Gary Beadle (as the Archdeacon), Rachael Stirling, Miles Jupp and Rebecca Front.

As it’s been just a bit since we last visited the town of Grantchester, you might remember that season five finale saw a shocking twist, when Tom Brittney’s Reverend Will Davenport broke his vow of celibacy – by sleeping with a nun, the older and unconventional Sister Grace, played by Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Season six marks Tom Brittney’s second full run as Grantchester’s resident parish vicar after replacing James Norton’s Sidney Chambers. The new set of 8 episodes begins in 1958 with the first episode taking the DI and the Reverend from trying to unwind at a holiday camp to investigating a murder at the resort.

In an interview with PBS, series creator and head writer Daisy Coulam revealed that upcoming episodes will contain some ‘game-changing’ moments for many of the characters, adding: “We’re going to put them all through the wringer this series. And it’s a big series for Leonard, where we’re going to take him to some quite dark places. Basically, we’re going to do a couple of quite big stories for our central characters that pull everyone into them. So it’s not separate strands—each strand will affect all of our lovely characters. It’s going to be emotional for all of them! I’m quite excited, actually, about the series. I feel like it could be the height of Grantchester.”

If that’s not enough to float your British mystery boat, filming has already begun on series 7 with Tom Brittney following in the directorial footsteps of Endeavour‘s Shaun Evans by making his Grantchester directing debut, stepping behind the camera to direct episode three of the series.

Tom Brittney steps behind the camera to direct and episode of Grantchester S7. Photo: PBS Masterpiece

Adapted from James Runcie’s Grantchester Mysteries novels, Grantchester S6 returns October 3 on PBS with UK fans hoping for a September release on ITV.