(uplifting music) - Hello, good evening and welcome to our Masterpiece "Grantchester" G8 summit.

I am your your erstwhile host, my name is Kacey Ainsworth, I play Cathy Keating.

- I am Tom Brittney and I play Will Davenport.

- I'm Robson Green, I was just passing.

(all laugh) - Al Weaver, I play Leonard Finch.

- I am Melissa Johns, and I play Miss Scott.

- Bradley Hall, and I play Larry.

- And I'm going to start with what your favorite thing is to do in downtime between scenes.

- Today, for example, there was a guitar on set.

We had a bit of a sing-song, so we like singing with the guitar.

- Could we do an acapella version now for the lovely viewers do you think?

- You can, I can't remember it.

♪ Wo, Geordie and Bob Johnson both layeth in one bed ♪ (hands slap) ♪ In the little lodging house that's down the shore ♪ ♪ But before he spent an hour's sleep ♪ ♪ One kick from Geordie's boot ♪ ♪ Made him sleep and awaken up instead of roar ♪ ♪ Oi, Oi ♪ ♪ Keep your feet still Geordie Hinny ♪ ♪ Let's be happy for the night ♪ Leave it, we've lost them.

Sorry.

- Dosey-do, da-da-da-da ♪ For I may not be happy for the day ♪ - We're literally one question in.

One question in.

- If you could take home one piece of your costume, what would it be and why?

- I do have the dog collar at home.

- You do?

- I do have that.

I do wear it on weekends.

Casual stuff that Will wears I love, like the Harrington jacket.

Just the t-shirts with the sleeves rolled up, and stuff like that.

- [Al] That is a nice jacket.

- It's really nice, it's sort of James Dean-esque, that cool thing.

- Yeah, yeah.

You literally have one costume (laughs).

- It's a signature, it's a choice.

- It is.

- There's something is my costume, but I never wear it, but I keep everything under it, which is my hat.

So I would put that in the "Grantchester" shrine that I have at home.

- Yes.

- I think I feel like I won a little bit when it comes to costume.

Miss Scott literally has a different outfit for every day.

She would never wear the same thing twice.

And they're all gorgeous.

And I just hope that Louise, our brilliant costume designer, just says, "Melissa, take them all."

- Take them all.

- They're tailored to you, right?

- Some of them were made 40/50-years ago.

Every time I come on set, I love it, 'cause I never expect the boys to notice, but actually every time they just go, "Oh, it's another one, I like that one."

- Mine's a bit of a game of two halves when it comes to this series.

The first couple of episodes, I was literally in a pinny from noon 'til night.

But since she worked at Swinnerton's, it was a stroke of genius, because then I said to Louise, "Well, you know, she's at Swinnerton's now, "she can just like borrow really lovely things, "and she'll just have them."

Actually that is something that happened socially within the 1950s.

We started in '53 when everybody was still rationing and all of that.

And then commercialism came over here, and you were seeing fashions from abroad.

Since then, Cathy's had rather marvelous costumes.

- Just leading into that, there's a question I think which character's changed the most?

Leonard does a little bit, but I think Cathy's actually has really, because I remember I was watching it in the buildup to this to get back into it.

And I remember Cathy just there when the baby's ill. - Had so many babies - And in this kind of dour outfit.

- Has it given you a different perspective on the show at all, having both been directors.

- On this show?

- Yeah, on this show.

- Yeah, just the amount of work that happens before we rock on for scene one at 1:00 is insane.

Just be part of it, and do a meeting.

I've never done a meeting in my life.

- [Tom] I know, and it's an actual series and adults.

- First meeting I was like, "What am I doing?"

(all laugh) - I'd like to use cameras please.

(all laugh) - Costumes, yes.

- [Tom] Really?

- But I think that gratitude, it really opened my eyes up, and not that I've not been grateful before, but really just the amount of work just to get this going.

And then to keep it rolling.

- Exactly the same for me is just having an art department meeting, and getting to see the stuff that what's behind us, for instance, is a set and it's not real.

(all laugh) None of it's real.

But every single part that you see in the background has been intricately designed by someone that you will, even as actors, rarely even meet.

They're so behind the scenes.

And then suddenly you're in a room with someone who they'll show you their drawings, and it's just incredible to see what's going on on in their mind.

And the best part for me is the collaboration, from every department of where you can go in and you're working on creating this world together.

That was the most fun part.

But I tell you, the one thing I've learned, and I'm sure you have as well, is how our giggling and messing about is not so fun if you're behind the camera.

(all laugh) - The biggest thing was that first day realizing how little time you have.

- You told me off.

I remember the first day.

- Hang on!

You both did it, you both did it, and you both used the same words, "Okay, guys, let's focus."

(all laugh) - Did I?

- [Robson] You go, "Let's focus".

- It is that thing of the amount of time that you spend waiting for actors to come back from the chairs, or they're touching costume, and you're like, "Why are they touching the costume?"

- And that's a shot that you've planned in your head that you may have to cut, because we've made a silly joke, or someone's got a bit of fluff on them.

And you just want to (claps), it's amazing time wise.

- But don't think that is also part, I think it's quite an important part of being an actor as well, is to have those fun moments.

- I have laughed more on this show than any other show I've ever really been.

- [Al] Really?

- Absolutely.

- Do you remember your first scene, your first ever scene?

- I remember the first scene with James, I thought the series is gonna work.

It's because of the dynamic, 'cause of the relationships.

The first scene with Tom I remember it, because I knew it was gonna work, and it was gonna succeed and everything was gonna be fine, we're gonna have fun.

- So now I'll move on to you.

How was your first scene, but also I want to say how incredible it is you came into this show and not only made it your own, but also just stepped into the shoes without huge amounts of stress or angst.

How was that for you, 'cause I think people would like to know how it was for you, taking over from somebody?

- I could not have done it without you guys, all of you just welcoming me in.

You guys just making me feel like it was comfortable, absolutely, and my first ever scene that I had was the scene where I meet James.

- It was nice, I thought that really helped actually, with that thing when the protest was happening, and there's that little handshake.

- We had the handshake.

- I thought it was really smart of them to do that, not to ignore it and fluff it under the carpet, to go, "There you go."

- I'd be fascinated to go back and watch it.

It's amazing, isn't it, thinking about it?

It's quite emotional, I feel quite weird.

- It's a brilliant episode, that, as well.

- You're thrown in the deep end.

The scariest part was probably when I did my first sermon in Grantchester.

The good thing was, it was life imitating art, is that me as an actor I was coming into this thing trying to make people like me.

And my character was coming into this village trying to make people like him.

So even though I was going into the sermon in all the gear that I'd never worn before, and that was quite frightening.

And you have some of the Grantchester villagers, were like, "Big shoes to fill," and that kind of thing.

They meant really well.

They were kind of supportive, but at the same time going, "Okay, no pressure."

But luckily in that sermon in front of 100 people, just kind of be both myself and Will.

And it was a really good ease in.

- Both of you two came in later, so your first scene?

- We were in the series.

- Yeah, we joined at the same time.

The difference I suppose was for Larry is that he wasn't introduced as a new character.

It was assumed that he's been annoying Geordie previously.

So I didn't necessarily feel like I had to introduce this bumbling sort of character.

It's like he's been there already.

But I do remember the first scene, and I was absolutely terrified.

It's because there was no dialogue.

So it was like there was nothing for me to even say, but Robson walks over and he's like, "Mate, welcome."

- Always.

- Do you know what I mean, you're starting on that right foot to go, "This is gonna be good."

- Totally.

- I was terrified because I was this playing this really strong female character in a police station surrounded by men.

And I was thinking, "Oh God, how are other people gonna take that?

"Are they gonna think..." - That's not real?

- That's not real.

And then obviously, I was born without my right arm, I look different to everybody else.

So what are they gonna say about that?

How is this gonna work?

But Daisy's writing is just so spot on that she so knew the character that she wanted to create with Miss Scott, that it only made it easy for me to be able to take Miss Scott on.

And I just loved it.

I feel like the minute that they did that final zip up of my dress, and I put my heels on, and again, Robson came round and it was COVID, and he probably wasn't meant to cuddle me, but he went, "Come here", and gave me a big cuddle.

And it was really lovely.

- I had two children quite close together.

So I was in the absolute eye of the storm of children not sleeping and all the rest of it.

And I hadn't worked for seven-years.

I came in, we did the first scene, and before Harry Bradbeer said action, I started the scene.

So I come flying in the door, nobody was ready, and that's what Robson did, he went, "Don't start until they say cut."

(all laugh) No, "Don't start until they say action, "and don't stop until they say cut."

And that's what he said to me.

And it just put me at my ease, because I thought, okay, I'm gonna be fine.

And I think that is the overall thing I've taken from from this series is that we all come to work to enjoy the collaboration of working on an amazing series.

And it is amazing in this day and age to get to series eight.

(uplifting music) - To "Grantchester", Series 8.

- To "Grantchester" Series 8.

- "Grantchester" Series 8.

The best one yet!

- And thank you to Masterpiece, and all your fabulous and fantastic viewers.

Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.