Case Closed

- Emma Bullimore

When James Norton first played crime-solving clergyman Sidney Chambers in the 1950s-set crime drama Grantchester in 2014, he was a fairly new screen face. Since then, he has starred in Happy Valley, War & Peace and McMafia and is tipped to be the next James Bond. The 33-year-old now believes the time is right to leave the show and he will depart Grantchester midway through the fourth series, which begins this week.

‘It’s been an emotional decision, I’ve loved this job,’ he says. ‘I owe Grantchester a huge amount. I just felt it was time to give someone else a turn and if you want to keep learning you’ve got to take the plunge. Sally Wainwright is writing a third series of Happy Valley and I’m starting to venture into film, so it feels like the right time to challenge myself.’