When was ITV's Grace filmed?

14 March 2021, 16:00

Was ITV's Grace filmed during the pandemic and were there social distancing measures? Here's what we know...

ITV’s is here to help us through another few weeks of lockdown with their brand new drama Grace.

Based on the debut novel from Peter James’ Roy Grace series, viewers will meet Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who’s career is falling apart after the disappearance of his wife Sally.

With his career on the line, Grace - played by John - is called on by colleague and friend Detective Sergeant Glenn Branson (Richie Campbell) to help solve a new case.

But as we sit down to watch the twists and turns of the story, fans have been wondering why no social distancing measures are in place, despite filming taking place during the pandemic.

Here’s everything you need to know…

When was ITV's Grace filmed?

Grace was filmed in Brighton in the summer of 2020 amid coronavirus.

Despite being filmed during the pandemic, the producers were keen to keep it as close to the book as possible.

This means the story had to take place with no social distancing measures seen on screen.

In a bid to make things look as ‘normal’ as possible, shopkeepers were asked to temporarily remove signs on the streets about face masks and social distancing.

Executive producer Paul Sandler told Heart.co.uk and other press ahead of the show that filming was an ‘enormous challenge’.

He said: “We need it to be in a Covid free world with no social distancing so great deal of thought went into protocols to deliver this safely.

“ITV were incredibly helpful, the whole team pulled together and worked under very difficult conditions.”

Despite the series taking place in a Covid-free world, off screen there were very strict rules in place.

Paul continued: “Crew broke up into bubbles, sets were dressed in different ways from how one normally would.”

He added: “We managed to pull it off, there were definitely stressful moments at the beginning and it was an enormous challenge but we got through it.”

Actor John Simm also spoke about his experience filming during the pandemic, saying one particular scene filmed in a nightclub ‘was like a different planet’.

He told us: “Before filming we all agreed nobody wants to see anything about Covid.

“It’s been a depressingly boring year and we don’t want to see it.”