Line of Duty star pictured filming ITV drama at Shoreham Port

British actor Craig Parkinson was pictured at the port on Sunday morning (November 15), portraying a character from an upcoming dramatisation of the Grace crime novels by Brighton-born author Peter James.

Grace focuses on fictional Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, played by John Simm, described by ITV as a ‘hard-working police officer who has given his life to the job’.

Grace, like his creator, is Brighton-based and crews have been spotted filming around Shoreham and Brighton since production began in September.

The series will constitute two films, based on Peter James’ first two Grace novels, Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead. Each film will be around two hours long.

Written by screenwriter Russell Lewis, the dramas will also star Richie Campbell (Liar, Blue Story, Top Boy) as DS Glenn Branson and Rakie Ayola (Noughts + Crosses, Shetland, No Offence) as ACC Vosper.

It is unclear which character Craig Parkinson, perhaps best known for his roles in Line of Duty and Misfits, will be playing.

According to ITV: “The first film, Dead Simple, opens with Grace running enquiries into long forgotten cold cases with little or no prospect of success. He is fixated by the disappearance of his beloved wife, Sandy, which haunts his thoughts. His unorthodox police methods have come under scrutiny once again and Grace is walking a career tightrope and risks being moved from the job he loves most.

“With so much at stake, his colleague Detective Sergeant Glenn Branson knows he has more to give and asks him for help with a case. When a stag night prank appears to go wrong and the groom goes missing, Branson calls upon Grace to unravel events that led to the mysterious disappearance three days before his wedding to his beautiful fiancé.

“A successful property developer with everything to live for, there is no trace of the missing groom. Is this a case of stag night shenanigans gone badly awry? Or is this something more sinister?

“With nothing but instinct, a lingering suspicion and his obsessive nature, Grace doggedly pursues the groom’s disappearance and becomes uneasily close to the bride to be.”

Peter James’ Grace novels have sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, giving him 17 consecutive UK Sunday Times number ones.