Rishi Nair, Reflecting on Grantchester
Released August 29, 2026 33:47
This interview with lead actor Rishi Nair was recorded two weeks after the 11th and final season of Grantchester finished filming. In this episode, Rishi reflects on his time as Reverend Alphy Kottaram, and what this role has meant to him personally and professionally. To watch this special MASTERPIECE Studio interview on video, visit YouTube.com/masterpiecepbs and click on Podcasts.
This script has been lightly edited for clarity.
Jace Lacob: The following interview with Rishi Nair was recorded in November 2025, two weeks after the 11th and final season of Grantchester finished shooting. This conversation was originally recorded on video. To watch this special Masterpiece Studio interview, head to youtube.com/masterpiecepbs and click on podcasts.
I'm Jace Lacob, and this is Masterpiece Studio. It's very bittersweet to say goodbye to Grantchester, the show that's been there since the beginning of this podcast. Through years of murder and morality, found family, forgiveness, and second chances, I've grown awfully fond of this British mystery drama and its cast and crew. And while we must say goodbye, I'm personally grateful for getting to spend a decade with these incredible people.
Today, I'm sitting down with the star and third vicar of Grantchester, Rishi Nair. Rishi has only been with Grantchester for the past three seasons, but his character, Alphy Kotteram, quickly won his way into our hearts. Rishi has just wrapped on the final season of Grantchester, Season 11. And now we're going to look back on his experience filming this final season and saying goodbye to Grantchester.
Jace Lacob: This week, we are joined by Grantchester star Rishi Nair. Welcome, Rishi.
Rishi Nair: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me back again.
Jace Lacob: So, filming on the final episode of Grantchester concluded about two weeks ago. How are you feeling a fortnight later about Grantchester coming to an end?
Rishi Nair: I think it's kind of—I don't know if it's hit me yet. It's a weird one. People kept asking me on the last week of Grantchester, like, "How are you feeling? You know, it's coming to an end." And in all honesty, I kind of—it hadn't hit me. But I just came back home today because we film down south in London, and I live in Liverpool. And I actually just got back home about an hour, an hour and a half ago. And I think kind of being back in my space after being away for so long—you know, five months shooting—it kind of hit me a little bit now when I had all my boxes to unpack, and it was kind of like, "This stuff isn't going back to my Grantchester trailer, it's staying in my home now." So, I kind of had a little moment when I first came home, to be honest, about it coming to an end. And yeah, I think still in denial, I think, is the honest answer.
Jace Lacob: I think it'll take a bit to process that.
Rishi Nair: Yeah.
Jace Lacob: Unlike with other series of Grantchester, this was a definite end for these characters. There wasn't this sort of, "Well, maybe we'll come back, maybe we won't come back," but you guys knew that this was the last one. How would you describe what it felt like then on set on that final day of shooting?
Rishi Nair: Yeah, it was a strange one. What was really helpful, actually, in hindsight—at the time, I don't know if we knew this, but what you see in the storyline as our last scenes in Grantchester on the Meadows, all of that stuff, we had shot maybe six, seven weeks prior to the final day, which I think was really helpful because they're quite lovely Grantchester family scenes. And I think if we filmed them towards the last week of actually filming them in real life, I think it would have been quite emotional. I don't think we would have been able to get through it without crying. So having done that already helped, because we were just in it. But, yeah, in response to your question, with the last week, it was strange. It was strange. Every day there was a moment, like for example, Geordie, without giving too much away, isn't wearing his police costume towards the end of the series. And I remember about a week before we stopped filming, Robson came on set, and Robson was like, "This is the last time I'm going to be in my police uniform." And it took us all by surprise, and we were like, "What?" And I think it was little moments like that, you know? Melissa, who plays Miss Scott, was having a baby in real life, so her last day was three, four weeks before we finished. And I think it was those kinds of moments, someone's last day, or the last time you're going to see Geordie in his suit, were those moments that kind of hit you like, "Oh, this is ending. This is actually ending. It's not coming back."
Jace Lacob: Grantchester could have easily gone on for several more years and followed this found family deeper into the 1960s, but it also feels right to leave that future unknown. These characters' lives will go on even if viewers aren't privy to what happens to them. What were your feelings while filming Series 11, knowing it would be an end for Alphy, even if his character sort of goes on?
Rishi Nair: I think selfishly as actors and as people wanting to work with people that we love working with, we all very easily could have continued doing this for years and years. We were all so happy there, like you said, we call it our happy place. However, I think for the show, it was probably the right decision to end it there, because the show is in such a good place. It's doing so well at the minute, and I just think it's in a very good place. And sometimes when you're at the top, you want to leave then, and leave that legacy. There's so many TV shows that go on for years that are amazing series, and then they kind of dip towards the end, and everyone remembers it like that. And we didn't want that to happen with Grantchester.
And so Series 11, I believe, is probably one of the strongest series that I've definitely been part of. I think it's kind of a perfect ending. And in regards to Alphy, I think it was a nice place to finish it for him. We saw him in Series 9 come in, and he was kind of swanning about, being charming, was very straight-laced. In Series 10, we went a bit deeper into his personal life, about his upbringing, and saw the cracks and the demons that he had to fight in regards to his childhood trauma. And then in Series 11, Alphy's just been put through the wringer, really. He loses his faith, he loses his friends, he loses the family that he has, he loses the relationship, romantic relationship that he has. He kind of loses everything, and it's about him finding himself again. And obviously by the end, he's there, he has everyone back with him. And I think it's a really lovely ending for the character of Alphy.
Jace Lacob: So you mentioned the fact you finished shooting the final scene in the village of Grantchester, I think back in September, and the final weeks of production were in the show's standing sets in North London. What was it like saying goodbye to the village of Grantchester? I heard there was a firework show that Robson put on. What was it like saying goodbye to these people and this place?
Rishi Nair: Every time we go to Grantchester, they're always our favorite weeks because, one, we're all staying away and we're staying in the same hotel, so we can all go for dinner and have a drink after work, which is always lovely doing that with the cast, but also the crew and getting to know them. But also when you go to Grantchester, you meet all the locals. And as you know, a lot of the locals in Grantchester are our supporting artists in the church. So you're used to seeing them again and catching up with them and seeing how their lives are progressing. And coming back there and knowing that we weren't going to do that again was quite sad in a way. Because I think for Grantchester, the actual real place, they love the show. They love having us there. It brings such a buzz to the little town. So I think even they were quite emotional that we weren't coming back.
And you go into the church where we film, and you see the church has put up little posters of Grantchester saying that they film here and stuff. And it's a very sweet, wholesome week, two weeks, when we're in Grantchester, of filming this TV show, but also all the locals absolutely loving us being there. I think what you'll find is a lot of sets, film sets, you go to certain places, and the locals are quite annoyed that you're filming there because you're blocking off their roads and you're just taking up space. But in Grantchester, they fully embrace us. And Robson very kindly put on a huge firework display for the whole town. Robson has a degree in pyrotechnics, or he's done a pyrotechnic course. And I remember him saying to me, "I'm going to do this firework display, it's going to be great" and all this. And I was like, "Amazing," expecting a good firework display, but this firework display he did went on for a good 10, 15 minutes and was probably one of the best firework displays I've ever seen. It was incredible. And it was done to the music, and it was a perfect ending to our Grantchester stay.
Jace Lacob: So, letting go of something can be really difficult, particularly after an experience that has bonded you closely with a community. So, the end just happened two weeks ago. You said you just got home about an hour ago. How are you looking to sort of let go?
Rishi Nair: I haven't yet. I haven't let go. We're towards the end of the year, when we're filming this interview we're mid-November. So, in terms of work-wise, acting-wise, it's a very quiet period. So, it's always quite nice when you finish Grantchester because it's quite quiet and you can just have a bit of time off. It's also been a really intense schedule that we've been working on. But for us still now, we still as actors have to do ADR. We'll go in and do those kinds of sessions. Obviously, this season I'm an exec as well, so I'm watching the episodes, giving my notes, and reviewing them. So, even though we've finished filming Grantchester, we're still kind of in that Grantchester world of watching these eps and discussing that and going in and doing that ADR.
So, I think probably when that all ends, and I've done my final session of ADR and my final review, I think that's when I will be like, "Okay, I don't have anything to do with Grantchester anymore. It’s completely done." And I guess the only real letting go you can have is once you then join another show, and you start working on something else. I think that's when your mind has to fully be concentrated on that, and that's probably when I'll let go completely, in all honesty.
Jace Lacob: So, what was the final scene on Grantchester that you shot?
Rishi Nair: The final scene on Grantchester that we shot was Robson in the hospital being wheeled away into the hospital room with me, Cathy, Mrs. C, and Jack in the waiting room standing up and turning around and watching this trolley with Robson going in, not knowing if the character of Geordie is alive or dead. And quite funnily, because it was the last scene, it was obviously emotional. We do a crew show. We rehearse it and then we show the whole crew what we're going to do. And we did it, and Robson came on his hospital bed in the crew show with a sign saying "Available for panto."
Jace Lacob: Amazing.
Rishi Nair: Which made us all really laugh.
Jace Lacob: That's incredible. I'd love to see a panto with Robson Green.
Rishi Nair: Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all?
Jace Lacob: Your first scene with Robson in Grantchester is back in Series 9 when Alphy's moving into the vicarage and Geordie accuses him of robbing the place, and they fight. It's amazing to me to see where they end up by the time that Series 11 concludes. What do you make of their journey together as friends and as a crime-solving duo?
Rishi Nair: Yeah, it started off not great.
Jace Lacob: Rocky? Rocky maybe?
Rishi Nair: Rocky, I think that's one way to describe it, yeah. And that was such a great start as well, that it was that they didn't like each other. They were like, "Who is this person? Why is he in my house?" and and all of that. And I think seeing their friendship and relationship blossom as the series have progressed has been really lovely to see. We say rocky, but I think in Series 10 and in Series 11, they both had moments where it got rocky again. In Series 10, I remember when Geordie's trying to find Alphy's mom, and Alphy's like, "This is not a good decision to make." They have a massive falling out there.
And you kind of immediately see that they can't live without each other, you know? They need each other, and how quickly they resolve that. And in Series 11, you see again Alphy and Geordie kind of—Geordie comes up to Alphy and says, "I'm done with you. I've tried everything, and I'm done with you," because Alphy's going through so much and he's taking it out on his loved ones. And you see again how they come back from that. And I think their relationship is a really beautiful relationship, and it's almost like watching a couple, you know? Any couple that we all love, and that are together, but they have wobbly moments, and they have moments where they fall out with each other, but it's always about how they come back from that. And every time they come back, it makes them stronger, and they're a stronger duo for that. And I mean, the village needs them because they're solving a lot of murders that are happening in Grantchester.
Jace Lacob: The murder capital of Britain, apparently.
Rishi Nair: Exactly, yeah.
Jace Lacob: Geordie's dynamic with his vicars has changed throughout the series run. Geordie and Sidney were bonded by their experiences with war. Will and Geordie were like father and son. What do you ultimately make of the Alphy/Geordie dynamic? How would you encapsulate that?
Rishi Nair: I think they're friends. They're mates. The thing that me and Robson always say together, sometimes we're on a scene and we're discussing it, and we're like, "Why am I saying it like this?" And we look at each other and we go, "Mates, mates. Remember we're just mates. Just mates having a conversation. That's all it is." No matter what we're talking about, whether it be family, my mother, or anything like that, or whether it be a particular case or anything, at the end of the day, the essence of the show is these are two mates that love being around each other. And everything else is a bonus around that. That is the center of the thing. And any time you're confused about something, and we look at each other and we're like, "Mates, mates, mates," it all just makes sense, you know?
And I think that's their relationship. They're very much equals. There is a big age gap between them, but it never feels like that. It never feels like this is a 30-year-old man with a 60-year-old man. It feels like two mates that love being around each other. And I think they're both working class as well, which I think is something that they have in common, which Geordie probably didn't have in common with the other two vicars. So, I think that upbringing of being a working-class man in that era is something that unites them as well.
Jace Lacob: So, it's like the murder gets in the way sometimes of the banter, is what you're saying?
Rishi Nair: Exactly, yeah.
MIDROLL
Jace Lacob: And we're back with actor Rishi Nair. Along with Robson, you're at the top of the call sheet. What did joining a long-running show like Grantchester teach you about storytelling, but also about ensemble work?
Rishi Nair: In terms of storytelling, this the first time I've ever been a lead in a show. So, a lot of the time on shows that I've worked on before, you read through the whole script once or twice, and then you look at your section and you focus on that and do your notes. Whereas on Grantchester, you have to read that script five, six, seven times and then go through everything. So, in terms of storytelling, it's really taught me, we film out of order, obviously, as well, depending on locations. And it's just being on your game, knowing exactly where you are in your script and doing your homework, you know?
When I came into Grantchester and by the time I left, I knew that script inside out. I knew exactly when I was coming in every day where emotionally Alphy was in that episode, so I could pitch it quite right, so that when you watch it, it flows and it doesn't feel like, "Why is he so happy here and sad here, and then going back to happy?" You need to know exactly where to pitch it and where you've pitched the other scenes before and after that in order for it to work, which probably sounds easier than it actually is.
Jace Lacob: No, it doesn't.
Rishi Nair: So that's what it taught me about storytelling. And in terms of ensemble work, Alphy is a different person depending on the character he's interacting with. And so even though me and Robson are the two leads in the show, we are all reacting to the character in front of us, whether it be a long-running character like Mrs. C or Leonard, or whether it be a guest actor that's coming in for one episode. It's all about, as the character, being true to Alphy and how he would react to this character in that space, in that moment in time.
And so every actor that comes on, every guest actor, all the rest of our ensemble cast are so important. And it's those dynamics, I think, when you look at the show, there's Alphy and Geordie, but then you've got Leonard. And every time Leonard comes on screen, people love to see that. And every time Mrs. C and Jack come on, and their relationship, you're so invested in that. And then suddenly Larry and Miss Scott, they come on and you're so invested in their relationship. And I think that's what makes the show work. I think if you were just following Alphy and Geordie the whole time, I don't think the show would be nearly anywhere as good as what it is. It's the ensemble characters that bring everything together that makes the show as a whole so enjoyable and so lovable.
Jace Lacob: What will you miss most about playing Alphy Kotteram?
Rishi Nair: I guess what I will miss most about playing Alphy is the people, for sure. The people, like I've spoken about so much on this podcast, is what makes that show such a beautiful place to work. So that would be number one. Number two would probably be seeing Dickens every couple of weeks. That's a big miss. He's such a wonderful dog. And he's retired as well on our last season of Grantchester, so that was the final bit of work for him. What else will I miss? I think I'll really miss being in that era of the early 1960s. Just going on the sets and seeing all the furniture and the attention to detail that the art department put in there blows my mind. It blew my mind on my first day when I walked into the vicarage, and on the last day, it still blew my mind. I just love it.
I'm notorious for going around the sets and just picking up everything and looking inside drawers. You go into the police station and there's notebooks, and I'll sit there and I'll read the notebooks. And in there, there's little stories that people have written. And I don't know if they're real or whether the art department put them in, but I love it. And I sometimes get told off by the art department because I pick things up and I don't put them back exactly where they were, and things have been moved. So, I'll miss that. I'll miss the clothing, wearing all the '60s clothes. The cars, I'll miss the cars so much. Sitting in those cars is great. And when you put your foot on the accelerator, it really does give you a buzz.
Jace Lacob: So, if I may be so bold then, what will you miss least about playing Alphy? Is it the dog collar?
Rishi Nair: The dog collar! The dog collar was not my friend. I love obviously being a priest and portraying that character, but having that thick, white, stiff thing around your neck 12 hours a day is so uncomfortable. It's so uncomfortable. But funnily, when I took it off and the costume designer asked me, "What do you want to do with that?" and I thought, "Do you know what? I'll actually keep it." So, I do have the white dog collar, and we've got a little frame of all of us on Grantchester. And I think once I've unpacked all my stuff, I think I'll put it on a little mantelpiece to remember that by.
Jace Lacob: Oh, I love that. I love that. So, it's like your least favorite thing maybe becomes a favorite memento.
Rishi Nair: A little token, yeah. Exactly, yeah.
Jace Lacob: You've turned it around.
Rishi Nair: Full circle.
Jace Lacob: Looking at Alphy's narrative arc over the past few series, what has surprised you the most about where Alphy's arc has gone?
Rishi Nair: I think getting to that point in Season 11 was a surprise in terms of losing faith. I think that was a real—when I was reading that in the script, I was like, "Gosh, that's heavy." This is not just a guy that's religious, that is in touch with his religion. He's a vicar. And so much of the show is, he's the vicar of Grantchester. So, to have the vicar of Grantchester doubt his faith and doubt whether he believes in God, I think was a real, shocking moment, but also such a great moment to play as an actor. Playing a character like Alphy, where he's been abandoned as a child and the church has given him everything, and he's given everything back to that church. And to lose that for him, I think, is losing everything. He's like, "What is the point in life?" almost. I think that's where it got to for him. So, that was really interesting to explore as an actor, to portray that.
And also, you see this side of Alphy in Series 11, I can't remember exactly, I think it must be the final episode, where you don't recognize Alphy. He's gone quite dark in this moment in a church. And I remember playing that, and I felt like I was playing a different character. I felt like I was not Alphy, and I was in a different show. And I think that was the point as well, was that this wasn't Alphy. In that moment, he had turned into someone else. And that was really fun playing that, playing—we were calling him "Evil Alphy," I remember discussing it with Rob, and we were like, "I think we're at a seven, Evil Alphy. Maybe we need to go to an eight," So, I think in storytelling, all of that stuff, I think that was really quite lovely to play. And I have to say, I loved all the scenes with Meg as well, because they showed Alphy's personality in a completely different way, very lighthearted, cheeky, flirty. And they were very fun scenes to film, so I really enjoyed those as well.
Jace Lacob: I feel like we often in these types of conversations about television shows ending can forget about the writer who's steering the ship day after day and year after year. What has it been like working with Daisy Coulam on this project?
Rishi Nair: Daisy's honestly such a talent. She is so talented. I'll speak about her as a writer first. The moment I knew that this was a great show to be a part of was when my self-tape came through, my very first audition for Grantchester, it came in, and normally you would get on an email from your agent, the production, the character, a brief description of the story, and a paragraph about the character. On this audition that came in, it was about two pages of a character description on Alphy. And I was just reading it, and I remember saying to my partner saying, "This is so much information, but it's brilliant! You never get this much information. It's so much to work with."
And the biggest indication of how good a writer is from an actor's point of view is when you learn lines. When you learn a Daisy Coulam script, you read it two or three times, and the lines are in your head. They just go in. They're so easy to learn because it's written so well. And they just bounce off each other. And the other writers that we have on the show are amazing as well, they are brilliant. But there's something about Daisy's writing that as soon as you read it, you just know that Daisy's written it, even if you don't know that. We're reading through a scene and you just know that's a Daisy script. I'm really in awe of her as a writer. I think she's so talented and so gifted.
But as a person, she's such a lovely person to be around. She is so giving and so accessible. I constantly, probably rather annoyingly, voice note Daisy, sometimes on the car on the way back from work, or in the morning at 6:00 AM on the way to work. Sometimes we're just in a script, "Do you mind if I just tweak this line?" or "Why am I saying this? Can I cut this?" And she's always there, and we always discuss things, and she's so collaborative. She's so happy that we put our input in it as well. And Daisy's written these characters that she knows inside out. But then as the actor, you almost know that character even more to an extent because you're living and breathing it every day. And so I think for me, Rishi as the actor, speaking to Daisy the writer about Alphy the character, between the two of us, if I've got a different perspective, but then she explains why I'm saying that, I then get it. It's understood. And, yeah, it's been a real joy to work with her. Like I said, just firstly a great, talented writer, but also just such a lovely person. And now I'm very lucky enough to call her a friend, which is lovely.
Jace Lacob: What does the show ultimately mean to you on a personal level?
Rishi Nair: Oh, it means so much to me. It's changed my life. It's changed my life, and it's the best job I've ever had in my life. So on a personal level, I feel so grateful and so happy that I was part of this beautiful journey. And even though I was only there for three years, it was such a beautiful three years for me, a job that I'll never forget. And I think, especially for Daisy and Emma, and Robson being an exec as well, for those three to really give me the opportunity and the chance to lead such an iconic show. I was known mostly for Hollyoaks, which is a soap in the UK, and sometimes when you come out of soap, it's quite hard to get out of that mold, people typecast you. So for Emma, Daisy, and Robson to put that trust in me to be like, "This is where he's come from, but we believe that he can lead that show," gave me a lot of confidence. So I'll always be eternally grateful to those three people for giving me a wonderful three years, giving me the best job that I've ever had. But also looking forward, which you have to do when you leave a show like that, it gives me such a great platform to now go on and to do other things that I wouldn't be in that position if I hadn't been on a show like this.
Jace Lacob: So Grantchester is a happy place for the cast and crew and for all of us who are watching it, a happy place to escape to week after week. Looking back, what would you say you'll cherish as your happiest memory of working on Grantchester? The one thing you, 50 years from now looking back, say, "That's the thing"?
Rishi Nair: I think the one thing that stands out for me is my first day, my first day on that set. I came into the vicarage, the scene was punching Robson in the face in the vicarage. And I remember just walking onto set, the whole thing being so surreal. This was a moment that as an actor, you dream of, being a lead in a TV show. And then suddenly one day, you're just there. You're just in the room. Robson walks in, you're on this set from the 1960s and you're suddenly having to say these lines, and you're trying to act like nothing's phasing you, that you've done this a hundred times before, but inside you're like, "What the hell is going on? This is crazy!" And I think that moment is a moment I'll never forget.
And now being at the end, looking back at that first moment, it's a really weird space to be in because Rishi then didn't know what was going to come, and it's been such a beautiful journey. And listen, it's an intense schedule and you're working long hours. And, of course, like anyone, you get tired, and some days you wish you didn't have to get up that early in the morning. But I mean this when I say that every day on Grantchester was a joy. It was such a joy to work on that show. And any time I felt like I wanted to have a moan about feeling tired or this happening or this happening, it was like, remind yourself that you are living your dream. You're on this TV show working as an actor. I think every day was a joy. The first day was probably the moment that really stands out for me.
Jace Lacob: So what's next for you then, Rishi?
Rishi Nair: I have no idea. I think right now, like I said, I just walked into my house about an hour or two before we started this podcast, and I haven't really decompressed yet. All my bags, I've positioned the camera well because the house is a complete mess right now with all my bags everywhere. So I think right now for me it's just taking a bit of time out to relax and put my feet up. It's been, like I said, an intense four and a half months. So the next week or two, I will relax and take some time out, and then I will think about what I'm going to do next. But I would love to play a character completely different to Alphy, just something completely left-field, because as an actor, that's what you want to do. You want to play different characters, you want to put yourself in uncomfortable positions, so something crazy.
Jace Lacob: Evil. Evil.
Rishi Nair: Yeah, why not?
Jace Lacob: I love it. Rishi Nair, thank you so very much.
Rishi Nair: Thank you so much, Jace. Pleasure as always.
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