Rishi Nair's Favorite Grantchester Memories, Scenes, and More
After three seasons of starring as Rev. Alphy Kottaram in Grantchester, actor Rishi Nair has countless fond memories of the cast and crew that'll stick with him forever. In a June 2026 interview with MASTERPIECE on PBS, Nair answered some of our burning questions about his favorite on and off-screen moments, the cast member who gave him the best advice, plus his takes on fashion, Grantchester locations, and much more.
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MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What is your favorite memory with Robson Green?
Rishi Nair:
It's so hard to pick one, there are so many. I would say my favorite moment with Robson is probably in the morning, when it's me and him in the makeup chair sat next to each other. It takes me a while to get going in the morning, but sat next to Robson for the first half an hour of every day, just me and him and our two makeup artists, we have a right chin-wag and such a laugh. We put on music, we're singing and dancing and it's such a beautiful way to start the day. He's got energy from the first thing. I felt like I was coming in with energy on this job because I was waking up and going to the gym before work. But no, Robson has unmatched energy.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What was the most emotional scene, from any season, for you to film?
Rishi Nair:
The one that my mind casts back to is in Season 10, when Geordie reads Alphy's letter that his mum has given him. I think that was quite an emotional one to film in particular because I knew that that letter was going to be in that episode. Before they issued those scripts, I spoke to the execs and the writer and I asked for them to send me a version of the script that didn't have the content of the letter in it. So on the day when Geordie read it out, it was the actual first time I was ever hearing what was written in that letter. Hearing it for the first time can bring some emotion out of you.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What was your favorite location to film in?
Rishi Nair:
Going to Cambridge and filming in Cambridge City Center is always pretty amazing. It's just so cool and so picturesque there. But if I had to pick one specific location, I would probably pick one from Season 9 when Alphy goes to this really rich person's house and asks for money for funding for the church. That house was just incredible. And because it was meant to be a party with all these super-rich people, they had all these lovely cars parked outside like Rolls-Royces from the '60s and '50s. So that whole set, every time we'd shout "Cut!" I was going into a random room, walking off around the house, going and sitting in these cars. I mean, all the ADs [assistant directors] probably had to work doubly as hard to try to find me every time we needed to film again, because I was somewhere random. I think on the third day we were filming there, I had one AD that stuck to me the whole time so they knew where I was.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What is your favorite place to visit in the real village of Grantchester?
Rishi Nair:
There are two little pubs right by where the vicarage is. Once we'd finish filming, we'd go there, and sometimes at lunch, very rarely, some of us cast would be like, "Should we go to the pub and have a pub lunch?" That's quite nice, especially if it's a nice day and we sit in the pub garden. Obviously the Grantchester Meadows is a really lovely set to go on, but to be honest, my favorite is the church. Just going and sitting in the church is such a nice environment with the stained-glass windows. When we're filming in Grantchester, it's super-hot because we're there in the summer and there's something about being in that church that just cools you down.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What was your favorite way to spend time between scenes?
Rishi Nair:
Grantchester is an amazing place to work because we were on such incredible sets, but also working with such lovely people. I made a decision when I joined the show to not take my phone on set and leave it in my trailer. So I have a lot of time on my hands in between sets because some people will be on their phone and I'm like, Talk to me. I need some entertainment. I need something to do.
So my favorite thing is just going around and chatting. I love sitting with some of the guest cast members that come in and chatting with the crew, with some of the extras. I just go around annoying everyone. I've been told off many a times when I'm chatting to the crew and it's like, "Rishi, these guys need to work. Can you leave them alone?"
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What was the funniest scene you ever filmed?
Rishi Nair:
There was a scene in Season 10 where Leonard's locked up in the station as a suspect and Alphy and Geordie are interviewing him, and Leonard had been drinking heavily. Mrs. C and Cathy come in, and Mrs. C had a line where she's speaking to Leonard — Leonard had been rude to her — and she said, "You called me an old bag," or something like that. Every time she said that, Robson and I were in hysterics and it was quite a serious scene and Leonard's meant to react. But every time I heard Tessa say it, it made me laugh so much because Tessa is someone that doesn't really use bad language anyway, and Mrs. C. Isn’t like that, either. Straight after she says that, me and Robson are meant to look at each other surprised and we couldn't do it. We just couldn't look at each other. It was like every time we caught each other's eye, we started laughing. When it was on my closeup, I had to tell Robson to leave the room and I just looked at a tennis ball instead and pretended it was him.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What is the most surprising fact that you learned while filming the series?
Rishi Nair:
The fact that I was probably the most surprised about was that Grantchester was a real place. I had no idea that Grantchester was a real place. When I first joined the show and they were talking about, "Okay, so we're going to go to Grantchester and film that thing." And I was like, "Oh, cool, what studio is that? Where are we filming that? Are you telling me Grantchester's a real place?" I had no idea. I thought that this was a made up place.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
Which character has the best fashion?
Rishi Nair:
Oh, I've always said that Nick Brimble, who plays Jack, his character I think is the best dressed in the series. I think Ollie [Oliver Dimsdale], who plays Daniel, can give him a good run for his money because he has amazing suits. But I would say Jack. Jack has the best dress sense. Every time he comes on set, I look at his suit and I look at his shoes and his hair is always immaculate as well. He's just such a handsome older man, Jack, and he always looks the part. I think that's a big credit to Louise Page, our costume designer, who obviously dresses him very well.
MASTERPIECE on PBS:
What is the best advice you got from a castmate?
Rishi Nair:
Obviously I spent a lot of time working with Robson and he's taught me so much in terms of little camera techniques and stuff. But I always remember one thing he said to me on one of these days where we were just laughing and couldn't get any work done. When we were walking back to our trailer after getting the scene done, I remember Robson telling me, "I've been in this industry for 40 years and having fun is the most important thing above anything...having a laugh and then putting the work in. That's what makes it special." And I think that really stuck with me and I hope it sticks with me going forward.
