Grace Season 2 filming locations around Brighton and Hove include Clayton Tunnel, Brighton's Eaton Place, West Pier, University of Sussex, Martlett Heights, Embassy Court, Hove's Silverdale Road, Peacehaven, Southwick Square and Shoreham Port.
Most of the season was filmed in autumn 2021, but some scenes were shot a year earlier. The first April 2022 episode Looking Good Dead was filmed back in 2020 along with Dead Simple, the first adaptation of the Roy Grace novels by Peter James. This time, DS Roy Grace (John Simm), DS Glenn Branson (Richie Campbell) and the team's investigation takes them too close to a series of grizzly murders linked to an encounter on a train.
Staying true to the original Grace novels by Peter James, the action takes us through every corner of Brighton and Hove, out to the scenic South Downs and the industrial areas.
- Where Was Grace Looking Good Dead Filmed?
- Where Was Grace: Not Dead Enough Filmed?
- Where Is Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps Filmed?
- Where Was Grace: Dead Tomorrow Filmed?
Where Was Grace Looking Good Dead Filmed?
Brighton Pier. hozinja, CC BY 2.0
Grace Looking Good Dead was filmed in Brighton's Eaton Place and seafront, Hove's Silverdale Road, a National Trust site in the South Downs, and the industrial buildings of Shoreham Port. Filming took place around Kemptown, Woodingdean and across the South Downs, taking in Victorian terraces, residential suburbs, beauty spots and railways.
Looking Good Dead was filmed at the same time as Dead Simple, but wasn’t screened until a year after the first episode. Dead Simple hit screens in 2021, but Looking Good Dead didn’t appear on ITV until April 2022.
Fortunately for fans, it’s been packaged up with three further episodes which were filmed last year. Not Dead Enough, Dead Man’s Footsteps and Dead Tomorrow complete the second series.
Brighton Seafront
Grace drinks alone at a Brighton beach cafe, west of the pier, after seeing the body at the morgue. This is one of the venues that sits at beach level.
Railway
Clayton Tunnel. Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
The distinctive railway tunnel location in Grace Looking Good Dead is Clayton Tunnel. Look out for it during Zack's train journey after watching the footage, as his train emerges from a railway tunnel that's topped with turrets.
Producer Kiaran Murray-Smith shared behind-the-scenes shots of Grace Looking Good Dead on the last day of filming, revealing that the train scenes were the last to be shot.
Clayton tunnel is part of the Brighton mainline, but it also brings a spooky back-story of it's own. Constructed in the Victorian era, there have been rumours that the tunnel is haunted, and the unique turrets certainly add to the ambience.
Victorian House
Grace’s Victorian house location is really a beautiful period flat in Brighton’s Kemptown on Eaton Place, just a few paces away from Marine Parade.
If you’re admiring this lovely period property, you can stay there - it’s a holiday let.
The area is also about ten minutes away from Upper St James’s Street, which recently featured in Behind Her Eyes on Netflix along with other snippets of Brighton.
South Downs Crime Scene
Devil's Dyke. Val Vannet / Devil's Dyke
The hillside crime scene where the second body is found in Grace Looking Good Dead is Devil's Dyke. Despite the episode's grizzly discovery, Devil's Dyke is better known for its scenic walking routes. It's managed by the National Trust and, as open countryside, it's easy to visit.
Why does this stunning landscape have a sinister name? According to an old legend, the devil created the valley to flood villages of the Weald, but was foiled midway through his attempt.
The Seafront Shelter
John Simm was spotted filming at Hove Seafront for the drama.
The Victorian seafront shelters run along Hove’s King’s Esplanade and Western Esplanade, some in better condition than others.
The Hit and Run
Grace's hit and run scene was filmed on Silverdale Road in Hove's suburbs. The scene in Looking Good Dead was captured on camera during the location shoot. Roy's crash takes place later in the episode, as he races to stop another murder from taking place.
Silverdale Road is just off Old Shoreham Road, which leads from Brighton and Hove to Shoreham, so this is an accurate route.
Shoreham Port
Shoreham Port. Shoreham Port by Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0
Looking Good Dead's industrial warehouse location is Shoreham Port, a commercial port in East Sussex. Craig Parkinson shot scenes around Brighton as DS Norman Potting in November 2020, including those warehouse scenes in nearby Shoreham.
Images of the cast and crew on location circulated at the time of filming, with viewers waiting over a year to see the scenes behind the shots.
Where Was Grace: Not Dead Enough Filmed?
Grace: Not Dead Enough
ITV’s Grace: Not Dead Enough was filmed around Brighton’s West Pier, Martlett Heights, the University of Sussex and Burgess Hill.
In Not Dead Enough, DSI Roy Grace (John Simm), DS Glenn Branson (Richie Campell), DS Bella Moy (Laura Elphinstone) and DS Norman Potting (Craig Parkinson) are investigating a new case. When a local businessman’s (Arthur Darvill) wife is murdered, all the signs point to a serial killer. Once again, the CID team have to find a way of getting a step ahead before he commits another crime.
West Pier
West Pier. Christerajet, CC BY-SA 4.0
The opening scene of Grace: Not Dead Enough was filmed around Brighton’s West Pier. In the scene, Roy Grace is seen jobbing along the shoreline before members of the public discover a body beneath the ruined pier.
Closed since the 1970s, the West Pier was extensively damaged by fire almost 20 years ago. Only the metal structure survived, but successive storms over the last decade have caused it to decay even further.
CID Building
A CID building location used in ITV’s Grace Season 2 is the Martlett Heights office block at Burgess Hill. The Heights building appears onscreen, with the nearby former library forming used for being behind-the-scenes side of the production.
The Morgue
Grace’s morgue location is a disused former shop on Civic Way, Burgess Hill. Sussex World caught up with the centre manager, who talked about the former Lidl and home store that became the setting for gruesome discoveries:
“They’ve erected partition walls, created the waiting area of the morgue, and the actual morgue area where they will be filming the ‘dead body’ scenes.”
Nadine King, The Martlets Shopping Centre Manager
The morgue entrance location is the eco2home’s collections door, at the back of the building. It appears throughout Grace: Not Dead Enough, with mortician Cleo Morey (Zoë Tapper) supplying evidence for the case.
The Institution
Falmer Campus. Charles Rawding / University of Sussex Falmer House
The institution location in Grace: Not Dead Enough is the University of Sussex’s Falmer campus. You can’t miss the distinctive archways and courtyards of the complex, which are part of the original design by Sir Basil Spence (architect of Coventry Cathedral). Beyond the spaces shown in the ITV crime drama, this University of Sussex campus even has it's own Brutalist moat.
Where Is Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps Filmed?
Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps
Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps was filmed around Brighton’s Embassy Court building, around the Lanes including Brighton Square, The Cricketers pub, Gatwick Airport, Peacehaven and Brighton Beach.
In Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps, Cassian Pewe (James D’Arcy) arrives from the Met, and an old rivalry is stirred up. ACC Alison Vosper (Rakie Ayola) thinks DSI Roy Grace (John Simm) could benefit from the partnership, but he’s concerned that Pewe hasn’t changed since the last time they crossed paths.
At the same time, Kathleen Jennings (Katie Clarkson-Hill) is running from a man who is threatening her safety, and her reclusive mother’s.
DS Glenn Branson (Richie Campell) is there for Grace to confide in, while DS Bella Moy (Laura Elphinstone) and DS Norman Potting (Craig Parkinson) are working to help solve the latest case.
Kathleen Jennings’ Apartment
Embassy Court. Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kathleen’s building in Dead Man’s Footsteps is Embassy Court in Brighton. Look out for the signage above the entrance in a couple of shots, including the view of the van for sale across the street. But if you know the area, you might have spotted the Kings Road building’s architecture long before that.
This Grace filming location shows off some gorgeous views across Brighton, and there’s a good reason for that. Embassy Court is home to England’s first penthouse suites, created when the 11-storey building was constructed in the early 1930s.
The seafront block boasted Waldorf Astor as an early owner, but had lost its shine by the early 2000s. Sir Terence Conran’s own architectural consultancy was brought in to bring back a touch of that 20th Century elegance.
Southern Deposit Security
The safety deposit vault where Rick (Jake Fairbrother) takes Kathleen (Katie Clarkson-Hill) is on the corner of Prince Albert Street and Meeting House Lane, Brighton.
In the scene, Rick kidnaps Kathleen and drives her to this location to empty her safety deposit box. Threatening to kill her mum if she doesn’t comply, he forces her to pass the security controls to the vault. In real life, this is an office building. You can easily visit the surrounding area though - it’s in the middle of the Lanes.
Kathleen’s Getaway
Prince Albert Street. Hassocks5489, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kathleen makes her escape from Rick by running along Ship Street. The geography is spot-on, showing her running from the Southern Deposit Security building along Prince Albert Street. When she reaches Ship Street, she asks a taxi to take her to Eastbourne outside the shop England at Home.
Eastbourne
Dead Man’s Footsteps’ Eastbourne location is another West Sussex location, Southwick. Sussex Live caught the shoot, with Kathleen seen getting out of the taxi in Southwick Square. We think the location used for Kathleen’s mum’s flat was the building above Kamson’s Pharmacy, where the cast and crew were spotted in October 2021.
The Pub
The pub in Dead Man’s Footsteps is The Cricketers on Black Lion Street.
Grace and Branson talk about Branson’s fear of heights over coffee in the pub half-way through the episode. Talk soon turns to Cassian Pewe, and Grace’s history with him. It’s an excellent spot for a crime drama location, since Jack the Ripper is thought to have planned his murders from this very location.
Hector Hegarty’s Emporium
Brighton Square. Hassocks5489, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hector Hegarty’s antique shop filming location in Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps is just off Brighton Square in the Lanes. The antiques dealer, Hegarty, (Brian Pettifer) gives them information about Spanish artefacts, as they talk inside the shop.
You don’t need an excuse to visit the treasure troves around Brighton Square in real life. They’ve remained unchanged for centuries, and have long been known for their antique and jewellery shops.
The Cliffs
The cliff location in Grace: Dead Man’s Footsteps is part of the Peacehaven coast. Filming for ITV’s Grace took place back in September 2020, at the cliffs as well as in the surrounding area. Brighton and Hove News tracked down some of the series’ earliest location filming to the Telscombe Cliffs.
There’s an incongruous TV connection here, and you’ve probably seen it at one time or another. At the foot of the cliffs is Peacehaven Beach, which appeared in the classic comedy series, Mr Bean. Look out for this filming location in the episode where Rowan Atkinson’s hapless character makes an awkward visit to the seaside.
The Airport
Abby Morton’s airport scene was filmed at the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport. In the Dead Man’s Footsteps scene, we see the moving walkway and check-in desks as well as the lounges. Of course, as well as being a popular airport serving all of London, it’s situated in West Sussex - definitely Grace territory.
Brighton Beach
Grace and Branson talk on the beach in view of Brighton Palace Pier as the sun goes down, after their close call. It’s not a new view from the series - but it is a great one.
Where Was Grace: Dead Tomorrow Filmed?
Dead Tomorrow was filmed at the Palace of Fun arcade, Littje E Street, Civic Way, Black Rock Beach and Providence Place. In the fifth Grace adaptation, DSI Roy Grace (John Simm) is reunited with Cleo Morey (Zoë Tapper) when the team investigate a series of bodies found off the coastline.
Young immigrant Sia (Sehar Aar) has put her trust in human traffickers, in the hope of being reunited with relatives in the UK. At the same time, a family whose daughter is waiting for a liver transplant start to consider any options offered to them.
The Morgue
Grace's morgue location in a Civic Way shop unit returns in Season 2, Episode 4. This week's killings send the detectives back to the morgue as they look for a pattern.
The Alley
Little East Street, Brighton. The Voice of Hassocks, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The stabbing scene was filmed in Little E Street, to the south of the Lanes. Look out for steps leading towards the seafront. In real life, the row of shops and restaurants is better known as the location of Momma Cherri's Big House and 1770 tattoo parlour.
Brighton Pier
Callie talks to her boyfriend on the beach beneath the Brighton Palace Pier sign. They're sitting near the spot where we've previously seen Roy Grace reflecting on his cases.
Brighton Palace Pier Arcade
The detectives plan their next move while walking through the Palace of Fun arcade. It's inside the Brighton Palace Pier, behind the lights we saw earlier in the episode.
Black Rock Beach
Black Rock Beach. Simon Carey / Beach at Black Rock
The graffitied walls in Grace: Dead Tomorrow are at Black Rock Beach. Moyes and Potting discuss the grim reality of the latest deaths in front of the graffiti, and we see a few other angles of the beach throughout the episode.
Situated near Brighton Marina, this beach has been the subject of new development proposals. But in the meantime, the graffiti seen in the ITV drama became its signature feature. With work now under way, this Grace filming location already looks very different.
Street Bench
The street where Marcus (Daniel Ayegboyega) and Layla (Faith Alabi) talk over takeaway coffees is Providence Place, North Laine. In the scene, they discuss whether they can risk a commercial liver transplant for Callie (Ellis George).
The Alleyway Chase
The alleyway location in Dead Tomorrow is Jew Street, between Church Street and Bond Street Laine. It's seen near the end of the episode, while the clock is ticking for Sia.
Beachside Restaurant
The beachfront restaurant location where Roy and Cleo meet is Riddle & Finns. The scene opens with a sweeping shot of the West Pier, before we catch up with Roy waiting at his table.
The restaurant is situated at 159 Kings Road, Brighton, and as you might have spotted later in the scene, its windows actually look out over both piers.