Peter James’ popular DSI Grace novels might be set in the sunny south-coast location of Brighton, but they feature the dark and unsavory subjects of crime and murder. The books have not only been adapted into a number of ITV dramas, but also a series of hit stage plays. The seventh such adaptation, Picture You Dead, tours the UK this year. Bestselling author James here reveals why he thinks crime drama is so popular - and members of the cast offer some behind-the-scenes insights ahead of the show’s visit to Shrewsbury at the end of the month...

Peter James has sold 23 million copies of his crime thrillers worldwide, with 21 consecutive UK Sunday Times number ones, as well as chart-toppers in Germany, France, Russia and Canada. He’s also a New York Times best-seller - his murder-mysteries have been translated into 38 languages.

It’s afforded him an enviable lifestyle. At the end of his 60s (he’s now 76), he and second wife Lara moved to Jersey. “We’re Brexiles,” he says. “I wanted somewhere quiet; a bolt-hole in which to write.”

He briefly returned to home turf to launch the stage adaptation of one of his thrillers, Picture You Dead, which is set in the veiled world of high-end art forgery.

Writing novels and writing stage plays are two very different disciplines - and that’s quite apart from the fact it would be a torturous process, says Peter, to slim down 120,000 words or so into a 25,000-word script. With that in mind, step forward once again, Shaun McKenna - the writer who has adapted six of the thrillers for the stage. Picture You Dead - the last Grace book but three - adds to that number.

What made the novel such a pleasure to write in the first place, says Peter, was that he had the great good fortune to meet real-life forger David Henty.

“Back in 2015, I co-wrote a book, Death Comes Knocking: Policing Roy Grace’s Brighton, with former Commander of Brighton & Hove Police, Graham Bartlett. It was Graham who introduced me to Henty.”

Twenty years earlier, Henty had been a highly successful passport forger, specialising in fake watermarks. When the police eventually kicked in the door of the forgery factory, Henty was arrested, along with his co-conspirators, and subsequently sentenced to five years in prison. It was to be the very making of him.

His relatively harmless white-collar crime meant he had a pretty easy time of it inside - where he discovered that his skill stretched beyond passport fraud. He has the rare gift of being able to copy the work of any painter, from Fragonard to Caravaggio, from Van Gogh to Rembrandt, from Picasso to modern-day Banksy. And he can fool almost anyone that these paintings are genuine originals - leading to his current career as a copyist.

“It’s what gave me the idea of the plot for Picture You Dead,” says Peter.

The stage version stars Peter Ash as forger Dave Hegarty. Peter is fresh from his memorable and moving portrayal of Paul Foreman, wasting away from Motor Neurone Disease in Coronation Street, for which he won various awards, including the 2024 National Television Award for Best Serial Drama Performance. He’s bearded these days (“I had to be clean-shaven in Corrie”) but he still gets recognised when he’s out and about, “even if I’m wearing a baseball cap and glasses”. He’s not complaining, though: “It was a privilege to play that part, and to help educate the public about that cruel disease.”

He was in the soap for six years in total and is touring the UK until mid-May, when he’ll bow out to shepherd his 15-year-old son through his GCSEs. The tour continues until July.

The role of the (fictional) forger in Picture You Dead intrigues him: “He’s obviously very talented and passionate about his art. He’s got a history with Roy Grace, from when he used to forge passports.”

With big money changing hands, there’s certainly going to be skullduggery along the way. And fisticuffs, too, maybe? “I must be careful what I reveal, but yes, I think we can say there’ll be thrills and spills. It’s going to be quite a ride.”

For actor George Rainsford, who played Ethan Hardy in Casualty for nine years, this will be his second turn round the block - he played Roy Grace in the UK tour of Wish You Were Dead in 2023.

“It was great fun doing it the first time,” he says, “but a bit different, because you saw Roy and his wife on holiday with their toddler in France. He was out of his comfort zone.

“In Picture You Dead, he’s back in Brighton, at work and doing what fans will recognise. He’s heavily involved in a live case with all its twists and turns.

“Funnily enough, Picture You Dead came out in novel form when I was on the last tour as Roy Grace. I downloaded the audio version and listened to it when I was running.”

So, could we be sitting here in two years’ time with George about to tackle Roy for a third time? “Never say never,” he says, with a broad smile.

Fiona Wade plays Freya Kipling, who’s married to Harry. They are an innocent couple who go to a car boot sale where they buy a painting that she’s not keen on, but Harry likes. In time, it’s discovered that there may be an original beneath the painting which, when exposed, could be worth a small fortune. Or is it a forgery?

Fiona’s particularly pleased to have been cast in this production because it reunites her with George Rainsford, who played her husband last year in the hit tour of 2:22 A Ghost Story. The show marked her return to the theatre (she’s appeared in Miss Saigon and The Far Pavilions) after more than a decade playing Priya Sharma in Emmerdale. She bowed out last year. “It was a long run, and it changed my life. But I wanted to take the gamble of seeing what else was out there, so I asked to be written out of the soap. I very much believe in the power of positive thinking, and my gamble has paid off.”

The tour of Picture You Dead means Fiona will be away from home for the better part of five months. “My husband’s an actor, currently on tour in Murder On The Orient Express.” She and Simon Cotton met on Emmerdale. “We understand each other’s crazy timetables.

“Touring in a production is a lovely way to see the UK,” says Fiona. And she’s a huge fan of crime novels. “So now, I’m going to start working my way through Peter James’ long list of thrillers - beginning, of course, with Picture You Dead.”

It seems appropriate that Peter himself, as the writer whose imagination has enthralled so many, gets the last word. So, what is it about whodunnits, in his opinion, that appeals to the reading - and theatre-going - public? “People love being scared,” he says, “in a safe way. Bad things happen in the world, so it’s satisfying to see them resolved. And there’s no harm in throwing in a little gallows humour along the way.”

Picture You Dead shows at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn from Tuesday 29 April to Saturday 3 May

on Thu, 20 Mar 2025

Peter James’ popular DSI Grace novels might be set in the sunny south-coast location of Brighton, but they feature the dark and unsavory subjects of crime and murder. The books have not only been adapted into a number of ITV dramas, but also a series of hit stage plays. The seventh such adaptation, Picture You Dead, tours the UK this year and features Strictly winner, TV presenter & musical theatre star Ore Oduba, who here talks to What’s On about the brand-new show and his glittering career...

Ore Oduba is a familiar face on the nation’s screens, having regularly featured as a TV presenter since he began on CBBC’s Newsround in 2008. In recent years, he’s embarked on a flourishing career in musical theatre, touring the UK with Grease, The Rocky Horror Show, Pretty Woman: The Musical and - most recently - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in which he took the lead role of Caractacus Potts.

Ore’s next venture swaps sequins for suspects, as he appears on stage in his first non-musical endeavour: an adaptation of Peter James’ thriller Picture You Dead. Playing the antagonistic Stuart Piper, he’s appearing alongside George Rainsford as DSI Roy Grace, the Brightonian detective who features in many of James’ novels.

“It’s really, really exciting,’ says Ore. “Not only the fact that you get to do something new, and be at the beginning of a new journey, and meet amazing creatively talented people, but this is a brand-new stage production. No-one’s ever done it before; it’s the first time it’s ever been created. That’s such a thrill, because it gives you free rein to put your stamp on it, and hopefully make it a really epic trip to the theatre.”

The adaptation, just like the novel, takes a foray into the fine-art world - as you might have guessed from the play’s punny title.

“Picture You Dead is the seventh stage adaptation of the very successful Peter James novels,” says Ore.

“They’re all thrillers, and in this story, a very ordinary couple happens to find a very expensive piece of artwork at a car boot sale. From that point, their whole world turns upside down, and we find out about all of the characters that are affected by this serendipity. There’s an intensity to it, but there’s also a lot of humour - and at the end of the day it’s a thriller, so there might be some trouble on stage, too!

“My character is Stuart Piper, who is a little bit of a villain of the piece. It’s actually my ‘villain era’ that we’re all going into! I find it quite unnervingly natural to just slip into that mode. It’s a really lovely part, and there’s a lot of eccentricity that I’m going to be able to bring to it.”

It’s not Ore’s first venture into the world of Peter James, and he has a theory as to why the books, and their adaptations, have proved such a hit.

“I came to watch another one of the series - my friend Laura Whitmore was in one [entitled Not Dead Enough] a few years ago. I think the audiences for the Peter James novels love where it’s set, and they love the way Peter creates these characters - always in a relatable world, set down in the Sussex and Brighton area. It feels like the kind of capers that could happen within your community.”

Ore might have found fame on the TV screen, but his first love was performing in the theatre.

“It was the place that I always felt most at home when I was school-age. I was desperate to be in a school production, well before I was of age. I remember getting my first school role when I was 11, and just falling in love with being under that spotlight - being able to thrive. I think from a kid’s perspective, if that’s where you thrive, it’s where you find your voice and where you find your calling. Actually, it’s only hit me in the last couple of years that this is always where I was meant to be - or certainly where I was always going to find my happy place. It feels like a very natural space to be.”

And while he’s taken to musical theatre like a duck to water, he hopes this side-step into crime drama will broaden his theatrical horizons.

“I’ve been wanting to work with the wonderful producer of this show for many, many years. We’ve been friends for a long time, just trying to find the right project and fit it in within the schedule. We tried really, really hard to make this work, so I’m thrilled. I’m so at home in the theatre; it really is my happy place. I’ve been wanting to continue to develop the craft, and doing a play like this - it’s hopefully going to be hugely popular and successful, but also the other talent on stage is mind-blowing - I feel very inspired.”

Ore explains that each role he plays adds something new to his repertoire, with every experience carrying him forward to the next project - a fact which makes it hard for him to decide which character he’s most enjoyed playing.

“The most important thread is that they’ve all allowed me to keep progressing. I hope that my career is long and always moving on an upward curve - I guess that’s what you hope for. I certainly feel more confident now, going into an unknown - this is going to be my first play. I feel more confident, doing it off the back of all the work I’ve already done. The last job I did was Pretty Woman: The Musical. I had an amazing time - a really big role in an amazing, huge, commercial vehicle that was all around the country.

“I’m grateful for all of the roles - they’ve all been wonderful. I think you’re only ever going to choose to do a job if you feel like you can offer something to it, and that’s where the excitement comes. They’ve all been brilliant, whether that’s Caractacus Potts in Chitty, or Happy Man in Pretty Woman, or Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Show - all of them have been very, very special to me. I look back with the fondest of memories.”

On the other hand, jumping into something new brings its own challenges - but as Ore says, there’s always an element of the unexpected when it comes to the theatre. And that’s what it’s all about!

“The unknown - that’s what’s exciting about live theatre; every day is brand new. We’re doing the same show, but there are always new challenges. I love music, so it will be, how do I get my music fix, outside of being in a musical? I’ll probably keep putting the Wicked soundtrack on in my dressing room every day, and that will give me the hit that I need. I’m really looking forward to it!”

Picture You Dead shows at Birmingham’s The Alexandra from Tuesday 24 to Saturday 28 June.

By Jessica Clixby

on Thu, 20 Mar 2025