1 week Ago
ITV crime drama Grace returned to screens recently with the first episode of its fifth season. Based on novels by Brighton and Hove local legend Peter James, the show centres around the crime-busting DS Roy Grace, played by John Simm. The show is set in Brighton and Hove, with many of the scenes filmed in the city and around the wider Sussex area .
However, while the show often features real-life Brighton locations, the first episode of season five faced criticism from some fans for its depiction of the city's football team , in scenes involving a bomb threat at a stadium. Rather than portray the famous Brighton and Hove Albion FC - as Peter James does in his novels - the episode features a fictional team dubbed The Brighton Royals. The episode drew further ire for having used Plough Lane, home of Wimbledon AFC, to film stadium scenes for the show, rather than Albion's home ground, the Amex.
Plough Lane in Wimbledon was used to film the episode (Image: John LP) Fans on social media were left questioning why the Amex wasn't used to film the stadium scenes. READ NEXT: Car showroom could be demolished to make way for new Sainsbury's Now, The Argus can reveal that the club did in fact meet with the show's producers on several occasions to discuss potentially using the Amex as the location for the episode. However, despite these discussions, the club was unable to fit in with the show's filming schedule.
It is understood that Albion introduced the production company to fellow clubs Millwall and Wimbledon to assist them in finding a suitable venue, with Wimbledon's ground ultimately being used in the show. The Argus also understands that producers never raised the possibility of using the club's name or branding in the episode, possibly due to contractual reasons..
