Grantchester is officially down one resident. After Masterpiece Mystery on PBS confirmed the news that Tom Brittney would be departing the fan-favorite series in Season 9, the time has come for Will Davenport to bow out in the latest episode. Rev. Davenport decided to move to Newcastle, where he believed he could make a bigger difference with more boats to rock. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with the decision, as Robson Green’s Georgie Keating accused Will of being selfish and not thinking about others.
While Geordie later realized he was the the one being selfish, he did end up missing Will’s emotional final sermon and farewells. Before he left Grantchester with his wife, Bonnie, she had him pull over and find Geordie before it was too late. He found Geordie in a field, likely reflecting on the goodbyes. The two had some much-needed closure, where Geordie gave Will his blessing to do whatever he wants with his life and they had a final, long embrace.
The British ITV series is based on a collection of short stories by James Runcie titled The Grantchester Mysteries. Since Season 4, Tom Brittney has portrayed Reverend Will Davenport, who works alongside Detective Inspector Geordi Keating to form a partnership to solve crimes. Season 9 takes place 1961, where Will and Geordi have been getting their families together to become one big happy family, which is why it was so hard for Geordie to say goodbye.
In a statement after his exit was announced, Brittney said he’s “had the most incredible time playing Will Davenport for the last five years. I got to solve crimes with my best friend and work with the best cast and crew I could ever ask for. I’ll miss it more than anything. But it’s time for the baton to be passed, as it once was to me, and I’m so excited for Rishi to join the Grantchester family.”
It will be hard to watch Grantchester without Tom Brittney, but it will be interesting to see how the series moves on Will Davenport. Since the door seems to be open for a possible return in the future, hopefully, it won’t be long until Will swings by Grantchester, even if it’s for a brief time. New episodes of Grantchester air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on PBS MASTERPIECE.