Yesterday evening saw fictitious detective Roy Grace make his long-awaited debut on the small screen... and his creator could not be happier with how it went.

International bestselling Sussex author Peter James said the ITV crime drama came “amazingly close” to replicating the images in his head as he put pen to paper.

The feature was based on his first Roy Grace novel, Dead Simple. Most of the filming was completed in the city last year, with sweeping shots of the two piers, Hove beach huts and more delighting Sussex viewers.

“I don’t think I have ever seen Brighton portrayed on-screen so beautifully,” Peter said. “The city is in my DNA. And I love nothing more than to try and support all things Brighton.”

Tourist organisation Visit Brighton previously placed one of his novels in each hotel room in Brighton.

Although, Peter admitted, some people had asked him whether he thought his stories of the city’s sordid underbelly might put people off visiting.

He remembered an email from a fan in Holland who was equal parts excited and anxious to visit such a hotbed of criminal activity.

“I emailed back and said, ‘I’m sure Roy Grace will take care of you,” Peter said.

“And I received a lovely email about four months later saying, ‘Oh, we came to Brighton and we had a wonderful time... and nobody robbed us.”