Star casting announced as Ore Oduba joins major UK world premiere tour of Peter James’ Picture Your Dead

Ore Oduba is joining the world premiere tour of Picture You Dead, adapted from the UK’s number one crime writer Peter James’ bestselling novel about Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. Picture You Dead is touring major UK theatres until 26 July 2025.

From 20 May Strictly Come Dancing champion, Ore Oduba (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Pretty Woman, Rocky Horror Show), will play Stuart Piper, an eccentric millionaire art collector who gets tangled up in the dark underworld of stolen art. Ore’s debut in the play will follow the next instalment of Peter James’ Sunday night hit ITV series GRACE, which premiered last Sunday on ITV.

Never before seen on stage or screen, Picture You Dead’s story was inspired when Peter James met real-life former master art forger, and now acclaimed copyist, David Henty. Henty was arrested in the 1990s for forging passports and learnt how to copy major artworks while in prison. The character David Hegarty – based on Henty – has history with DSI Roy Grace, having previously been nicked for forgery, he is now a reformed man but maintains an air of intrigue. David Hegarty is being played by National Television Award winner Peter Ash (Coronation Street, War Horse, Footballers Wives) until 17 May.

Actor and presenter Ore Oduba will join Emmerdale star Fiona Wade (2:22 A Ghost Story, Going Dutch). Wade plays Freya Kipling, who naively attracts the attention of dodgy dealers after buying a potentially multi-million-pound masterpiece at a car boot sale.

One of the nation’s favourite TV doctors George Rainsford, (Casualty, Call the Midwife), returns to the role of Peter James’ protagonist DSI Roy Grace, which he played in the 2023 hit production of Wish You Were Dead. And West End favourite Jodie Steele (Bonnie & Clyde, Wicked, Heathers, SIX) stars as the heartless villain, Roberta Kilgore. 

The full cast features Ben Cutler as Harry Kipling, Gemma Stroyan as Bella Moy, Adam Morris as Oliver De Souza and Mark Oxtoby as Archie Goff. The understudies are Valentina Arena and Ross Telfer.

Picture You Dead is the seventh Peter James book to be adapted for the stage by award-winning writer Shaun McKenna. It is directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, who previously directed two Peter James stage adaptations, Wish You Were Dead (2023) and Looking Good Dead (2021-2022).

Peter James said: “It is truly incredible for me to see the seventh stage adaptation of my books. I am so grateful to the hundreds of thousands of people around the UK who have come to their local theatre and enjoyed the plays over the last 10 years. Now that I have seen Picture You Dead performed, I am thrilled to say I think this new play is the best one so far!”

Ore Oduba said: “I’m so excited to become part of the fantastic cast of Picture You Dead. I’ve watched their excellent performances in front of a packed house and seen audiences have a fabulous time watching the show. It’s great fun and full of twists and turns, comedy and shocks! I can’t wait to be in it!”

Set in Brighton, Picture You Dead sees DSI Grace investigate a cold case that leads him to the rarified air of fine art, but beneath the respectable veneer lurks a murky underworld of greed, deception and murder. When an unsuspecting couple unwittingly buy a potentially long-lost masterpiece in a car boot sale, they discover that their dream find is about to turn into their worst nightmare and only Grace can stop them from paying the ultimate price.

Roy Grace is a crime fiction phenomenon. The books have sold over 23 million copies worldwide, been previously adapted for six hugely successful stage productions, and transformed into ITV’s critically acclaimed drama, GRACE. And, last year, Roy Grace was declared by Her Majesty Queen Camilla as her favourite literary detective.

Picture You Dead is touring major theatres across the UK until 26 July 2025. Tickets are on sale now via peterjames.com.

‘PICTURE YOU DEAD’ UK TOUR 2025