Father Brown cast reflect on new series of the cosy-crime drama – “This series is even better than the last”
Father Brown returns on Friday 10th January at 2pm on BBC One and iPlayer and January 23 globally on BritBox
Father Brown (Image: BBC Studios/Gary Moyes)
What do Father Brown and the gang get up to in this series?
In this series, we have another Flambeau episode, and this time we are on a secret mission from the Vatican. I love the Flambeau episodes, it feels like we are in a 1950s thriller and John Light plays him to the hilt. We also have a battle re-enactment in which I got to fight a duel with an expert swordsman, although Father Brown was somewhat handicapped by only having an umbrella. We also have a long awaited wedding, although it isn’t easy getting the happy couple to the altar!
There are yet more fantastic guest stars in this series. Is this part of the appeal to working on Father Brown?
As well as my friends the regular cast, we are blessed with a wonderful set of guest stars every week! I love having new actors that bring such skill and energy to the characters our writers create. It’s one of my chief pleasures watching them work. It makes my job very joyful having such talent to play against.
How do you feel about Father Brown being in its 12th series?
We broadcast the 12th series of Father Brown this January, which means we have made 130 episodes. I was feeling quite impressed by this, I thought there can’t have been many people who’ve played the eponymous character in a series for 130 shows. Then I read about Jack Warner who played Dixon of Dock Green 432 times, so that took the wind out of my sails a bit.
Making 12 series of Father Brown has enriched my life immeasurably. There have been many friendships made and we have quite a few children born during our time filming to cast and crew which makes us a real tribe. And I give thanks to G K Chesterton’s creation because Father Brown has kept me fascinated.
What do you enjoy about filming Father Brown? Can you tell us any funny stories from over the years?
One of the pleasures of shooting Father Brown and one that I can’t really properly appreciate is the cars that we get on the shoot. In the Cotswolds we are quite close to Birmingham and Coventry which were of course the centre of British car production, so we have this amazing resource of period motors. There’s a lot of ‘ooohing’ and ‘aaahing’ over the amazing pieces of machinery we get. Long forgotten names like Armstrong Siddeley, Alvis and Sunbeam. One of the chief joys is that they’re also different, and nothing creates a feel of the period better than an old car.
My problem is Father Brown can’t drive, so I have to make do with a bike. Not that I don’t love my bike. It’s a Pashley, made in Stratford with old-fashioned drum gears it’s actually very good uphill which is a blessing. Driving on gravel is my main problem, and a lot of the big houses we film at have gravel drives. I once had to cycle in pursuit of a baddie and hit some deep gravel. We shot the scene in front of a hotel and I ended up coming to an ungraceful stop. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get off in time so I fell off sideways. A young lad in the hotel kitchen saw me keel over and collapsed in laughter. I was very happy to give that lad the best laugh of his week.
Can you tell us about some of your favourite or most memorable storylines?
Some of my favourite episodes have been the most eccentric. We had an episode about a secret society of clowns who were a kind of vigilante revenge organisation, and I enjoyed the madness of that. An episode called ‘The Smallest of Things’ featured a series of crime dioramas based on the nutshell studies of unexplained death (a tool invented in the USA to train detectives) and the ingenuity of that appealed to me. I also love the eccentric characters we get in the series; I remember Ace Bhatti as a particular favourite, who’s character strolled about the lanes wearing only a fez.
Are there any storylines which you would like to see Father Brown do?
There are stories we haven’t done yet that I hope for. Horse racing, the life of Cotswold shepherds, and I’d love to do an English Civil War story as the Cotswolds was the centre of the action.
What can you tell us about filming in the Cotswolds?
The parish church of Blockley has played Saint Mary’s since 2012, so we’ve got to know it very well and the village has always made us feel very welcome. I’ve spent so much time in that beautiful church I can’t help feeling slightly proprietorial. With apologies to Canon Dana Delap (the real vicar) I feel like it’s mine – ecclesiastically inappropriate I know.
About
Season 12 will premiere on the BBC on January 10, 2025. BritBox will release the series weekly, starting two weeks later, on Thursday, January 23, 2025
Source
BBC One
