Father Brown (2013 TV series)
| Father Brown | |
|---|---|
_titlecard.jpg) | |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Based on | Father Brown short stories by G. K. Chesterton |
| Developed by |
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| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Debbie Wiseman |
| Opening theme | 'Father Brown Theme' |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 70 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Cinematography | Stuart Biddlecombe |
| Running time | 45–50 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 14 January 2013 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Father Brown is a British television period drama which began airing on BBC One on 14 January 2013. It features Mark Williams as the eponymous crime-solving Roman Catholic priest. The series is loosely based on short stories by G. K. Chesterton about the character.
Plot
The series is set during the early 1950s, in the fictional Cotswold village of Kembleford, where Father Brown, priest at St Mary's Catholic Church, solves murder cases. A bumbling police inspector, who often arrests the wrong suspect, gets annoyed by Father Brown's success.
Father Brown uses the distinctive skills of his close friends as well as his own wits to solve cases, occasionally to the neglect of his more mundane parish duties. His vocation as a priest often gives him an insight to the truth, so that justice (but occasionally, not the letter of the law) may be served. His commitment to obeying the Seal of the Confessional often presents unique circumstances. The time period is when Britain was still struggling with deprivation and shortages in the aftermath of the hardships of the Second World War. The country still applies the death penalty as a sentence for capital crimes such as murder. Father Brown opposes capital punishment.
Characters
- Father Brown – Mark Williams (2013–present): a slightly crumpled, shambolic and mild-mannered Roman Catholic priest who, by appearance, is easily forgotten. His apparent innocence belies a playful wit and a razor-sharp intellect. His greatest strength, both as a priest and as a detective of crime, is his love and understanding of other people. He’s not there to judge, but to save souls. He is also a World War I veteran who served in the Gloucestershire Regiment.
- Mrs Bridgette McCarthy née Maguire – Sorcha Cusack (2013–present): the Irish parish secretary at St Mary’s. She checks the facts for Father Brown, acts as his confidante on official Church business and everything else, defends him from the ire of the congregation, and makes sure he eats. She has a tendency to brag about her award-winning strawberry scones. Mrs McCarthy is a frequent gossip – though claims she is not – and often at odds with Lady Felicia, although she and Lady Felicia eventually admit to being close friends. She is married, but leaves her husband after he returns from having lived with another woman following the war.
- Lady Felicia Montague née Windermere – Nancy Carroll (2013–2018): a bored socialite and Countess, apparently from an old recusant family, with a roving eye when her husband, Monty, is away. She is a staunch supporter of Father Brown and frequent nemesis of Mrs McCarthy, despite a grudging respect between the women. She left at the start of Series 5 when her husband is appointed Governor of Northern Rhodesia, but made a guest appearance in Series 6, "The Face of the Enemy".
- Sidney "Sid" Carter – Alex Price (2013–2018): An artful dodger, Sid is an occasional black marketeer, part-time crook and informant who becomes Lady Felicia's chauffeur, and whom Father Brown makes the church's handyman while trying to keep on the straight and narrow. However, his skills and links to the criminal underworld of Kembleford are often needed to solve a case. He made a guest appearance in Series 6 in the episode "The Face of the Enemy".
- Zuzanna "Susie" Jasinski – Kasia Koleczek (2013): Father Brown's part-time housekeeper, who lives in a nearby post-war Polish resettlement camp. Her true first name was revealed in the episode "The Eye of Apollo."
- Lady Penelope "Bunty" Windermere – Emer Kenny (2017–present): the wayward niece of Lady Felicia seeking refuge after being photographed leaving a sleazy nightclub with a married man and cited in divorce proceedings.
- Inspector Valentine – Hugo Speer (2013–2014): head of the local police force, finds himself constantly torn between secret admiration for Father Brown and deep frustration with him. He would like to collaborate, but has been burnt once too often by Brown’s unorthodox moral code. Nevertheless, he comes to respect his methods and even admits, upon his departure, that he might miss Father Brown.
- Inspector Sullivan – Tom Chambers (2014–2015): replaced Inspector Valentine, who was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector and went to London at the start of the second series. A somewhat arrogant man, Sullivan is even more exasperated by Father Brown's meddling and contradicting his findings, but is eventually won over. It is not known how he left the show.
- Inspector Mallory – Jack Deam (2016–present): the replacement for Inspector Sullivan. Like his predecessors, he is often exasperated by Father Brown, whom he sarcastically refers to as "Padre." However, he is a far more zealous (and occasionally resourceful) detective, and chases after leads with great enthusiasm, even when they lead him to the wrong conclusion.
- Sergeant Albright – Keith Osborn (2013–2014): played dogsbody to Inspectors Valentine and Sullivan.
- Sergeant Goodfellow – John Burton (2014–present): continued playing the dogsbody for the Inspector with increasing involvement. Credited in the opening beginning in series 5.
- M. Hercule Flambeau – John Light (2013–present): nemesis of Father Brown; jewel and art thief with seemingly no conscience. He and Father Brown have encountered each other at least once in every series; in series four he reveals he has a daughter, Marianne Delacroix, whom he had never met.
Recurring roles
- Bishop Talbot – Malcolm Storry (2013–2015): He has appeared in 3 episodes, he is Father Brown's superior and doesn't like his sleuthing, but respects him for solving the mysteries, and it was mentioned in The Daughter of Autolycus he passed away. He was succeeded by Bishop Reynard (Michael Pennington).
- Harold "Blind 'Arry" Slow – Alan Williams (2017–present): He has appeared in 3 episodes, and is the rag and bone man for Kembleford and also a drunk.
- Professor Hilary Ambrose – James Laurenson (2014–present): He has appeared in 2 episodes, he is a theological academic and a friend of Father Brown.
- Canon Damien Fox – Roger May (2016–present): He has appeared in 2 episodes, he is part the Diocese and reports to Bishop Reynard.
- Katherine Corven – Kate O'Flynn (2017–2018): She appeared in 2 episodes, in The Eagle and the Daw she was in prison for murdering her husband, as Father Brown who helped to convict her and awaiting the death penalty, and in The Jackdaw's Revenge she was cleared of murder of her husband as someone confessed to the murder, later in the episode she died from a gunshot.
- Daniel Whittaker – Daniel Flynn (2015–present): He has appeared in 2 episodes, in he is a cold hearted bullying MI5 spy who threatens to blackmail Lady Felicia over her marriage, in The Man in the Shadows he had Sid arrested on false charges after he entered a M15 room, and in The Face of the Enemy he requested Lady Felicia to exchange a roll of film one of her lovers who is a Soviet spy (which he wasn't), and he has Lady Felicia arrested on false charges and Father Brown had persuaded him to let her go.
Cast
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(Series One cast) Nancy Carroll, Sorcha Cusack, Mark Williams, Hugo Speer, Kasia Koleczek, and Alex Price
Main
- Mark Williams as Father Brown
- Sorcha Cusack as Mrs Bridgette McCarthy
- Hugo Speer as Inspector Valentine (Series 1–Series 2, Episode 1)
- Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia Montague (Series 1–Series 5, Episode 2; Series 6, Episode 1 and 5)
- Alex Price as Sid Carter (Series 1–4; Series 5, Episode 11; Series 6, Episode 1 and 5)
- Kasia Koleczek as Susie Jasinski (Series 1)
- Keith Osborn as Sergeant Albright (Series 1–2)
- Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan (Series 2–3)
- John Burton as Sergeant Goodfellow (Series 2–present)
- Jack Deam as Inspector Mallory (Series 4–present)
- Emer Kenny as Penelope (Bunty) Windermere (Series 5–present)
- John Light as M. Hercule Flambeau (Recurring guest)
Guest stars
Various people have guest starred in the show, including Laura Main, Annette Badland, Guy Henry, Penny Downie, Roberta Taylor, James Fleet, Robert Cavanah, Emma Fielding, James Laurenson, Steffan Rhodri, Michael Maloney, Dominic Mafham, Camilla Power, Clare Higgins, Selina Cadell, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Jamie Glover, Holly Earl, Stephen Boxer, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Gareth Hale, Christopher Villiers, Katie Leung, Marcia Warren, Adrian Scarborough, Frances Barber, Caroline Blakiston, Adrian Rawlins, Ronni Ancona, Georgina Leonidas, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Arthur Bostrom, John Sessions, and Martin Kemp.
Production
The series is a BBC Studios Birmingham Drama Village production and filming for the first series of ten episodes of Father Brown began in the Cotswolds in summer 2012.[1] The BBC renewed Father Brown for a second series of ten episodes in 2013.[2] A third series of 15 episodes was commissioned in 2014.[3] A fourth series of ten episodes was commissioned in 2015.[4]
In 2014 Father Brown was shown on various public television stations in the United States and on the satellite "Film&Arts" channel in South America. In some countries, Netflix was airing the programme in later years; by 2018, five seasons were available.[5]
Conception
BBC Daytime wanted a home-grown detective show for the afternoons on BBC One. Initially, original ideas from writers were pitched, but the BBC wanted something that was less of a risk and was already well known. Father Brown had not been filmed since the 1970s with Kenneth More. Executive Producer John Yorke came up with the idea after hearing a radio documentary about G. K. Chesterton presented by Ann Widdecombe.
Writers were given the choice of adapting an existing story or to come up with an original idea. Half of the first ten episodes made were loosely based on Chesterton stories. The Chesterton stories were set all over the world and at different times, but a decision was made to anchor the stories in a fixed place and time.
The Cotswolds was chosen as it had few modern buildings and was close to the production base in Birmingham. The 1950s was chosen as the detective could solve the puzzle using his mind and knowledge of human nature instead of relying on modern technology. The lead writers, Rachel Flowerday and Tahsin Guner, created the world and the characters. Other writers contributed stand-alone scripts that were not part of a story arc.[6]
Significant changes were made in some of the episodes ostensibly based on the original works, including "The Hammer of God", "The Wrong Shape", and "The Eye of Apollo".
Filming
Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Filming takes place in the Gloucestershire village of Blockley using the church of Saints Peter and Paul[7] (Church of England) as the St Mary Roman Catholic church of the series and the vicarage transformed into presbytery for Father Brown's residence.[8] Other villages used are Winchcombe, Upper Slaughter, Kemerton and Guiting Power. Filming also took place at Winchcombe railway station on the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Sudeley Castle was the main location for "The Eye of Apollo".[9] Princethorpe College, once a Catholic convent, now a secondary school, was used to film "St Agnes Convent" in Series One Episode 6.[10]
The former hospital, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire
Filming for the second series included the Warwickshire village of Ilmington. Chastleton House and Berkeley Castle were used to portray Pryde Castle in the episode broadcast on 8 January 2014.[11][12] Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire provided the location for the final resting place of the famed rosary in the episode "Mysteries of the Rosary" airing 10 January 2014.[13] The gardens at Snowshill Manor featured in the same episode. "The Time Machine" episode, in series 3, was based around the Warwickshire estate of Alscot Park.
Filming has also taken place at Ashdown WW2 Camp, Evesham, Worcestershire where the TV series the Land Girls was also filmed. Laid out as a WW2 camp, Ashdown Camp is made up of 11 nissen huts, air raid shelters, and outbuildings.[14] Also used were the 1930s portion of Shire Hall, Warwick, headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, Bloxham School in Oxfordshire[15] and Worcester Guildhall.[16] The former hospital at Moreton-in-Marsh was used for the new police station and for Father Brown’s kitchen, study and presbytery.[17][18]
Locations
Filming in Blockley Churchyard
St Peter & St Paul Church, Blockley and the Riley RMA[19] used for filming Father Brown
The church with artificial snow (2016 Christmas Special)
Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
St Peter's Church in Upper Slaughter doubled as the Anglican church in Kembleford[20]
The old Moreton-in-Marsh police station featured as Kembleford police station[21]
Village centre and village hall at Cornwell (Kembleford police station in series 5)
The Quaker Meeting House in Broad Campden featured as "Kembleford Parish Hall"
Guiting Power doubled as part of Kembleford
High Street, Blockley.jpg)
Spetchley Park was used for "The Curse of Amenhotep" (2015)[25]
Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire
Chastleton House, Oxfordshire- Quaker Meeting House, Broad Campden
Snowshill Manor Garden
The Worcester Guildhall.jpg)
Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Heritage Railway
Alscot Park
Episodes
Series overview
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 10 | 14 January 2013 | 25 January 2013 | |
| 2 | 10 | 6 January 2014 | 17 January 2014 | |
| 3 | 15 | 5 January 2015 | 23 January 2015 | |
| 4 | 10 | 4 January 2016 | 15 January 2016 | |
| 5 | 15 | 23 December 2016 | 19 January 2017 | |
| 6 | 10 | 18 December 2017 | 12 January 2018 | |
Series 1 (2013)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Hammer of God" | Ian Barber | Tahsin Guner | 14 January 2013 |
| The brother of an Anglican vicar is killed with a blacksmith's hammer. The blacksmith's wife, who had been blackmailed by the victim, confesses; Father Brown must find a killer who believes it was God's work from the victim's many enemies before an innocent woman is sent to the gallows. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Flying Stars" | Ian Barber | Rachel Flowerday | 15 January 2013 |
| The Flying Stars is a valuable necklace belonging to the theatrical Adams family; when the mother drowns in a lake, this initially is thought to be an accident until the tensions within the family are exposed. An Italian coin arouses Father Brown's suspicions, and a pair of shoes that are too large put Lady Felicia's life in danger. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Wrong Shape" | Dominic Keavey | Nicola Wilson | 16 January 2013 |
| Ex-doctor Leonard Quinton, living with his estranged wife, a young mistress, and Indian manservant, is foretold of his death by the manservant. Quinton asks Father Brown to look after his wife following his death. Quinton is found dead apparently hanging himself but Brown and Inspector Valentine suspect murder. A poisoned cat and the unmarked headstone of a three-month-old baby buried in the garden and his treatment of his wife for morning sickness with a new German drug provides the tragic answer. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Man in the Tree" | Dominic Keavey | Rebecca Wojciechowski | 17 January 2013 |
| A man stripped and pushed from a train on a viaduct is found by Lady Felicia, injured and stuck up a tree. Father Brown meets a visiting German priest, arousing hostility amongst the villagers with recent war memories. Father Brown sees to it that justice is done, though not in a strictly legal fashion. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Eye of Apollo" | Matt Carter | Tahsin Guner | 18 January 2013 |
| The Church of Apollo comes to Kembleford, and Susie falls under the spell of their charismatic leader, Kalon (Michael Maloney). Jealousy among the followers leads to murder, in a locked room, of Kalon's wife. Father Brown must solve the murder and break Kalon's spell over Susie before she leaves with him following baptism into his church. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Bride of Christ" | Ian Barber | Jude Tindall | 21 January 2013 |
| Two nuns die of cyanide poisoning, the first in front of Father Brown and the second while Inspector Valentine is investigating the first death. Ill-feeling among the nuns and the bottles of cyanide held at the convent lead to many a suspect. Sister Boniface (Lorna Watson), a fan of Agatha Christie, lends a helping hand to Father Brown. | |||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Devil's Dust" | Dominic Keavey | Dan Muirden | 22 January 2013 |
| 14-year-old Ruth Bennett (Holly Earl) goes missing. She had been ostracised by the village because of a skin complaint the villagers believe was caused by radiation at her father's place of work. When her blood-stained pyjamas are found, suspects include Ruth's family doctor on whom she had a crush, her mother who had hit her, and a plumber with a similar skin complaint who is dying of cancer. | |||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Face of Death" | Matt Carter | Lol Fletcher | 23 January 2013 |
| Lady Margaret (Stella Gonet) runs a man down and his son Daniel blames her for deliberately doing it. At a masked charity garden party a guest is murdered in an identical mask to one worn by Lady Margaret's husband (Stephen Boxer). When Lady Margaret is later murdered, Daniel is suspected but cannot be found. | |||||
| 9 | 9 | "The Mayor and the Magician" | Dominic Keavey | Nicola Wilson | 24 January 2013 |
| At the annual village fête, the obnoxious mayor William Knight (Sam Crane) is electrocuted at the microphone. He is a man with many enemies, including his wife (Louise Brealey), who is arrested. Father Brown is shocked by what is heard in the confessional, but it provides a clue about the killer. Mrs McCarthy's 'long dead' husband, Frank (Frank Grimes), turns up dressed as a magician. | |||||
| 10 | 10 | "The Blue Cross" | Ian Barber | Paul Matthew Thompson | 25 January 2013 |
|
International thief Flambeau (John Light) forewarns Father Brown of his intention to steal the priceless relic, The Blue Cross, from St Mary's. To pre-empt the theft, Brown takes the cross in what becomes a battle of wits between the two men. The climax reveals a connection between the two men when Brown fought as a 17-year-old soldier in Flanders during the Great War before taking Holy orders. First appearance of John Light as Hercule Flambeau. Final appearance of Kasia Koleczek as Susie Jasinski. | |||||
Series 2 (2014)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "The Ghost in the Machine" | Matt Carter | Rachel Flowerday | 6 January 2014 |
|
Father Brown investigates the disappearance of a parishioner, Charlotte McKinley, who believed she was being haunted by her sister who had disappeared nine years previously. Husband Victor (Andrew Havill), a struck-off doctor, is arrested as being responsible for the murder of both women. Final appearance of Hugo Speer as Inspector Valentine. First appearance of Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan. | |||||
| 12 | 2 | "The Maddest of All" | Matt Carter | Tahsin Guner | 7 January 2014 |
| Ex-serviceman Felix Underwood (Peter Bramhill), a mental patient at the Danvers Retreat, dies suddenly in the street. Events take an unusual turn when he returns to life two days later at his church committal. Father Brown assists Inspector Sullivan to discover the reason for the resurrection, and gets himself committed at Danvers to covertly investigate the premises. | |||||
| 13 | 3 | "The Pride of the Prydes" | Paul Gibson | Jude Tindall | 8 January 2014 |
| The opening to the public of Pryde Castle, an estate mired in death duties, ends when guide Audrey Diggle (Marcia Warren), is struck and killed by an arrow. She was an expert on the Pryde's family history, including an old curse that the first born would be mad. Father Brown is convinced that the motive lies in the Pryde family's past, when a page from the parish birth records goes missing. All the family members are known to use a longbow. | |||||
| 14 | 4 | "The Shadow of the Scaffold" | Paul Gibson | Rachel Flowerday | 9 January 2014 |
| Violet Fernsley (Emma Stansfield), convicted of killing her pig-farmer husband whose body has never been found, is given a temporary reprieve from the gallows when she claims she is pregnant. The pregnancy test gives Father Brown three days to find the real killer. When her husband's finger turns up in a pig's stomach, it points to a serial killer amongst the family. Father Brown's investigation concludes God's law is above man's law. | |||||
| 15 | 5 | "The Mysteries of the Rosary" | Ian Barber | Paul Matthew Thompson | 10 January 2014 |
| The Lannington Rosary, missing for 500 years, is a relic blessed with healing powers. Professor Hilary Ambrose (James Laurenson) has sent an ancient prayer book containing a clue to its whereabouts to his old friend Father Brown, before he goes missing and his home is ransacked. Brown receives unexpected help from the untrustworthy Flambeau (John Light), returned from the dead. A terminally ill fellow priest, Father Ignatius (Anton Lesser), also desperately seeks the rosary to heal both himself and others. | |||||
| 16 | 6 | "The Daughters of Jerusalem" | Matt Carter | Jude Tindall | 13 January 2014 |
| Father Brown is laid up in his attic bedroom with a broken leg, and young Father Roland Eager is acting as his locum. His film of African orphans being shown at the Kembleford Women's Institute is switched for a pornographic film. In the following days, two members of the Institute are murdered, one poisoned and one stabbed with a hat pin. Inspector Sullivan arrests Dianah Fortescue, whose husband was earlier arrested in a Soho pornographic cinema. Brown investigates with the help of Mrs. McCarthy, Lady Felicia, Sid Carter, and a telescope. | |||||
| 17 | 7 | "The Three Tools of Death" | Paul Gibson | Lol Fletcher | 14 January 2014 |
| Alice Armstrong has been treated by electroshock therapy for memory loss and depression after she accidentally killed her mother. When her father is murdered and a rope, gun and knife are left behind, Magnus the chauffeur is suspected together with Peter, Armstrong's secretary, whom Alice loves. The truth of a father in debt leads Father Brown to another conclusion about the deaths. | |||||
| 18 | 8 | "The Prize of Colonel Gerard" | Ian Barber | Dominique Moloney | 15 January 2014 |
| Edward Gerard, a prisoner of war who returns from North Korea sympathetic to his captors, greatly displeases his martinet uncle, Colonel Cecil Gerard (Nicholas Jones), who threatens to commit him to an asylum. When the Colonel is murdered, the suspects include the nephew, the Colonel's daughter (an adopted Chinese girl) the nephew was going to run away with, the brother-in-law, and the victim's wife. Father Brown finds the solution lies in the family history and the Colonel's sexual intentions to his adopted daughter. | |||||
| 19 | 9 | "The Grim Reaper" | Matt Carter | David Semple | 16 January 2014 |
| Obnoxious farmer John Tatton has an equally obnoxious son, Alfred, who covets the young wife Oona (Maureen O'Connell) of Doctor Crawford (James Fleet). When Alfred is killed in a threshing machine, the doctor is suspected when accusatory poison pen letters appear. John Tatton believes his son was having an affair with the doctor's wife, who is pregnant. | |||||
| 20 | 10 | "The Laws of Motion" | Paul Gibson | Tahsin Guner | 17 January 2014 |
| Audrey MacMurray (Tracy-Ann Oberman) is a ruthless businesswoman with many enemies. While racing her car at a local hill climb track, she is killed when her brake line has been cut. Father Brown's investigation infuriates Inspector Sullivan, who already has his own suspect in custody, and the Inspector arrests Brown for a breach of the peace to put an end to his amateur sleuthing. While in jail however, Father Brown receives more information that makes him believe that he is right, and with Sid and Mrs. McCarthy, he escapes to convince them to do the right thing. | |||||
Series 3 (2015)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "The Man in the Shadows" | Paul Gibson | Rob Kinsman | 5 January 2015 |
| Sid stumbles across a dead man about to be put in a river and Inspector Sullivan covers-up the death as an accident. Sid is arrested when he and Father Brown investigate and Lady Felicia is blackmailed by an MI5 spymaster looking for a Soviet agent who has infiltrated an intelligence base in a stately home. | |||||
| 22 | 2 | "The Curse of Amenhotep" | Matt Carter | Jude Tindall | 6 January 2015 |
| The young wife of Sir Raleigh Beresford dies mysteriously after seeing the coffin of Amenhotep, an Egyptian mummy Beresford had brought back from his excavations some 26 years earlier where his first wife was killed during a rock fall; a curse on the coffin is suspected. | |||||
| 23 | 3 | "The Invisible Man" | Matt Carter | Tahsin Guner | 7 January 2015 |
| The circus returns to Kembleford and local waitress Laura is held to her promise given in jest the year before to marry the clown or the hypnotist. The clown is murdered; in his dying breath he names the hypnotist. Laura's boyfriend, the clown's girlfriend, and another clown are all suspected. Laura's willingness to marry the hypnotist puzzles Father Brown, even though he agrees to marry the couple. | |||||
| 24 | 4 | "The Sign of the Broken Sword" | Ian Barber | Stephen McAteer | 8 January 2015 |
| A major is murdered on an army base by a legendary broken sword during commemorations of the men killed during the evacuation of Dunkirk. The sword belonged to the regiment's colonel who used the sword to charge an enemy position with his men. Father Brown has to uncover the secret of two murders being kept to uphold the honour of the regiment. Loosely based on the 1911 story of the same title. | |||||
| 25 | 5 | "The Last Man" | John Greening | Jude Tindall | 9 January 2015 |
| The arrest of the new cricket captain of Kembleford's cricket team for the murder of the team's fast bowler, a suicide the year before in the cricket pavilion and a match against a rival village to determine the ownership of the cricket ground finds Father Brown consoling the victim's mother, solving a murder involving blackmail, playing cricket and watching Lady Felicia as the "last man" of the innings. | |||||
| 26 | 6 | "The Upcott Fraternity" | Paul Gibson | Paul Matthew Thompson | 12 January 2015 |
| Father Brown is visiting his old Rector (Dudley Sutton) at Upcott Seminary for trainee priests when a student commits suicide, Brown attempts to find the truth behind his death and a student a year earlier, both members of a secret fraternity that has closed ranks. Father Brown enlists Sid to go undercover as a trainee priest despite Mrs McCarthy's misgivings. | |||||
| 27 | 7 | "The Kembleford Boggart" | John Greening | Jonathan Neil | 13 January 2015 |
| The domineering father (Simon Williams) of a successful young writer, 22-year-old Hannah, is murdered in a locked room and the only suspect is an itinerant traveller who comes to Kembleford every year in a caravan with his mother. Father Brown's suspicions are aroused when the murder has the hallmarks of a boggart, an unwelcome infant from another world created by Hannah in her book. | |||||
| 28 | 8 | "The Lair of the Libertines" | Matt Carter | Lol Fletcher | 14 January 2015 |
| Father Brown, Mrs McCarthy and Felicia find themselves stranded at a hotel hired by Madame Chania (Ronni Ancona) and her guests, international playboys, seeking hedonistic pleasures. When a local prostitute is found murdered in the grounds and two of the guests are killed, Father Brown realises they are in the lair of a hunter intent on killing them all. | |||||
| 29 | 9 | "The Truth in the Wine" | Ian Barber | Kit Lambert | 15 January 2015 |
| A dead dog in a vat of wine precedes the shooting to death of an itinerant labourer and theft of wages from the safe in the study of Colonel Anthony Forbes-Leith, owner of a failing winery. Father Brown discovers none of the suspects are who they pretend to be. | |||||
| 30 | 10 | "The Judgement of Man" | Ian Barber | Paul Matthew Thompson | 16 January 2015 |
| An exhibition of valuable art at the Belvedere Museum includes a priceless artwork on loan from the Vatican. Father Brown spots his nemesis Hercule Flambeau (John Light), not realising he is a pawn in Flambeau's plan to steal the picture and wreak revenge on the museum's curator, a man who during the war had helped the Nazis loot paintings from Jewish families. Flambeau is shocked to find a woman from his past he thought dead seeking to avenge the death of her parents by killing the curator. | |||||
| 31 | 11 | "The Time Machine" | Ian Barber | Tahsin Guner | 19 January 2015 |
| Lady Felicia involves Father Brown with Jacob Francis, a young quantum physicist, who claims to have built a time machine so he can go back in time to prove his father was murdered in his locked laboratory by one of his family. When Francis proves his machine works he is murdered in the same laboratory, leaving Father Brown's only option to use the machine and see who killed the father and son. | |||||
| 32 | 12 | "The Standing Stones" | Matt Carter | Rachel Flowerday | 20 January 2015 |
| Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy visit the cottage hospital in the village of Standing where many of the children have been struck down by an outbreak of polio. When a local barmaid is found murdered at the local stone circle, her best friend Ginnie is arrested for her murder when it is discovered that they had fallen out over Ginnie blaming her for her son contracting polio. Unfortunately, the supposed murder weapon that is hoped will clear her only seems to strengthen the case against her. Then a local mystic makes a connection between the death and a legend about sacrificing an innocent at the stones – and someone tries to kill Ginnie and make it look like suicide. | |||||
| 33 | 13 | "The Paradise of Thieves" | Diana Patrick | Rob Kinsman | 21 January 2015 |
| Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy are at the local bank when armed raiders force the manager to open the locked safe using Father Brown as a witness. The robbers flee when the vault is opened and the manager's son-in-law is discovered dead inside. As the only key-holder, the manager is arrested by Inspector Sullivan. Father Brown uncovers fraud at the bank by the manager, financing a seedy nightclub owned by his son-in-law, but he needs Sid's help to break into the vault to discover how the murder was committed. | |||||
| 34 | 14 | "The Deadly Seal" | Diana Patrick | Dan Muirden | 22 January 2015 |
| Father Brown hears a penitent in confessional declare that they are going to kill Bishop Talbot the next day during a shooting party organised by a theatrical producer. Unable to reveal what he has heard, Father Brown also attends the shoot and although saving the Bishop, the Bishop's Assistant Albert Davies is killed instead. Father Brown discovers a deadly pact involving a child abuse victim and the murdered man's wife to kill another man while providing unbreakable alibis. | |||||
| 35 | 15 | "The Owl of Minerva" | Matt Carter | Jude Tindall | 23 January 2015 |
|
A body of a journalist about to expose an offshoot of the Freemasons, The Owl of Minerva, is found dead in the woods. Inspector Sullivan's investigations find him on the run for killing a fellow detective and seeking sanctuary in the confessional at St Mary's. Father Brown, with the aid of Mrs McCarthy, Lady Felicia and Sid, rally round to try prove his innocence and protect him from a deadly organisation with members highly placed in the community. Final appearance of Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan. | |||||
Series 4 (2016)
Series four filming commenced at Gloucester Cathedral in June 2015.[26][27]
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 1 | "The Mask of the Demon" | Paul Gibson | Jude Tindall | 4 January 2016 |
|
Lady Felicia knows the Hollywood star Rex Bishop who is in Kembleford filming a "B" movie The Brides of the Demon. He invites Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy, a fan of Bishop, to view the filming. Tensions are evident between the film's participants, the director, his actress wife, a starlet, Rex Bishop, and the writer. The director is found dead wearing a demon's mask and Inspector Mallory does not appreciate Father Brown's help. First appearance of Jack Deam as Inspector Mallory. Filming took place at Coughton Court.[28] | |||||
| 37 | 2 | "The Brewer's Daughter" | Paul Gibson | Kit Lambert | 5 January 2016 |
| Sid falls for Grace Fitzgerald, the married heiress to a brewery, and is her alibi when Mallory arrests her for murdering her father in a fire. Fitzgerald, refusing to use Sid as an alibi, asks Father Brown to search for the real killer and he uncovers evidence that Fitzgerald's husband and her younger sister killed the father. The suicide and a note left by another lover of Fitzgerald complicates the issue as he had been sacked by her husband when he caught them kissing. | |||||
| 38 | 3 | "The Hangman's Demise" | David Beauchamp | Dan Muirden | 6 January 2016 |
| A former hangman, Henry Lee, is confronted at his wedding anniversary by a mother about her son whom he executed a year before for the murder of a court secretary – an execution where the condemned man whispered to Lee the identity of the real killer. The following morning Lee is poisoned with hemlock. His friend George, an ex-policeman, is arrested and released. The mother, recently released from prison, is arrested and a motive for Lee's wife emerges. Father Brown untangles a web of deceit and corruption in the police as Lee lays dying. | |||||
| 39 | 4 | "The Crackpot of the Empire" | David Beauchamp | Lol Fletcher | 7 January 2016 |
| Father Brown is apprehensive when he receives an invitation to a party given by the recently-released Uncle Mirth, a former music hall comedian whom Brown helped put in an asylum. When Brown and the other invitees arrive at the venue, a derelict warehouse, he and Mirth's brother find envelopes containing their death certificates. Inspector Mallory finds another death certificate for a second brother who had died of a heart attack outside the presbytery the previous day. | |||||
| 40 | 5 | "The Daughter of Autolycus" | Paul Gibson | Jude Tindall | 8 January 2016 |
| Father Brown knows the Pope's coronation gift to the Queen of a priceless cross is too tempting to Flambeau and Brown convinces the Bishop to let him guard it. Flambeau arrives on Brown's doorstep seeking his help to steal the cross in order to save the life of his daughter whom he has never met, and who has been kidnapped by Flambeau's criminal partner he once left for dead. Before they can steal the cross it goes missing from the Bishop's Palace. Brown has underestimated Papal politics, Flambeau's daughter, and the consciences of men. | |||||
| 41 | 6 | "The Rod of Asclepius" | David Beauchamp | Jude Tindall | 11 January 2016 |
| Lady Felicia's reckless driving lands her and Mrs McCarthy in adjoining hospital beds. A new admittance to the ward dies the following morning on the operating table. A nurse claims it is murder and is found dead the same afternoon, forcing Inspector Mallory to do more than his initial cursory investigation. Father Brown, once Sid makes it past the officious substitute Parish Secretary and notifies him of developments, follows a different line of inquiry and Lady Felicia and Mrs McCarthy's snooping put the latter in danger on the same operating table. | |||||
| 42 | 7 | "The Missing Man" | David Beauchamp | Rachel Flowerday | 12 January 2016 |
| A pilot returns from the dead after eight years as Father Brown is about to marry his wife to his brother. No-one except his daughter is pleased to see him, especially his father who believes him to be a deserter. When the returnee is found shot in the head and blood-stained women's clothing is found, Inspector Mallory charges the wife, dismissing the daughter's claims that another woman entered the house. Father Brown finds a visiting card for a cross-dressing bar, realises the identity of the real killer and that they cannot be exposed. | |||||
| 43 | 8 | "The Resurrectionists" | James Larkin | Rob Kinsman | 13 January 2016 |
| Father Brown is puzzled when the grave of a recent burial is opened and the body is missing, only for it to turn up at the premises of a different undertaker. Inspector Mallory is even more mystified as the victim died of decapitation in a motor cycle accident with no sign of other injury. The undertaker is arrested and the animosity between him and the victim's mother is evident for all to see. Father Brown uncovers the reason behind their hatred and the forbidden love which the victim had for the undertaker's daughter. | |||||
| 44 | 9 | "The Sins of the Father" | Paul Gibson | Al Smith | 14 January 2016 |
| Robert Twyman, a leading aeronautics magnate, receives a note that his son, a piano player and contestant in a local variety show, would be killed if he does not confess. Next morning the son is found strangled next to his piano in a locked house with only his father and butler present. Twyman is convinced a journalist piano-player rival of his son is the killer. Inspector Mallory arrests Twyman after Lady Felicia finds him standing over the dead body of the journalist by her piano. Father Brown notices that both pianists had been somehow playing the same music and the answer is to be found in a book given to him by Doctor Mordaunt Jackson, a psycho-analyst currently giving a lecture in Kembleford. | |||||
| 45 | 10 | "The Wrath of Baron Samdi" | James Larkin | Tahsin Guner | 15 January 2016 |
|
Baron Samdi is the voodoo spirit of the dead that Emmanuel Jannite invokes when he follows his love, Yveline Lafond, to Kembleford. Lafond is working as lead singer in a Haitian jazz band. The band leader, also in love with Lafond, is found dead in a swimming pool, poisoned, and Jannite dies following a police chase. Inspector Mallory believes the case closed but Father Brown's snooping uncovers the real killer. As he confronts the culprit, Brown collapses after being informed that he has already been poisoned that morning. Final regular appearance of Alex Price as Sid Carter. | |||||
Series 5 (2016–17)
The first episode of the fifth series also serves as a Christmas special episode.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 1 | "The Star of Jacob" | Paul Gibson | Jude Tindall | 23 December 2016 |
| The Duke of Frome, John Langton, with his wife, their baby born after complications during childbirth, a domineering nanny, nursery maid and valet arrive at Montague Hall for Lady Felicia's Yuletide ball. During the evening the baby is taken from his cot. Inspector Mallory suspects an inside job by the valet when his secret wife arrives while Brown is more interested in the birth of the baby at a home for unmarried mothers. Mrs McCarthy, under pressure from the diocese to provide a Christmas service fit for a Duke, receives unexpected help from a vagrant, Michael Negal, she finds sleeping in the confessional. | |||||
| 47 | 2 | "The Labyrinth of the Minotaur" | Paul Gibson | Jude Tindall | 2 January 2017 |
| Robert Malmort and Joan Vanderlande are brought together by their respective parents with a view to marriage. When the maid Ruby is found dead, Lady Felicia's niece, Bunty, is suspected. Father Brown suspects the answer lies at the end of a Labyrinth and a sad secret the Malmorts are hiding. Following her latest scandalous headlines Bunty's father insists she stay in Kembleford and Felicia needs her to look after her home as she is leaving with her husband, Monty, who has been appointed Governor of Northern Rhodesia. Final regular appearance of Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia Montague. First appearance of Emer Kenny as "Bunty" Windermere. | |||||
| 48 | 3 | "The Eve of St John" | Gary Williams | Jude Tindall | 3 January 2017 |
| Kembleford District Council holds an emergency meeting attended by the local clergy to discuss a coven in Crow's wood. Father Brown's liberal views on witchcraft do not go down well and when the body of one of the coven is found dead, feelings run high in the village. Tensions are fanned by the Reverend Gillespie, a Methodist minister whose wife and daughter died in the blitz. Father Brown invites the warlock; Eugene Bone, his partner; Selina Crow, new initiate; Dione Moon and the Reverend Allsworthy to dinner. Mrs McCarthy sends Bunty to gather mushrooms for her soup and over dinner. Allsworthy, smitten by Bunty, has reason to propose marriage. | |||||
| 49 | 4 | "The Chedworth Cyclone" | Paul Gibson | Paul Matthew Thompson | 4 January 2017 |
| Roy Tomkins, a washed up boxer and rival of Jed Cornish – the 'Chedworth Cyclone' – is found dead. Father Brown is drawn into the shady world of London Boxing promoter and racketeer, Denis Nelson, who is involved in illegal betting, fixed fights, and blackmail. Jed, suspected of murder, is arrested and then bailed into the care of Father Brown who uncovers Jed's secret love for Nelson's girlfriend. She has lured a town councillor into a compromising position so Nelson can obtain a boxing venue. Father Brown has to uncover the murderer, ensure a fair fight and break Nelson's hold over everyone. | |||||
| 50 | 5 | "The Hand of Lucia" | Paul Gibson | Lol Fletcher | 5 January 2017 |
| Bankrupt writer of erotic novel 'Lulu and Lucia', Lucia Morell is murdered with an axe and her hand removed. Subject of a previous attack, her threat to reveal on whom Lulu was based is thought to be the motive. Suspects include Lady Ursula Lansford of Uxbridge who runs a home for released female prisoners, Lansford's son whom Lucia humiliated, the gardener, and two ex-prisoners. Bunty becomes ill after eating the gardener's soup and one of the girls is poisoned; and when the hand is discovered in Lady Ursula's private bathroom the gardener confesses. Father Brown believes the answer is in the novel, leading to tragic consequences. | |||||
| 51 | 6 | "The Eagle and the Daw" | Gary Williams | Kit Lambert | 6 January 2017 |
| Katherine Corven, awaiting execution for murdering her husband, summons Father Brown, who helped to convict her, to hear her confession; that she has arranged the death of her lover Raymond Worrall. When Inspector Mallory finds Worrall, in a locked cottage, dead from a gunshot to the head and Father Brown in possession of a pistol and the key to the cottage, he arrests him on suspicion of murder. Bunty and McCarthy seek to prove his innocence and Sergeant Goodfellow contrives his escape from the police station cell. A Jackdaw egg at the cottage provides Father Brown with a clue to explain the death of Worrall. | |||||
| 52 | 7 | "The Smallest of Things" | Bob Thomson | Tahshin Guner | 9 January 2017 |
| Agnes Lesser creates aids to detection in the form of dioramas of crime scenes. She invites Father Brown to an awards ceremony at her home where she unveils an exact diorama of her mother' death, at the bottom of a staircase 10 years previously, to the shocked guests including her father, the Chief Constable, and the detective who investigated at the time; hoping the death would be reinvestigated. When the detective is murdered after removing a miniature newspaper from the diorama; Inspector Mallory is arrested for his murder and Father Brown realises the newspaper holds the clue to the tragic events that had befallen the Lesser family including the death of Agnes younger sister by drowning. | |||||
| 53 | 8 | "The Crimson Feather" | Paul Gibson | Kit Lambert | 10 January 2017 |
| Joselyn, Mrs McCarthy' niece and god-daughter, visits and then disappears. A red feather leads Father Brown to a private gentlemen's club, The Crimson Feather. With Bunty's help Father Brown discovers Joselyn is at the club where she has been working for months. When one of the other girls, Verity, is murdered at the club wearing Joselyn's costume; Bunty goes undercover as Pepper Seymore, a burlesque dancer, and Mrs McCarthy as a cleaner take jobs at the club looking for clues. Father Brown uncovers a pregnant victim, jealously, unrequited love, blackmail and other services being offered within the club. | |||||
| 54 | 9 | "The Lepidopterist's Companion" | Paul Gibson | Kit Lambert | 11 January 2017 |
| Mrs McCarthy looks after Kembleford's Mobile Library when the manager, Margaret Cartwright, is discovered injured in the library by her assistant Ada. Cartwright's husband, a photographer, accidentally kills his assistant, Lewis, boyfriend of Ada, with a cricket bat believing him a burglar. Lewis is found to have been poisoned and Father Brown discovers his cache of nude photographs of local girls. One of the photographs is of Ada. Inspector Mallory arrests the photographer while Father Brown wonders why a book, The Lepidopterist's Companion, is loaned out so often for only a day or two, and who used the photographer's studio where the pictures were taken. Mrs McCarthy walks out with a ne'er-do-well. | |||||
| 55 | 10 | "The Alchemist's Secret" | Simon Gibney | Rob Kinsman | 12 January 2017 |
| Professor Hilary Ambrose, who is experiencing memory loss and delusions, seeks the help of Father Brown to solve a riddle over 300 years old relating to an Alchemist who hid a formula believed to turn lead into gold. When one of his students is murdered and the evidence points to Ambrose, Inspector Mallory arrests him. To prove his innocence Father Brown has to solve the riddle, find the hidden formula, and discover the real killer. Discovering the terrible secret of the formula, and the killer, poses a dilemma for Father Brown but explains why an entire village, Thorndyke, disappeared from the map over 300 years ago. | |||||
| 56 | 11 | "The Sins of Others" | Diana Patrick | Tahsin Guner | 13 January 2017 |
|
Sid Carter is released from prison after a year following his conviction of assault on Judith Miles, then a prostitute, now working in a solicitors office. Bent on revenge, Sid confronts his defence lawyer Giles Foster, now a judge, with Father Brown at the home of a Edward Reese who appointed Foster. When Foster is found dead from stabbing by a glass to the throat, Sid is accused by Reese's son of the murder. Father Brown becomes a target of a paid assassin and his only clue a pail of ashes. First guest appearance of Alex Price as Sid Carter | |||||
| 57 | 12 | "The Theatre of the Invisible" | Bob Thomson | David Semple | 16 January 2017 |
| The radio quiz show Up to You comes to Kembleford and Mrs McCarthy and Bunty win an audition to become contestants. When their landlady is murdered by smoke from a blocked chimney, yet her three kittens survived. The three cast members and new producer, who falls for Bunty and wants to impress, are suspected. Father Brown is concerned when Bunty invites the cast members to stay at Montague Hall. Bunty finds the show announcer's diary revealing his colourful lifestyle and his new found prospects. When he is found dead in a locked bathroom Father Brown realises Bunty and blackmail are the motives. | |||||
| 58 | 13 | "The Tanganyika Green" | Simon Gibney | Catherine Skinner | 17 January 2017 |
| Aldous Kemp and his daughter Grace arrive in Kembleford for the County Fair to sell a valuable item so he can pay for her training as a doctor. An employee of the East African Postal Service which he had in common with John Hammond whose father's business is failing. When Kemp is murdered Inspector Mallory arrests first the daughter, then John Hammond. Father Brown recognises John's skill as an engraver and that the Tanganyika Green is a stamp. Bunty lodges the antiques valuer at Montague Hall and is surprised when petrol is stolen from her car while Mrs McCarthy believes he's a fraud. | |||||
| 59 | 14 | "The Fire in the Sky" | Diana Patrick | Kit Lambert | 18 January 2017 |
| Fear of alien invasion hits Kembleford as Charlotte, daughter of widower William Bailey, goes missing overnight and lights are seen in the sky. Charlotte arrives at the police station and collapses from injury and abdominal pains. The hospital doctor, a war hero, confirms she is pregnant. William Bailey is found dead the following day from poisoning and Inspector Mallory arrests his gardener, Sean Crimp, he had recently dismissed who was Charlotte's boyfriend. More lights in the sky overnight and Crimp disappears from his police cell. Father Brown finds the answer in a science fiction comic that the younger brother of Charlotte's hospital nurse is reading. | |||||
| 60 | 15 | "The Penitent Man" | Paul Gibson | Tahsin Guner | 19 January 2017 |
| Hercule Flambeau awaiting trial for murder asks for Father Brown to act as his chaplain and professes his innocence yet at his pre-trial hearing he pleads guilty and is condemned to death. Father Brown realises he is part of Flambeau's plan to find a gold medallion hidden by the architect of the prison that Flambeau is being held. A plan that begins to unravel when Flambeau's victim fails to reappear after he is murdered by his wife intent on obtaining the gold medallion for herself. Father Brown has to engineer Flambeau's escape from the death cell. | |||||
Series 6 (2017–18)
The first episode of the sixth series also serves as a Christmas special episode.[29]
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 1 | "The Tree of Truth" | Paul Gibson | Jude Tindall | 18 December 2017 |
|
A skeleton from a seven-year-old murder case is found buried in the woods, bringing doubts on the conviction of the confessed killer. Inspector Mallory and Father Brown reinvestigate the murder. Sid Carter brings letters for Father Brown and Bunty as well as a Christmas present for Mrs McCarthy. Father Brown, Mrs McCarthy, and Bunty audition for the local amateur pantomime, Cinderella, but do not get the roles expected. Sid is recruited to partner Father Brown; Mallory and Sergeant Goodfellow also get roles as the ugly sisters. When an accident happens during rehearsals, Father Brown realises the truth lies within the theatre. Second guest appearance of Alex Price as Sid Carter and voice-over cameo of Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia. | |||||
| 62 | 2 | "The Jackdaw's Revenge" | Gary Williams | Kit Lambert | 2 January 2018 |
| Katherine Corven awaiting execution for murdering her husband is reprieved on the confession of her housekeeper. Father Brown is afraid she will take revenge on his friends. A wardress from Corven's prison is found hanged in a locked cottage and Corven's alibi is provided by the Mother Superior of a convent where she is training as a postulant. A local reporter pursues Father Brown, accusing him in the press of impropriety with Corven. Bunty goes missing while Father Brown is blackmailed to confirm the story under the threat of Bunty's life. A Jackdaw flying in the church gives Father Brown the clue to the death of the wardress. | |||||
| 63 | 3 | "The Kembleford Dragon" | Christiana Ebohon-Green | David Semple | 3 January 2018 |
| British Railways proposes closing Kembleford Station due to no profitability, causing its stationmaster Ben Webb, to have a heart attack. A fete to save the station finds Webb bludgeoned to death in a trunk on the platform. Learning Webb was a philanderer over many years gives Father Brown many suspects ranging from his pregnant wife Julia, a bus company boss, a British Railways manager, and the church's new cleaner Pandora. The murder is complicated by the fact that Webb died from drowning. | |||||
| 64 | 4 | "The Angel of Mercy" | Niall Fraser | Dan Muirden | 4 January 2018 |
| Mrs McCarthy's friend, Freda, dies in her sleep at a care home. Father Brown suspects foul play when he smells an unusual odour from the body. Animosity between Freda's son and Freda's new friend, Charlie, who is to inherit Freda's estate arouses Father Brown's suspicions until Charlie dies in his sleep. Another death and Mallory arrests Freda's son. All the victims were terminally ill and a white feather at each scene confirmed they were complicit in their own death by an angel of mercy. Bunty's friend, Ellen, who is terminally ill and uses a wheelchair, goes missing and Bunty fears the worst after finding a white feather in her room. | |||||
| 65 | 5 | "The Face of the Enemy" | Christiana Ebohon-Green | Tahsin Guner | 5 January 2018 |
|
Felicia and Sid return from Northern Rhodesia and visit Kembleford while her husband, Monty, is in London. Felicia finds herself blackmailed by a MI5 agent, Daniel Whittaker to exchange a roll of film one of her lovers, a known soviet agent, has. At a party her task goes wrong when a sculptor is shot dead and Whittaker orders Mallory to find Felicia as the prime suspect. Father Brown becomes involved with spies, British and Soviet, not knowing who is friend or foe, traitor or patriot. Lady Felicia has to choose between lover and husband and Moscow get the film they do not expect. Third guest appearance of Alex Price as Sid Carter and second guest appearance of Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia. | |||||
| 66 | 6 | "The Devil You Know" | Niall Fraser | Jude Tindall | 8 January 2018 |
| Alec Frobisher, deputy commander at Scotland Yard, is garrotted at Kembleford Bowls club. Inspector Mallory is taken off the case as he was present at the time. Replaced by Inspector Ironside who is after Mallory's job; Mallory seeks Father Brown's help. Frobisher was with the War Crimes Commission and war time memories are stirred up when Mallory and Father Brown discover Eric and Christina Worcester, from Poland had respectively connections with the SS and concentration camp survivor. When Eric commits suicide; a typewritten suicide note gives Father Brown the clue to the killer of Frobisher. | |||||
| 67 | 7 | "The Dance of Death" | Piotr Szkopiak | Rob Kinsman | 9 January 2018 |
| Father Brown , Mrs McCarthy, and Bunty attend a ballroom competition and one of the contestants, Lucy Dawes, is murdered; her blind dancing partner Alexander Walgrave, who found the body, believes he knows who the murderer is and asks Father Brown and Bunty prove it. A necklace Lucy was wearing is missing and Inspector Mallory arrests Lucy's fiancé Oliver when he is found in possession of it. Father Brown realises the answer lies some time ago when Alexander was blinded when pushed downstairs. To continue his investigation Brown, McCarthy and Bunty join the competition. | |||||
| 68 | 8 | "The Cat of Mastigatus" | Piotr Szkopiak | Mark Hiser & Bridget Colgan | 10 January 2018 |
| St Saviours schoolgirl, May Lewis, is found with a serious head injury in the boiler room of the adjoining boys school. Father Brown discovers the weapon, a cricket bat, and Inspector Mallory arrests the owner; schoolboy Daniel Gates her boyfriend. In hospital May is attacked again and her suspected attacker, gardener Jack Coll, is found dead. Father Brown uncovers years of bullying at the school and the use of a modified cat o' nine tails. | |||||
| 69 | 9 | "The Flower of the Fairway" | Gary Williams | Rachel Flowerday | 11 January 2018 |
| Raylan Reeve, an ostentatious American opens a golf course and during the inaugural competition The Flower of the Fairway for women and Bunty taking part, as her father had cut her allowance, finds a body in the reeds. Inspector Mallory allows the contest to continue when a gunshot is heard and Reeve is found shot dead in his study. Mallory arrests neighbour Hermione Harvey who had a revolver and hated Reeve. Father Brown investigates the family; father, daughter, and granddaughter and uncovers a dark family secret. | |||||
| 70 | 10 | "The Two Deaths of Hercule Flambeau" | Paul Gibson | Kit Lambert | 12 January 2018 |
| Two items catch Father Brown's eye in the newspaper: Flambeau's death in Italy and the Iron Crown of Lombardy containing a nail from the True Cross on display at Gloucester cathedral. Father Brown opens a letter with a key that Flambeau had sent to him a few days before his death. A woman claiming to be his wife Lisandra Flambeau wants the key, but it is stolen while the presbytery is empty. Father Brown becomes part of an elaborate plan of Flambeau and his wife to steal the crown requiring a key and a combination to a safe. Flambeau double crosses his wife and to flush out her husband, she injects Father Brown with a slow-acting poison. | |||||
Series 7 (2019)
On 14 June 2018, the BBC announced that the crime drama would be returning for a seventh series in early 2019, with filming having taken place during the summer of 2018. No indication was given as to how many episodes it would comprise.[30]
Broadcast
Father Brown has been sold to 162 territories by BBC Worldwide.[31] Broadcasters across the world including Australia (ABC), the Netherlands (KRO-NCRV, BBC First), Finland (YLE), Sweden (TV8), Denmark (DR), Norway (NRK), Estonia (ETV) and Iceland (RÚV). In the US, Father Brown has been sold to 40 public television stations with a reach of 30% of all US television households. The first four series were added to Netflix streaming service on 31 March 2017.[5] In Brazil is exhibited on TV Cultura
DVD (Region 2) and Blu-ray (Region B)
- Series 1 released in March 2014
- Series 2 released in June 2014
- Series 3 released in March 2015
- Series 4 released in March 2016
- Series 5 released in February 2017
- Series 6 released in February 2018
The Region 2/Region B UK releases are published by Dazzler Media.
The series has also been released on DVD (but not Blu-ray) in the USA, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany.
Reception
Christopher Stevens from the Daily Mail gave Father Brown four stars out of five.[32]
References
- ↑ Eames, Tom (22 June 2012). "'Harry Potter' Mark Williams cast in BBC drama 'Father Brown'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ↑ Cole, Tom (1 March 2013). "Father Brown starring Mark Williams gets second series on BBC1". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ↑ "BBC's Father Brown rides again for third series". BBc Media Centre (Press release). BBC. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
The hugely successful crime drama Father Brown, based on the stories by GK Chesterton, has been recommissioned for a third series by BBC One Daytime in collaboration with BBC Worldwide.
- ↑ "Father Brown - Series 4". BBC Frequently Asked Questions. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
There will be a fourth series with your favourite crime-solving Roman Catholic priest.
- 1 2 "Father Brown - Netflix". www.netflix.com.
- ↑ Meyrick, Ceri. "Father Brown: Your Question answered". Past Offences. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
- ↑ "St Peter and St Paul Church News". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ↑ "Cotsworld Journal". Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- ↑ "BBC TV sleuth show Father Brown being filmed in Winchcombe". This is Gloucestershire. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ↑ Tune In To BBC's Fr Brown To See Princethorpe On TV, Princethorpe College News Archive. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ↑ The Citizen. "Gloucester Citizen". Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ↑ Cotswold Homes Autumn Edition 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
- ↑ Kenilworth Facebook. "Kenilworth Castle's Facebook Page". Retrieved 3 Feb 2014.
- ↑ "Ashdown WW" camp". Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ↑ Bloxham School archives (July 2013), 'BBC Filming at Bloxham' https://plus.google.com/photos/114561889497419883074/albums/5901644395753643185
- ↑ "Father Brown films at the Guildhall".
- ↑ "Where's BBC's Father Brown filmed in the Cotswolds?". cotswoldlife.co.uk.
- ↑ "TV murders: filming of Father Brown at former Cotswolds hospital". property.nhs.uk. 12 September 2015.
- ↑ "Riley RM Restoration". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ↑ Father Brown (2013-) Filming Locations at IMDB.com. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ↑ First episode of Father Brown shown on BBC. Retrieved 26 june 2017.
- ↑ TV murders: filming of Father Brown at former Cotswolds hospital. Retrieved 25 May 2017
- ↑ On the set with 'Father Brown' in the Cotswolds. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- ↑ Cotswolds Film Locations Cinema & TV. Retrieved 24 May 2017
- ↑ The Curse of Amenhotep Filming Locations at IMDB.com. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- ↑ "Gloucester Citizen". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "Gloucester News Centre". Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ↑ "The Mask of the Demon" – via www.imdb.com.
- ↑ "Father Brown is coming... and the sleuth will face some of his toughest cases yet". BBC Media Centre (Press release). BBC. 17 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ↑ "Crime-solving cleric returns to BBC One Daytime". BBC Media Centre (Press release). BBC. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
The hugely successful BBC crime drama Father Brown, based on the stories by GK Chesterton, has been commissioned for a seventh series.
- ↑ "The Coroner, Father Brown and Doctors recommissioned for BBC One Daytime". BBC Media Centre (Press release). BBC. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
BBC Worldwide and BBC Drama Production have done a fantastic job with Father Brown. To have consistently high viewing figures year on year is phenomenal. It’s a real gem of a programme and this is highlighted by its global popularity.”
- ↑ "Father Brown's biggest mystery - why is he stuck on daytime TV? Christopher Stevens reviews last night's TV". Daily Mail. London: DMG Media. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
But there are rare gems too, and comic actor Mark Williams as the wise and wily Father Brown (BBC1) is one of the best things currently on television.
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