Father Brown at 100

Mark Williams on his tireless Catholic crime-fighter reaching a century of episodes

- HANNAH DAVIES

FATHER BROWN

LAST ONE MON-FRI / BBC1 / 1.45PM (SCOT, WED, 3PM) / EPS 6-10 of 10 / DRAMA

The current run of Father Brown ends this week in suitably grand style to mark the BBC1 murder mystery’s 100th episode.

Taking in a masked New Year ball, a grisly murder and a slew of aristocratic suspects, the finale of the ninth series looks set to shock and surprise in equal measure…

Here, Mark Williams, 62, who plays the priest-turned-sleuth, tells TV Times what to expect from this extra-special episode, and also reveals his own Father Brown mystery for fans to solve…

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about the 100th episode, Mark?

Lady Felicia [Nancy Carroll] is back – and thereby hangs a tale, which is actually a bit of a spoiler! She’s back for a reason and you’ll find out what that is in this episode.

It’s called The Red Death and it’s very grand. We filmed in this wonderful stately home, so that adds a certain excitement to it. We’ve got a masked ball, dancing and a heinous crime, obviously – but the person you’d least expect to do it has done it! It’s a proper locked-house murder mystery.

The show always attracts great guest stars – so who can we expect to see this time?

We’ve got Richard Dillane [Dalgliesh, The Last Kingdom], as well as Alexander Hanson [Auf Wiedersehen, Pet], who plays Lady Felicia’s husband, Lord ‘Monty’ Montague, to great effect.

BBC Studios also sent an ice cream truck to the set to help all the cast and crew celebrate reaching 100 episodes!