AVON calling!

JO JOYNER and MARK BENTON on the long-awaited return of their popular whodunnit

- WORDS: STEVEN PERKINS. PHOTOS: U&ALIBI

On an unexpectedly sunny January morning, TV Times arrives at a Warwickshire farm that is currently doubling as a filming location for crime drama Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators. As we wait to chat with stars Jo Joyner and Mark Benton, a woman with long, curly auburn hair greets us cheerfully - and it takes us a minute to realise it's actually Jo sporting a huge hairpiece! 'I'm a big wig person, I love them!' she chuckles. 'When my character is undercover, I plough my way through being a redhead, dark hair, blonde hair, a bob... I've had them all this season!'

The show, which centres on Mark and Jo's Stratford-upon-Avon sleuths Frank Hathaway and Lu Shakespeare, proved an instant hit with viewers when it began on BBC1 in 2018 and has found a new home for its fifth outing, premiering on U&Alibi. Here, Mark, 59, and Jo, 48, share their case notes...

It’s been almost three years since the last series. Are you excited to be back?

JO I’m over the moon. Of all the shows I’ve been in, this is the one that people ask me about daily, through social media or in the street. They all wanted to know if it was coming back. The love for it was so consistent.