‘An hour of sunshine!'

Creator and star Sally Lindsay on her light-hearted crime drama set in the South of France

- STEVEN PERKINS

Glamorous antiques dealer Jean White has a seemingly perfect life. However, her world in leafy Cheshire is turned upside down when her husband, Rory, dies in a car crash – and she then discovers that he’s sold or remortgaged all of their assets apart from their cottage in French antiques hub Sainte Victoire.

When Jean realises a valuable ring is missing from Rory’s personal effects, her suspicions are aroused even further, and she decides to head to France to do her own investigating...

That’s the starting point of Channel 5’s sun-dappled new crime drama The Madame Blanc Mysteries, starring and co-written by former Coronation Street favourite Sally Lindsay.

Here, Sally, 48, tells TV Times how the six-part series – which was filmed on location in Malta – was inspired by her obsession with Lovejoy and murder mysteries...

British antiques dealer Jean is a fish out of water in Sainte Victoire, isn’t she?

That’s exactly what she is! She has had this amazing talent for antiques all these years, and she married Rory against her better judgement, really; she was just a bit infatuated by him.