Taking COMMAND

BERTIE CARVEL on what lies ahead for his newly promoted sleuth, and making his TV directorial debut

- CAREN CLARK

DALGLIESH
THURSDAY & FRIDAY, 9PM, CHANNEL 5 DRAMA

H aving played brooding Adam Dalgliesh since 2021, Bertie Carvel feels he has got to grips with what makes the cerebral cop and poet tick.

'I know him well now,' says the actor, 47, as he chats to TV Times ahead of the third outing of Channel 5's popular whodunnit Dalgliesh, inspired again by the acclaimed mystery novels by P.D. James.

"This character is a watcher, and still waters run deep. It's a real privilege to return.' Set in 1979, the three new twopart stories find widower Dalgliesh promoted to Commander and heading up a specialist unit tackling high-profile, sensitive crimes.

Each of the complex cases finds the sleuth teaming up with a different sidekick (see our panel, right), and the chilling opener, based on 2001 story Death in Holy Orders, revolves around the murder of an archdeacon.

Here, Doctor Foster and The Crown star Bertie shares his case notes...

How would you sum up the third series, Bertie?

There has been an arc to each season, with the first one about a man destroyed by grief [after losing his wife and baby], who goes on a journey to process that by spending time with dead people. But, by the end of this season, there’s a touch of spring in the air…

So, what clues can you give us about the opening case?