Back in the habit!

Lorna Watson on reprising her role as a crimefighting nun in a Father Brown spin-off series…

- IAN MACEWAN

SISTER BONIFACE MYSTERIES

NEW FRIDAY / DRAMA / 9PM / EP 1 of 10 / DRAMA

Lorna Watson made quite an impression when she bounced joyfully into the first series of BBC1’s period whodunnit Father Brown. The 2013 episode The Bride of Christ saw her character – larger than-life Sister Boniface, a fan of detective novels – help Mark Williams’ crime-solving cleric investigate goings-on at a nunnery.

And now the moped-riding nun with a PhD in forensic science and a fully equipped crime lab has been given her own spin-off series on UKTV channel Drama.

Set in 1960s rural England, the light-hearted crime saga follows the super-brainy nun as she helps police officers DI Sam Gillespie (Downton Abbey’s Max Brown) and DS Felix Livingston (rising star Jerry Iwu) investigate all manner of suspicious deaths in and around the (fictional) village of Great Slaughter, including a poisoning during a baking competition and a drowning at a beauty pageant.

We caught up with comedian and actor Lorna, 45, best known for the BBC sketch show Watson & Oliver, to find out more…

How would you describe Sister Boniface?

She’s kind, clever, determined, a bit naive, mischievous and honest – there’s no guile in her personality at all.

She drives a Vespa, and she does forensics, as if being a nun wasn’t enough already! I don’t think she sleeps. She just plugs in to recharge for an hour at night, and then she’s ready to go again.

There’s a puppy-dog enthusiasm about her, and it’s quite infectious.

Can you tell us more about her background?