MURDER most PUZZLING

SAMANTHA BOND on playing a crossword-loving amateur sleuth in a new mystery drama from the creator of Death in Paradise

- CAREN CLARK

THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB NEW WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, 8PM, DRAMA DRAMA (BOX SET, UKTV PLAY)

In a picturesque park next to the River Thames in the Buckinghamshire town of Marlow, a strange sight is unfolding before our eyes: Downton Abbey star Samantha Bond is furtively helping Holby City favourite Jo Martin to climb through an open window and break into a nearby office!

It’s a sunny day in June 2023 and a lucky TV Times has been invited on set for Drama’s The Marlow Murder Club, a twopart whodunnit from Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood and based on his bestselling series of novels.

In the scene we are watching today, spirited crossword-setter and retired archaeologist Judith Potts, played by Samantha, and plain-speaking dog walker Suzie Harris, portrayed by Jo, are busy gathering evidence to catch a killer.

As the drama begins, Judith suspects her neighbour, an art-gallery owner, has been murdered. When she turns amateur sleuth to unravel the mystery, she crosses paths with both Suzie and organised vicar’s wife Becks Starling (The Sandman’s Cara Horgan) and they soon team up to crack the case.

Meanwhile, shrewd local cop DS Tanika Malik (Sandylands star Natalie Dew) gradually realises that the determined trio could prove useful, but can they stop the body count from rising?

During a break in filming, Samantha, 62, shared her case notes…