Father Brown at 100

Mark Williams on his tireless Catholic crime-fighter reaching a century of episodes

- HANNAH DAVIES

FATHER BROWN

LAST ONE MON-FRI / BBC1 / 1.45PM (SCOT, WED, 3PM) / EPS 6-10 of 10 / DRAMA

The current run of Father Brown ends this week in suitably grand style to mark the BBC1 murder mystery’s 100th episode.

Taking in a masked New Year ball, a grisly murder and a slew of aristocratic suspects, the finale of the ninth series looks set to shock and surprise in equal measure…

Here, Mark Williams, 62, who plays the priest-turned-sleuth, tells TV Times what to expect from this extra-special episode, and also reveals his own Father Brown mystery for fans to solve…

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about the 100th episode, Mark?

Lady Felicia [Nancy Carroll] is back – and thereby hangs a tale, which is actually a bit of a spoiler! She’s back for a reason and you’ll find out what that is in this episode.

It’s called The Red Death and it’s very grand. We filmed in this wonderful stately home, so that adds a certain excitement to it. We’ve got a masked ball, dancing and a heinous crime, obviously – but the person you’d least expect to do it has done it! It’s a proper locked-house murder mystery.

The show always attracts great guest stars – so who can we expect to see this time?

We’ve got Richard Dillane [Dalgliesh, The Last Kingdom], as well as Alexander Hanson [Auf Wiedersehen, Pet], who plays Lady Felicia’s husband, Lord ‘Monty’ Montague, to great effect.