7 secrets from the set of MAGPIE MURDERS

Executive producer JILL GREEN takes TV Times behind the scenes of the popular BBC1 murder mystery starring Lesley Manville

- IAN MACEWAN

MAGPIE MURDERS

SATURDAY, 9.15PM, BBC1 DRAMA 

1 PARTNERS IN CRIME

It's no surprise that executive producer Jill Green and author Anthony Horowitz, the creator of Magpie Murders, work well together - they are actually a married couple! 'Anthony and I met when we were both working in advertising,' says Jill. 'He was a copywriter and I was an account director. We worked on campaigns for Sealink and Townsend Thoresen ferries!' Their collaborations also include hit ITV drama Foyle's War and Prime Video's adaptation of Anthony's Alex Rider novels.

2 IT TAKES A VILLAGE...

With the Suffolk village of Kersey used as a filming location, the production team had to get the locals onside during shooting, and also got them personally involved with the series.

'Kersey has about 400 residents, and their lives were turned on their heads, because they couldn't park their cars in front of their houses, and couldn't leave their homes without permission!' explains Jill. 'We dressed a lot of their houses as shops, as there aren't any in Kersey, and used a lot of the locals as extras. The local vicar appears as a vicar in the series, and even plays the church organ!'

3 PICTURE-PERFECT 

Although much of the six-part series was filmed in Dublin, Kersey proved the perfect location for the picturesque Saxby-on-Avon, where fictional 1950s detective Atticus Pünd (played by Tim McMullan) investigates foul play at Pye Hall.