Latest news with #MurderMostPuzzling
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sexual assault and drink driving – cosy crime but not as we know it
A puzzle-setter turns sleuth in a quirky British crime series. Stop me if you think you've heard this one before. Murder Most Puzzling is trying to be Ludwig, which was a hit for the BBC last year. But it's a pale imitation. While that one was a five-star treat starring David Mitchell, this one is a two-star rip-off starring Phyllis Logan. The missteps start as soon as we are introduced to her character, Cora Felton. Cora is The Puzzle Lady, a crossword compiler whose job has made her so famous that she has her own range of biscuits and TV adverts. Let's not pause to ponder how unlikely that is. She is called in to investigate the case of a young woman found murdered in a churchyard, with a mysterious crossword clue in her pocket. Unfortunately, Cora can't make head nor tail of the clue when she first sees it because she's still sozzled from the night before. When we first meet her, she is passed out at the wheel of her car after a spot of drink-driving. Drink-driving? Really? We're supposed to find this quirkily amusing, but it strikes the wrong tone right away. It's a sign that the show doesn't quite know what it's supposed to be. This is cosy crime, yet having someone at a town hall meeting ask if the murder victim was sexually assaulted belongs in a grittier police drama. At least the mystery is wrapped up in a feature-length episode rather than being dragged out. The show is based on a book series by Parnell Hall and the failings of the TV series are odd because its writer, Dominique Moloney is a veteran of Father Brown and The Sister Boniface Mysteries. Some bits do conform to the cosy crime template: jaunty music, a picturesque setting in the fictional market town of Bakerbury (it's Lisburn in Northern Ireland), and the odd silly character, such as the blustering mayor in a cravat who runs the local police force. The programme's saving graces are the three lead performances. Logan, best known as Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey, is a safe pair of hands and does her best with the material. Charlotte Hope is a bright spot as Cara's niece and right-hand-woman, Sherry. And Adam Best is, well, the best thing here as DCI Derek Hooper, who has never worked a murder case before and reluctantly turns to Cora for help. There is a twist halfway through relating to Cora's job, and if you didn't see it coming then I'm afraid your sleuthing skills are a little below par. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
What is Murder Most Puzzling? Channel 5 launches Ludwig-style murder mystery show
There are few entirely new concepts in TV, so it's unsurprising that every so often a debut series feels like a déjà vu moment for viewers. Murder Most Puzzling might well spark that sense of familiarity in anyone settling down to watch Channel 5 on Thursday, 19 June as the murder mystery starring Downton Abbey's Phyllis Logan follows a similar premise to Ludwig, a hit for the BBC in 2024. Both comedy-dramas feature an oddball cryptic puzzle writer who joins forces with the police to solve some head-scratching cases. Whether Logan's show can replicate the huge success of the David Mitchell starrer remains to be seen, but if you like quirky sleuths and mind-boggling clues, this could be the series for you. Here's all you need to know about Murder Most Puzzling as it begins on Channel 5. A cryptic crossword enthusiast at odds with social norms joins forces with the police to help solve a series of puzzling murders - no, it's not the second season of BBC's Ludwig, this is Channel 5 offering Murder Most Puzzling. This time, the cruciverbalist in question is Cora Felton, played by Phyllis Logan. She's a Bloody Mary-swilling, chain-smoking brain box who turns out to be a match for local detectives when she tries her hand at sleuthing. Ludwig fans might spot plenty of similarities in this three-part series, but it's actually based on the crime-thriller Puzzle Lady Mysteries novels by Parnell Hall which were published between 1999 and 2019. Hall is a US author, but the TV adaptation couldn't be more British, set in the village of Bakerbury where like Midsomer Murders, there is an unusually high ratio of suspicious deaths in the small community. Downton Abbey's Phyllis Logan is the series star as Cora and she told This Morning on Thursday, 19 June what a fun time she'd had making the series. "It's so punchy and different," she said. "I know it's about murder, but if you can have a comedy side to murder then this is it. She likes a Bloody Mary before just great fun to play a character like that." Logan added: "Everybody can't get enough of (crime drama), and people can't get enough of making it either. But this has got a really lovely twist to it because it's not your straightforward, grisly old crime." Her co-stars include Charlotte Hope as Sherry Carter, Adam Best as DCI Hooper, and Nick Danan and Jack Weise as his police colleagues DS Sam Brody and PC Danny Finley. Logan also welcomed her husband Kevin McNally onto set for the second time in a year as they co-starred again after playing husband and wife in BBC's Miss Austen. She told This Morning: "We started the year last year working together playing Mr and Mrs Austen, and then we finished the year playing a kind of romantically-linked couple in Murder Most Puzzling. It's like bring your husband to work day!" Murder Most Puzzling begins on Channel 5 at 8pm on Thursday, 19 June.
Telegraph
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Sexual assault and drink driving – cosy crime but not as we know it
A puzzle-setter turns sleuth in a quirky British crime series. Stop me if you think you've heard this one before. Murder Most Puzzling is trying to be Ludwig, which was a hit for the BBC last year. But it's a pale imitation. While that one was a five-star treat starring David Mitchell, this one is a two-star rip-off starring Phyllis Logan. The missteps start as soon as we are introduced to her character, Cora Felton. Cora is The Puzzle Lady, a crossword compiler whose job has made her so famous that she has her own range of biscuits and TV adverts. Let's not pause to ponder how unlikely that is. She is called in to investigate the case of a young woman found murdered in a churchyard, with a mysterious crossword clue in her pocket. Unfortunately, Cora can't make head nor tail of the clue when she first sees it because she's still sozzled from the night before. When we first meet her, she is passed out at the wheel of her car after a spot of drink-driving. Drink-driving? Really? We're supposed to find this quirkily amusing, but it strikes the wrong tone right away. It's a sign that the show doesn't quite know what it's supposed to be. This is cosy crime, yet having someone at a town hall meeting ask if the murder victim was sexually assaulted belongs in a grittier police drama. At least the mystery is wrapped up in a feature-length episode rather than being dragged out. The show is based on a book series by Parnell Hall and the failings of the TV series are odd because its writer, Dominique Moloney is a veteran of Father Brown and The Sister Boniface Mysteries. Some bits do conform to the cosy crime template: jaunty music, a picturesque setting in the fictional market town of Bakerbury (it's Lisburn in Northern Ireland), and the odd silly character, such as the blustering mayor in a cravat who runs the local police force. The programme's saving graces are the three lead performances. Logan, best known as Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey, is a safe pair of hands and does her best with the material. Charlotte Hope is a bright spot as Cara's niece and right-hand-woman, Sherry. And Adam Best is, well, the best thing here as DCI Derek Hooper, who has never worked a murder case before and reluctantly turns to Cora for help. There is a twist halfway through relating to Cora's job, and if you didn't see it coming then I'm afraid your sleuthing skills are a little below par.
The Herald Scotland
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Reviewed: Murder Most Puzzling, Mitford drama Outrageous
This isn't the first time Phyllis Logan has dabbled in crime. Her gangster's wife in Guilt was more terrifying than any of her character's henchmen, and deserved a series of her own (quick as you like, Neil Forsyth). In the meantime, we will have to make do with Murder Most Puzzling, one of a growing band of 'cosy crime' offerings taking over the TV schedules (Ludwig, The Madame Blanc Mysteries), publishing (Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club) and film (Netflix's adaptation of Osman's book, arriving August). Cosy and crime: it's a difficult combination to get right. Logan's Cora Felton could have gone either way. A crossword setter known as The Puzzle Lady, Cora has come to the small town of Bakerbury with her niece, Sherry (Charlotte Hope), hoping for a quieter life. As per, all is not as it seems, starting with Cora. When a woman is found dead with what looks like a crossword clue in her pocket, the local plod ask for Cora's help. Before you can say a four-letter word for unbelievable, the victims are piling up and Cora has turned into a full-blown sleuth. The oft-married, loves-a-tipple Cora is a likeable sort given added heft by Logan. There's a scene at the start, when Cora is interviewing the parents of a young woman who died in an accident, that could have gone horribly wrong if not for Logan bringing her acting chops to bear. Cora/Logan is also a highly convincing dropper of the F-bomb, a power she uses seldom but well, ditto her Scottish sarkiness. 'Isn't the internet a marvel,' she says while picking a lock. 'All these instructional videos by cheerful men, helping burglars.' The rest is strictly Scooby-Doo, and I'd still rather have a series with Logan as a crime clan matriarch, but I might be tempted back to see how Cora is getting on. Outrageous U&Drama (free to air) *** WHAT ho folks, it's a thoroughly spiffing drama about those game gels, the Mitford sisters. You know the ones: Nancy the novelist, Diana the beauty, the one who went full blown Nazi … There ought to be a verse, like the one for Henry VIII's wives. Published, divorced, fascist … Written by Sarah Williams, Outrageous wisely gives the job of narrator to Nancy the novelist (played by Bessie Carter). It is Nancy who introduces us to the six sisters and one brother. Since he's the lucky chap who will inherit everything, it's up to the rest of them to marry well, a rule swiftly ignored like all the rest. Outrageous is handsomely shot and convincingly shabby in its depiction of the times. A few clunky moments of exposition aside ('Mrs Guinness? Oswald Mosley'), it rolls along like a game of croquet on a well-tended lawn. The first episode - one of six - is a warm-up for what comes next, but Anna Chancellor is already a standout as the mother desperate to get the gels off her hands. Careful what you wish for, 'Muv'. Next week: Diana invites Unity to join her on a trip to Germany.
South Wales Argus
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Channel 5 Murder Most Puzzling: Full cast list and TV times
Adapted from the best-selling The Puzzle Lady Mysteries book series from Parnell Hall, the first series will feature six episodes. It follows Cora Felton (Logan), a nationally syndicated crossword puzzle maker who finds herself solving murders in her sleepy market town. A synopsis on the Radio Times reads: "When a murder takes place in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury, the police are baffled by a crossword puzzle left on the body. Get comfy, get curious, and get ready for Murder Most Puzzling! 🔎 🩸 Murder Most Puzzling. Coming 19th June 8pm. Watch | Stream on 5#murdermostpuzzling #newshow #PhyllisLogan — Channel 5 (@channel5_tv) June 13, 2025 "With their case going nowhere, they turn reluctantly to Cora Felton, a recent arrival, whose fame as a newspaper puzzle writer suggests she can help DCI Hooper and the local police unravel the clue and solve the case." Discussing the show with the Radio Times, Logan described it as "a bit like Murder She Wrote meets Miss Marple on steroids". Speaking of her character specifically, she said: "She's so refreshing. Cora is her own woman and that's what makes her intriguing – she wants a Bloody Mary for breakfast, so she has one, why not?! "Her niece despairs of her, and it's true that Cora does some things I shouldn't really laugh about, she's not PC at all, but she's a character that I absolutely believe. "Of course, she has a big secret too, which will be quite dangerous if it comes out…" Channel 5 Murder Most Puzzling full cast list Phyllis Logan as Cora Felton Charlotte Hope as Sherry Carter Alistair Brammer as Anton Grant Adam Best as DCI Hooper Nick Danan as DS Sam Brody Jack Weise as PC Danny Finley Yasmin Seky as Becky Badwan Richard Croxford as Major Firth Conor Sánchez as Jimmi Potter Amber Mendez-Martin as Katy Hooper Trevor Kaneswaran is Sunil Baidwan Simon Haines is Rod Reed Ashionye Michelle Raccah is Barbara 'Babs' Dufresne Lata Sharma is Irene Farrow Fiona Browne is Edith Potter Mukamajulé Michelo is Ellen Hooper Catherine Rees is Dr Nadia Burke Barney Taylor is Colin Sugar Conor Grimes is Mr Trotter David Crowley is Stuart Tanner Dearbháile Mckinney is Pamela Hawkins Conor Doran is Casey Roth Recommended reading: When will Channel 5's Murder Most Puzzling be on TV? The first episode of Murder Most Puzzling will air between 8pm and 10pm on Thursday, June 19, on Channel 5. After that, the remaining five episodes will air in the same timeslot in the following two weeks. These episodes will be available to watch on the Channel 5 player after they have been broadcast.
