It's high summer in the picture-postcard village of Stanton in the heart of the Cotswolds. The scorching sun is dappling the village’s distinctive honey-hued stone. It’s the perfect summer’s day in this ravishing part of England. And yet, festive wreaths are hanging from every door, you can’t move for decorations and there are more Christmas trees than you can shake a pine needle at.
There is even a sprinkling of snow on the ground. Yes, they are filming the Christmas special of Sister Boniface Mysteries and, naturally, it’s the hottest day of the year.
This charming “cosy crime” drama is set in the splendidly named fictional Warwickshire village of Great Slaughter during the 1960s. It centres on a magnetic, off-the-wall sleuthing nun called Sister Boniface, played with a mischievous sparkle by Lorna Watson.
Coming over to talk exclusively to the Daily Express between scenes, Lorna laughs about the broiling sun during the filming of the Christmas sequences: “Obviously, we are in a heatwave!”
Dressed in Sister Boniface’s trademark habit, the actor continues: “The note from the director is always, ‘Don’t forget you’re cold’ – even though we are really rather the opposite, covered in the warmest of costumes in the sweltering heat.”
Lorna confesses that it is a particular challenge to wear the thick, dark habit under the midday sun. “We heat up a treat,” she says. “When it gets too hot, we have to bring ice packs out and strap them around our bellies.”
Like Formula One drivers, I venture. “In so many ways,” she replies wryly. “It does get toasty. But you get used to the heat and you get used to not being able to hear properly under the wimple.”
Sister Boniface Mysteries, which begins its fourth series next year, revolves around the charismatic titular character, a brilliant woman with a PhD in forensic science who worked in a top-secret role at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.
Sister Boniface has her own science lab at St Vincent’s Convent and acts as a scientific adviser to the police. She is the force’s go-to consultant whenever they are unable to solve a crime in Great Slaughter, which must rival Midsomer as the murder capital of the UK. To enhance her aura of eccentricity, she zips around the Cotswolds on a wonderful vintage Vespa scooter, usually with another nun in the sidecar.
When I arrive on set, I see that the main street in Stanton is filled with a gaggle of nuns and I know I’m in the right place. This is confirmed when Sister Boniface pulls up on her Vespa outside the village hall.
Lorna, who has also starred in two series of Watson & Oliver, her BBC Two sketch show with comedy partner Ingrid Oliver, adores the character of Sister Boniface. “It’s not something I ever set out to do, but I really love playing her,” she says.
“It’s a dreamy role. In my comedy career, I have mostly played rather stupid people, so it’s quite nice to play the smartest person inthe room.”
The other star of the show is the idyllic Cotswold countryside. Series producer David Innes Edwards emphasises how lucky he is to be making a drama in such a lovely environment. He says that every day as he drives through the picturesque Cotswold countryside to the set, he thinks: “I’m going to work – hooray!”
Sister Boniface Mysteries has captivated audiences all over the world. It is one of the BBC’s most popular exports. This murder mystery is made with a twinkle in the eye and is always leavened by a cheeky senseof humour.
Some of the cases in the forthcoming series include a bucking bronco going bonkers on the set of a game show, a killer scarecrow roaming the streets of Great Slaughter, and a femme fatale falling to her death when a film stunt goes horribly wrong.
This is only the second Christmas special of Sister Boniface Mysteries. But it will surely soon become as customary a part of the festive season as arguing with your family over the turkey or falling asleep during the King’s Speech.
This Christmas special – entitled Once Upon a Time – is the ideal seasonal gift to audiences. Its comforting tone chimes with the warm, fuzzy feel of the season. Ami Metcalf, who plays Peggy Button, a police constable who helps the nun with her murder investigations, tells the Express over lunch: “Sister Boniface Mysteries works so well at this time of year because Christmas is really cosy and so is this series. Christmas and Sister Boniface go hand in hand.”
They are as well matched as Santa and Rudolph. Lorna agrees that there is a cheery air about Sister Boniface Mysteries which fits snugly with the “goodwill to all men” nature of the festive season. The 47-year-old, who first played Sister Boniface in 2013 in an episode of the sister show, Father Brown, before landing her own spin-off series two years ago, relishes the joyous atmosphere at this time of year: “I love Christmas – I mean, big time! Shooting a Christmas special feels like a bit of a treat. The Christmas special feels special.
“There’s something a bit magical about Christmas, isn’t there? It’s rubbed off on all of us. It brings out the child in everyone.”
The festive special features many elements which are at the top of a drama producer’s “must-have” Christmas list. There is, for instance, a turkey, which is being fattened for the table at the convent.
Lorna explains: “The nuns get to know a turkey rather well. He’s called Terry the Turkey in the show. Actually, his real name is Ralph and I think he’s a bit of a seasoned veteran. I believe he’s performed a lot.”
The Christmas special also features the requisite dusting of snow. Ami, 30, says this actually helps the actors get into the festive spirit. “When you see the snow, you actually feel cold. It’s really weird. You do feel Christmassy in the middle of summer.
“You feel cosy and festive and jolly. I really like that. I’m all for Christmas. I’d have it all year round.”
This feature-length seasonal episode is set against the backdrop of a pantomime produced by the Great Slaughter Amateur Dramatics Society (GSADS). Oh no, it isn’t! Oh yes, it is! You half expect the audience to start shouting out: “The nun’s behind you!” When rehearsals begin, cast members start dropping like flies. Who you gonna call? Sister Boniface.
To add levity, the village’s two detectives, Sam Gillespie (Max Brown) and Felix Livingstone (Jerry Iwu), are forced against their will by their boss to play a panto horse called Horse-tensia. Just wait till you see the horse’s attempt at dancing a polka. To cap it all off, the episode stars the actor without whom no TV drama about a panto would be complete: Les Dennis.
However, the producers of Sister Boniface Mysteries have to be very careful about not killing the Christmas vibe with too many grisly homicides.
“If these murders were real, some of them would be fairly horrendous,” says Kate Horlor, the drama’s assistant producer. “People are getting electrocuted and stung by scorpions, and a cat discovers a human eye. We have to find that balance in the festive episode of being Christmassy and murderous at the same time.”
And SO, she continues: “The potential hardness is always softened by humour. There is nearly always some kind of joke just as they’re taking the photo of the body. At one point in this episode, Max makes a joke about a murder before asking, ‘Too soon?’ It’s never too serious. We are not making CSI.”
Sister Boniface Mysteries is part of the current surge in popularity of “cosy crime” dramas. There is a long history of such work in this country, stretching back to Agatha Christie. Kate says: “There’s a tradition for this sort of thing in Britain, isn’t there? I got frustrated recently when people started saying Richard Osman invented cosy crime.
“No, he hasn’t! Cosy crime’s been around forever. It’s the thing you can watch safely with your family.”
In a world riven with strife, it also provides a very welcome escape.
“When times are dark,” says Kate, “we do tend to turn to something more escapist. I think everyone’s plugged into that. It’s something you can be active in as well. With so much telly at the moment, you can scroll on your phone and not pay attention to the programme. But shows like ours really grab you.”
Lorna concurs. “Look at the state of the world. Maybe people need a bit of light relief right now. There’s a lot to be said for something that doesn’t give you nightmares at night, on top of the nightmares you’re probably already dealing with.
“Sister Boniface Mysteries has got a really lovely balance. It’s got drama and puzzle-solving, but also warmth and silliness. There is also the fact that it’s set in the Sixties and we’re here in these chocolate-boxy villages.
“That offers people escapism. We’re in a different era. We’re going back to simpler times. That also has its appeal.”
One other thing that delights Lorna is the fact that, because she wears a wimple as Sister Boniface, she’s rarely recognised in her day-to-day life. People don’t realise she has marvellous curly blonde hair.
“I can go under the radar a treat,” she beams. “The only place I do get recognised is Waitrose. That’s where you go if you fancy an ego boost. It is nice not to be stopped all the time. I have two young kids and I can go about my day and get on the bus and all the rest of it without being bothered.
“But equally, it is lovely when people come up and say, ‘I’ve watched the show, and I love it.’ What’s not to like about that?”
The Christmas special of Sister Boniface Mysteries is on Freeview U&Drama at 8pm tonight. Catch up via U and previous episodes available on BBC iPlayer
