Clubbing together
A retired archaeologist, a dog walker and a vicar’s wife walk into a crime scene… As The Marlow Murder Club returns for a second season, stars Samantha Bond, Jo Martin and Natalie Dew discuss making the murder-mystery series and why it’s a comfort on television.
After filming two seasons of mystery drama The Marlow Murder Club, Samantha Bond is now a familiar face in the titular town – a picturesque riverside location in the English county of Buckinghamshire.
The former James Bond star plays Judith Potts, a retired archaeologist who partners with dog walker Suzie (Jo Martin) and vicar’s wife Becks Starling (Cara Horgan) to assist DCI Tanika Malik (Natalie Dew) in her official investigations.
Yet when she’s spotted around town enjoying dinner during filming, it’s rarely a social occasion – as she’s joined at her table-for-four by two upcoming scripts and the next day’s shooting schedule in order to learn her lines up to four days in advance.
“The trouble with Judith is that she talks an awful lot and, at 63, those words don’t go in quite as easily as they once did,” the actor tells DQ. “I stay in Marlow when we’re filming but I don’t have time to cook, so I go to one of various restaurants and they have to give me a table for four people because you’ve got two scripts and a shooting schedule, and I sit there muttering [to myself].”
“People say, ‘Do you meet up after [filming]?’ Last summer, I had one dinner with Jo and Cara. I had one dinner with Jo and Nat. And apart from that, it’s me by myself in a restaurant muttering.”
Season one of the show, which debuted last year on U&Drama in the UK and Masterpiece in the US, served as the entry into the world of the series, as Judith, Jo and Becks team up following a spate of suspicious deaths in Marlow and help DS Malik to crack the case.
Now with their friendship and crime-fighting credentials firmly established, the six-part second season sees them assist the police once again on three new mysteries – each told over two episodes.
Together they will face a seemingly impossible murder inside the locked study of a sweeping mansion, the mysterious case of a man murdered in the middle of a sleepy cul-de-sac and an unexpectedly brutal accident at the prestigious Marlow sailing club. The trio also find themselves delving into every corner of Marlow society, from the local aristocracy and the workers at the local boatyard to the pubs and cafes of the hight street and the members of a newly established archaeological dig.
“It’s a different feel because in season one, particularly the three sleuths, we didn’t know each other beforehand, so we were all getting to know each other just as the characters were getting to know each other,” Bond says. “Then you get to season two and you do hit the ground running because you know how you all tick, you know what you’re going to think about, you know which direction you may take the plot in.
“Each of the three brings something unique because Becks is the vicar’s wife, so she knows people in society in a way that Judith certainly doesn’t. Suzie is a dog walker and knows Marlow physically much better than either of the other two. And then Judith, of course, brings the forensic mind of a retired archaeologist and never leaves a stone unturned.”
Bond was immediately drawn to the role of Judith, and says the character is just like her mum, the late Pat Sandys – “Well, apart from the wild water swimming, which my mother would not tolerate. But the crossword puzzles, the little glass of whisky. My mum was an incredibly bright woman – a TV producer who produced a lot of Agatha Christie – so I like to think this would be right up her street.”
She also fell in love with the show – which is based on the book of the same name by Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood – because “I’ve got to an age now when I don’t want to be frightened by something, with the exception of Happy Valley, which I thought was phenomenal. But if something is too violent, I don’t want to go there,” she says.
Martin describes The Marlow Murder Club as a “palate cleanser” for the “dark, graphic” crime shows more regularly seen on TV. “There’s a lot of humour involved in this show as well,” she says. “In season two, we’re leaning even harder into the comedy because we’re all pretty decent at comedy, if I say so myself.”
While she is used to getting recognised from her roles in Doctor Who and Back to Life, Martin was stunned to be picked out on a recent trip to America for playing Suzie, a single mum whose daughter is about to leave home for university at the start of season two.
“As a mother myself, the mistake we make is you put so much into your children and not enough into yourself, so when they get to the stage where they don’t need you, where they’re not at home much and then they’re getting ready to go to uni or to travel or whatever they’re gonna do, you are left feeling a bit bereft,” she says. “Suzie definitely has made that mistake, she’s not alone.”
That means Judith and Becks appear at a time when Suzie needs them most, and with two hours to tell each story, The Marlow Murder Club manages to find the balance between a razor-sharp murder mystery and letting the central characters develop over the course of the show.
“In season two, the bond is even stronger,” Martin says of their friendship. “They all need each other. They are women coming from all different walks of life that normally they would never have met, they would never have been friends, so all of them coming together is such a beautiful thing.
“The ladies become like a rock in her life that she can really hold on to, and she’s enjoying this new exciting life of catching serial killers.”
As a “people watcher” who walks dogs, Suzie “has to be almost invisible, which is kind of easy if you’re a middle-aged woman, because that’s what happens,” Martin adds. “We’re not seen, which you can think is a negative, but I think that’s Suzie’s superpower.”
For DCI Malik, the three friends become a secret weapon in her fight against crime, as “they are annoyingly good at solving crime,” Dew laughs. They’ve also bolstered her own standing in an under-pressure role, validating her convictions and boosting her self-confidence.
“They definitely serve each other. I don’t know how honest Tanika would be about that, but the fact that she quite confidently brings them back in, there’s definitely a softening to them, even though they’re still really annoying everywhere,” she says.
However, the trio are a double-edged sword for the detective, as while they are invaluable at helping her solve a variety of crimes, she can’t reveal to her superiors and colleagues how helpful they truly are.
“She still needs a job, so she can’t give them too much credit,” she says. “What I quite like is the things that maybe Tanika isn’t allowed to do or shouldn’t be doing… Judith and the women have no problem climbing over friends or breaking into that room or getting the information that she technically can’t. They’re definitely the naughty kids at school, and Tanika’s very much the good girl.”
DCI Malik is also supported by her family, and the vulnerability she shows reflects her feeling that she’s not quite on top of things either at home or at work. “It’s quite nice to see a human element of ‘You can’t do it all’ and you’re never going to feel like you’re absolutely thriving in all aspects,” Dew observes. “For me, it’s quite nice to show vulnerability because, with any sort of leading character, sometimes everybody looks like they’ve got their shit together, and actually it’s quite nice that nobody does really. Everybody’s just balancing plates.”
Dew describes DCI Malik as “the Lestrade to three other Sherlocks,” and while they can be “annoying,” doing things they shouldn’t be doing, “I quite like that thing of herding cats,” she says. “I quite like the challenge of not only trying to do work, but also manage these women. But there is a huge admiration and respect there. I quite like that they bring out the twinkle in Tanika, Judith especially. If Tanika could be as gung-ho as she is, she probably would be, so there is a slight jealousy there. Judith is awesome.”
Series creator Thorogood returns to write one story on season two, with Lucia Haynes and Julia Gilbert also on writing duties. It is directed by Steve Barron and Katherine Churcher, with guest actors including Tom Stourton, Caroline Langrishe, James Wilby, Nina Sosanya, Andrew Knott, Hugh Quarshie, Samantha Womack and Patrick Robinson.
“What feels quite fun is that because it’s two [new] voices writing, nothing feels formulaic, so we’ve got the second storyline, which is much more intimate than what we’ve seen in Marlow before,” Dew says, discussing the cul-de-sac mystery. “Then the third is wildly different again, so hopefully the audience won’t ever feel too settled. I know it’s cosy crime, but my hope is it doesn’t feel too cosy. There’s enough of an edge where hopefully everybody keeps guessing for ages.”
For Bond, there’s no doubt who the biggest star of the show is – Marlow itself. “Every location we use is in Marlow,” she reveals. “The townsfolk of Marlow were a bit nervous when we did the first series, because they thought we might be disruptive. And we are disruptive, but we’re also lovely. So last summer we were welcomed with open arms. They couldn’t have been kinder.”
In fact, Bond describes The Marlow Murder Club as “one of the happiest sets I’ve ever been on,” noting how the majority of the crew that worked on season one have returned for the new season, which debuts on U&Drama this Wednesday. ITV Studios is the international distributor of the show, with Monumental Television (Harlots) producing.
“It is exceptionally hard work, but if you can do it with good humour and grace, that’s fabulous,” she continues. “It’s one of the reasons why we’ve managed to attract some incredible guest artists. Word goes out in the industry that you could go and have a nice time with people. Us regulars should be so lucky to get actors of that quality.”
Martin also points to the fact there are so many women involved in making the series, which comes from Monumental executive producers Debra Hayward, Alison Owen and Alison Carpenter.
“There are so many women involved in the making of this show – producers, directors, writers, not to mention the fact that the four leads are females. We’re like Charlie’s Angels,” she says, “and it’s intergenerational. It’s not just a young person story. Sam’s character is supposed to be in her 60s, you’ve got my character in her 50s and the vicar’s wife in her 40s, all coming together to create this story, to create this world. We’re not supporting a man’s story, it’s our stories, and I found that really interesting. It’s empowering, and you don’t get that much. We have now become a family.”
RELATED CONTENT
Killer instinct
Death in Paradise creator Robert Thorogood transports DQ to a town in Buckinghamshire for his latest crime drama, The Marlow Murder Club, which is finally hitting the small screen almost a decade after he first tried to sell the idea.
Staying in with cosy crime
After a decade of grisly, gritty serialised dramas on streaming platforms, is the traditional murder mystery back in fashion? DQ speaks to the makers of five cosy crime dramas to find out why the genre remains popular with viewers and the secrets to their shows’ success.
Catering for demand
Mrs Sidhu Investigates introduces Meera Syal’s high-end caterer with a side gig in solving crimes. Creator and writer Suk Pannu tells DQ how he brought the radio drama to Acorn TV and why cosy murder mysteries are back in fashion.
Dew is thankful her character isn’t an office-bound cop, as it means she gets to bask in “a really beautiful part of the world.” “We’re so spoiled with the location,” she says. “Even having breaks, sometimes you get an ice cream and that’s so nice. It’s very simple joys, but being in the countryside of Marlow is a real win. When you’re having your lunch and you’re in somebody’s gorgeous garden, it’s hard to feel like work.”
After setting up the world of the show in season one, “we had everything crossed, fingers, toes, everything crossed that we’d find an audience and people would buy into it the way we had,” Martin says. “It was fresh in the sense that I don’t see many shows where you’ve got four female leads solving crime. We’re not playing the murder victims and we’re not playing the victims. And Marlow’s so beautiful, it was shot so well and it looked so gorgeous. I just thought, for people who are into this kind of genre, it ticks every box.”
Now as viewers settle in for a return to Marlow, “the thing about the series is the complexity of the plots,” Bond adds. “While following the storyline and seeing if you can beat the sleuths, the audience is mentally challenged, so it is a murder mystery, but there is no violence. Increasingly in modern times, that’s a comfort on your television.”
tagged in: ITV Studios, Jo Martin, Masterpiece, Monumental Television, Natalie Dew, Robert Thorogood, Samantha Bond, The Marlow Murder Club, U&Drama