Father Brown (2013 TV series)

Father Brown
Genre	Detective
Based on	Father Brown short stories by GK Chesterton
Developed by	Rachel Flowerday Tahsin Guner
Starring	Mark Williams Sorcha Cusack Nancy Carroll Alex Price Hugo Speer (2013–14) Tom Chambers (2014–15) Jack Deam (2016) John Light
Theme music composer	Debbie Wiseman
Opening theme	'Father Brown Theme'
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	4
No. of episodes	45 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Will Trotter John Yorke
Producers	Ceri Meyrick Caroline Slater
Cinematography	Stuart Biddlecombe
Running time	45-50 minutes
Production company	BBC Productions
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	14 January 2013 (2013-01-14) – present

Father Brown is a British television period drama which began airing on BBC One on 14 January 2013. It features Mark Williams as the eponymous crime-solving Roman Catholic priest. The series is based on the character of Father Brown and some episodes are loosely inspired by original stories by G. K. Chesterton, primarily using new stories written for the series.

Plot

The series is set during the early 1950s, in the fictional Cotswold village of Kembleford, where Father Brown is the parish priest at St Mary's Catholic Church solving crimes to the exasperation of a baffled police inspector who often arrests the wrong suspect. Father Brown uses his closest friends' abilities to solve a case even when they are suspected of the crime; and his vocation as a priest often gives him an insight to the truth, so that justice (but occasionally, not the letter of the law) may be served. The time period is during Britain's emergence from the hardships of the Second World War, and the death penalty is still in effect for capital crimes such as murder.

Characters

Father Brown (Mark Williams) is a slightly crumpled, shambolic and mild-mannered Roman Catholic priest and is, on the surface, easily forgotten. His apparent innocence belies a playful wit and a razor-sharp intellect. His greatest strength, both as a priest and as a detective of crime, is his love and understanding of other people. He’s not there to judge, but to save souls.

Inspector Valentine (Hugo Speer), head of the local police force, finds himself constantly torn between secret admiration for Father Brown and deep frustration with him. He would like to collaborate, but has been burnt once too often by Brown’s unorthodox moral code. Nevertheless, he comes to respect his methods and even admits, upon his departure, that he might miss Father Brown. (Series 1 and the first episode of Series 2)

Mrs Bridgette McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack) is the parish secretary at St Mary’s. She checks the facts for Father Brown, defends him from the ire of the congregation, and makes sure he eats. Mrs McCarthy is a frequent gossip and often at odds with Lady Felicia.

Lady Felicia Montague (Nancy Carroll) is a bored socialite with a roving eye when her husband is away. She is a staunch supporter of Father Brown and frequent nemesis of Mrs McCarthy (despite a grudging respect between them) and is often the one to find the dead bodies that create the mystery, leading to characteristic screaming and the vapours.

Sid Carter (Alex Price), an occasional black marketeer and informant who becomes Lady Felicia's chauffeur, and whom Father Brown tries to keep on the straight and narrow. However, his criminal contacts and skill are often needed to solve a case.

Susie Jasinski (Kasia Koleczek) is Father Brown's part-time housekeeper, who lives in a nearby post-war Polish resettlement camp. (Series 1)

Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers) replaced Inspector Valentine, who was promoted and went to London at the start of the second series. A somewhat arrogant man, Sullivan is even more exasperated by Father Brown's meddling and contradicting his findings, but is eventually won over. (Series 2 and 3)

Sergeant Albright (Keith Osborn credited and un-credited throughout Series 1 and 2) and Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton) Series 2.10 and Series 3 and 4) played the dogsbody for the Inspector.

Inspector Mallory (Jack Deam) is the replacement for Inspector Sullivan. Like his predecessors, he is often exasperated by Father Brown, whom he sarcastically refers to as "Padre." However, he is a far more zealous (and occasionally resourceful) detective, and chases after leads with great enthusiasm, even when they lead him to the wrong conclusion. (Series 4)

M. Hercule Flambeau (John Light) nemesis of Father Brown; jewel and art thief with seemingly no conscience. He and Father Brown have encountered each other at least once in every series; in series four he discovers he has a daughter, Marianne Delacroix, whom he had never met.

Production

The series is a BBC Birmingham production and filming for the first series of ten episodes of Father Brown began in the Cotswolds in summer 2012. The BBC renewed Father Brown for a second series of ten episodes in 2013. A third series of 15 episodes was commissioned in 2014. A fourth series of ten episodes was commissioned in 2015.

In 2014 Father Brown was shown on various public television stations in the United States and on the satellite "Film&Arts" channel in South America.

Conception

BBC Daytime wanted a home-grown detective show for the afternoons on BBC1. Initially, original ideas from writers were pitched, but the BBC wanted something that was less of a risk and was already well known. Father Brown had not been filmed since the 1970s with Kenneth More. Executive Producer John Yorke came up with the idea after hearing a radio documentary about G. K. Chesterton presented by Ann Widdecombe.

Writers were given the choice of adapting an existing story or to come up with an original idea. Half of the first ten episodes made were loosely based on Chesterton stories. The Chesterton stories were set all over the world and at different times, but a decision was made to anchor the stories in a fixed place and time.

The Cotswolds was chosen as it had few modern buildings and was close to the production base in Birmingham. The 1950s was chosen as the detective could solve the puzzle using his mind and knowledge of human nature instead of relying on modern technology. The lead writers, Rachel Flowerday and Tahsin Guner, created the world and the characters. Other writers contributed stand-alone scripts that were not part of a story arc.

Significant changes were made in some of the episodes ostensibly based on the original works, including "The Hammer of God", "The Wrong Shape", and "The Eye of Apollo".

Filming

Filming takes place in the Gloucestershire village of Blockley using the church of Saints Peter and Paul (Church of England) as the St Mary Roman Catholic church of the series and the vicarage transformed into presbytery for Father Brown's residence. Other villages used are Winchcombe, Upper Slaughter, Kemerton, Sudeley Castle, and at Winchcombe railway station on the heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. At Sudeley Castle, the tithe barn and St Mary's Chapel are used.

Filming for the second series included the Warwickshire village of Ilmington. Berkeley Castle was used to portray Pryde Castle in the episode broadcast on 8 January 2014. Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire provided the location for the final resting place of the famed rosary in the episode "Mysteries of the Rosary" airing 10 January 2014. Princethorpe College, once a Catholic convent, now a secondary school, was used to film "St Agnes Convent" in Series One Episode 6. The Time Machine episode, in series 3, was based around the Warwickshire estate, Alscot.

Filming has also taken place at Ashdown WW2 Camp, Evesham, Worcestershire where the TV series the Land Girls was also filmed. Laid out as a WW2 camp, Ashdown Camp is made up of 11 nissen huts, air raid shelters, and outbuildings. Also used was the 1930s portion of Shire Hall, Warwick, headquarters of Warwickshire County Council, Bloxham School in Oxfordshire and Worcester Guildhall.

Locations

• 
  Blockley Church dressed with artificial snow - 2016 Christmas Special
• 
  St Peter's Church, Upper Slaughter
• 
  Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire
• 
  Winchcombe Station
• 
  Filming in Blockley Churchyard
• 
  St Peter & St Paul Church, Blockley and the Riley RMA used for filming Father Brown

Cast

(Series One cast) Nancy Carroll, Sorcha Cusack, Mark Williams, Hugo Speer, Kasia Koleczek, and Alex Price

• Mark Williams as Father Brown
• Hugo Speer as Inspector Valentine (series 1 and 2.1)
• Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan (series 2 and 3)
• Jack Deam as Inspector Mallory (series 4)
• Sorcha Cusack as Mrs Bridgette McCarthy
• Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia Montague
• Alex Price as Sid Carter
• Kasia Koleczek as Susie Jasinski (series 1)
• Keith Osborn as Sergeant Albright (series 1 and 2)
• John Burton as Sergeant Goodfellow (series 2, 3, and 4)
• John Light as M. Hercule Flambeau

Guest stars

Various people have guest starred in the show, including Annette Badland, Guy Henry, Penny Downie, Roberta Taylor, James Fleet, Robert Cavanah, Emma Fielding, James Laurenson, Steffan Rhodri, Michael Maloney, Dominic Mafham, Camilla Power, Selina Cadell, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Jamie Glover, Holly Earl, Stephen Boxer, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Gareth Hale, Christopher Villiers, Katie Leung, Marcia Warren, Caroline Blakiston, Adrian Rawlins, Ronni Ancona, Georgina Leonidas and Roger Ashton-Griffiths.

Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"The Hammer of God"	Ian Barber	Tahsin Guner	14 January 2013 (2013-01-14)
The brother of an Anglican vicar is killed with a blacksmith's hammer. The blacksmith's wife, who had been blackmailed by the victim, confesses; Father Brown must find a killer who believes it was God's work from the victim's many enemies before an innocent woman is sent to the gallows.
2	2	"The Flying Stars"	Ian Barber	Rachel Flowerday	15 January 2013 (2013-01-15)
The Flying Stars is a valuable necklace belonging to the theatrical Adams family; when the mother drowns in a lake, this initially is thought to be an accident until the tensions within the family are exposed. An Italian coin arouses Father Brown's suspicions, and a pair of shoes that are too large put Lady Felicia's life in danger.
3	3	"The Wrong Shape"	Dominic Keavey	Nicola Wilson	16 January 2013 (2013-01-16)
Ex-doctor Leonard Quinton, living with his estranged wife, a young mistress, and Indian manservant, is foretold of his death by the manservant. Quinton asks Father Brown to look after his wife following his death. Quinton is found dead apparently hanging himself but Brown and Inspector Valentine suspect murder. A poisoned cat and the unmarked headstone of a three-month-old baby buried in the garden and his treatment of his wife for morning sickness with a new German drug provides the tragic answer.
4	4	"The Man in the Tree"	Dominic Keavey	Rebecca Wojciechowski	17 January 2013 (2013-01-17)
A man stripped and pushed from a train on a viaduct is found by Lady Felicia, injured and stuck up a tree. Father Brown meets a visiting German priest, arousing hostility amongst the villagers with recent war memories. Father Brown sees to it that justice is done, though not in a strictly legal fashion.
5	5	"The Eye of Apollo"	Matt Carter	Tahsin Guner	18 January 2013 (2013-01-18)
The Church of Apollo comes to Kembleford, and Susie falls under the spell of their charismatic leader, Kalon (Michael Maloney). Jealousy among the followers leads to murder, in a locked room, of Kalon's wife. Father Brown must solve the murder and break Kalon's spell over Susie before she leaves with him following baptism into his church.
6	6	"The Bride of Christ"	Ian Barber	Jude Tindall	21 January 2013 (2013-01-21)
Two nuns die of cyanide poisoning, the first in front of Father Brown and the second while Inspector Valentine is investigating the first death. Ill-feeling among the nuns and the bottles of cyanide held at the convent lead to many a suspect. Sister Boniface (Lorna Watson), a fan of Agatha Christie, lends a helping hand to Father Brown.
7	7	"The Devil's Dust"	Dominic Keavey	Dan Muirden	22 January 2013 (2013-01-22)
14-year-old Ruth Bennett (Holly Earl) goes missing. She had been ostracised by the village because of a skin complaint the villagers believe was caused by radiation at her father's place of work. When her blood-stained pyjamas are found, suspects include Ruth's family doctor on whom she had a crush, her mother who had hit her, and a plumber with a similar skin complaint who is dying of cancer.
8	8	"The Face of Death"	Matt Carter	Lol Fletcher	23 January 2013 (2013-01-23)
Lady Margaret (Stella Gonet) runs a man down and his son Daniel blames her for deliberately doing it. At a masked charity garden party a guest is murdered in an identical mask to one worn by Lady Margaret's husband (Stephen Boxer). When Lady Margaret is later murdered, Daniel is suspected but cannot be found.
9	9	"The Mayor and the Magician"	Dominic Keavey	Nicola Wilson	24 January 2013 (2013-01-24)
At the annual village fête, the obnoxious mayor William Knight (Sam Crane) is electrocuted at the microphone. He is a man with many enemies, including his wife (Louise Brealey), who is arrested. Father Brown is shocked by what is heard in the confessional, but it provides a clue about the killer. Mrs McCarthy's 'long dead' husband, Frank (Frank Grimes), turns up dressed as a magician.
10	10	"The Blue Cross"	Ian Barber	Paul Matthew Thompson	25 January 2013 (2013-01-25)
International thief Flambeau (John Light) forewarns Father Brown of his intention to steal the priceless relic, The Blue Cross, from St Mary's. To pre-empt the theft, Brown takes the cross in what becomes a battle of wits between the two men. The climax reveals a connection between the two men when Brown fought as a 17-year-old soldier in Flanders during the Great War before taking Holy orders. First appearance of John Light as Hercule Flambeu. Final appearance of Kasia Koleczek as Susie Jasinski.

Series 2 (2014)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
11	1	"The Ghost in the Machine"	Matt Carter	Rachel Flowerday	6 January 2014 (2014-01-06)
Father Brown investigates the disappearance of a parishioner, Charlotte McKinley, who believed she was being haunted by her sister who had disappeared nine years previously. Husband Victor (Andrew Havill), a struck-off doctor, is arrested as being responsible for the murder of both women. Final appearance of Hugo Speer as Inspector Valentine. First appearance of Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan.
12	2	"The Maddest of All"	Matt Carter	Tahsin Guner	7 January 2014 (2014-01-07)
Ex-serviceman Felix Underwood (Peter Bramhill), a mental patient at the Danvers Retreat, dies suddenly in the street. Events take an unusual turn when he returns to life two days later at his church committal. Father Brown assists Inspector Sullivan to discover the reason for the resurrection, and gets himself committed for mental problems.
13	3	"The Pride of the Prydes"	Paul Gibson	Jude Tindall	8 January 2014 (2014-01-08)
The opening to the public of Pryde Castle, an estate mired in death duties, ends when guide Audrey Diggle (Marcia Warren), is struck and killed by an arrow. She was an expert on the Pryde's family history, including an old curse that the first born would be mad. Father Brown is convinced that the motive lies in the Pryde family's past, when a page from the parish birth records goes missing. All the family members are known to use a longbow.
14	4	"The Shadow of the Scaffold"	Paul Gibson	Rachel Flowerday	9 January 2014 (2014-01-09)
Violet Fernsley (Emma Stansfield), convicted of killing her pig-farmer husband whose body has never been found, is given a temporary reprieve from the gallows when she claims she is pregnant. The pregnancy test gives Father Brown three days to find the real killer. When her husband's finger turns up in a pig's stomach, it points to a serial killer amongst the family. Father Brown's investigation concludes God's law is above man's law.
15	5	"The Mysteries of the Rosary"	Ian Barber	Paul Matthew Thompson	10 January 2014 (2014-01-10)
The Lannington Rosary, missing for 500 years, is a relic blessed with healing powers. Professor Hilary Ambrose (James Laurenson) has sent an ancient prayer book containing a clue to its whereabouts to his old friend Father Brown, before he goes missing and his home is ransacked. Brown receives unexpected help from the untrustworthy Flambeau (John Light), returned from the dead. A terminally ill fellow priest, Father Ignatius (Anton Lesser) also seeks the rosary.
16	6	"The Daughters of Jerusalem"	Matt Carter	Jude Tindall	13 January 2014 (2014-01-13)
Father Brown is laid up in his attic bedroom with a broken leg, and young Father Roland Eager is acting as his locum. His film of African orphans being shown at the Kembleford Women's Institute is switched for a pornographic film. In the following days, two members of the Institute are murdered, one poisoned and one stabbed with a hat pin. Inspector Sullivan arrests Dianah Fortescue, whose husband was earlier arrested in a Soho pornographic cinema. Brown investigates with the help of Mrs. McCarthy, Lady Felicia, Sid Carter, and a telescope.
17	7	"The Three Tools of Death"	Paul Gibson	Lol Fletcher	14 January 2014 (2014-01-14)
Alice Armstrong has been treated by electroshock therapy for memory loss and depression after she accidentally killed her mother. When her father is murdered and a rope, gun and knife are left behind, Magnus the chauffeur is suspected together with Peter, Armstrong's secretary, whom Alice loves. The truth of a father in debt leads Father Brown to another conclusion about the deaths.
18	8	"The Prize of Colonel Gerard"	Ian Barber	Dominique Moloney	15 January 2014 (2014-01-15)
Edward Gerard, a prisoner of war who returns from North Korea sympathetic to his captors, greatly displeases his martinet uncle, Colonel Cecil Gerard (Nicholas Jones), who threatens to commit him to an asylum. When the Colonel is murdered, the suspects include the nephew, the Colonel's daughter (an adopted Chinese girl) the nephew was going to run away with, the brother-in-law, and the victim's wife. Father Brown finds the solution lies in the family history and the Colonel's sexual intentions to his adopted daughter.
19	9	"The Grim Reaper"	Matt Carter	David Semple	16 January 2014 (2014-01-16)
Obnoxious farmer John Tatton has an equally obnoxious son, Alfred, who covets the young wife Oona (Maureen O'Connell) of Doctor Crawford (James Fleet). When Alfred is killed in a threshing machine, the doctor is suspected when accusatory poison pen letters appear. John Tatton believes his son was having an affair with the doctor's wife, who is pregnant.
20	10	"The Laws of Motion"	Paul Gibson	Tahsin Guner	17 January 2014 (2014-01-17)
Audrey MacMurray (Tracy-Ann Oberman) is a ruthless businesswoman with many enemies. While racing her car at a local hill climb track, she is killed when her brake line has been cut. Father Brown's investigation infuriates Inspector Sullivan, who already has his own suspect in custody, and the Inspector arrests Brown for a breach of the peace to put an end to his amateur sleuthing.

Series 3 (2015)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
21	1	"The Man in the Shadows"	Paul Gibson	Rob Kinsman	5 January 2015 (2015-01-05)
Sid stumbles across a dead man about to be put in a river and Inspector Sullivan covers-up the death as an accident. Sid is arrested when he and Father Brown investigate and Lady Felicia is blackmailed by an MI5 spymaster looking for a Soviet agent who has infiltrated an intelligence base in a stately home.
22	2	"The Curse of Amenhotep"	Matt Carter	Jude Tindall	6 January 2015 (2015-01-06)
The young wife of Sir Raleigh Beresford dies mysteriously after seeing the coffin of Amenhotep, an Eygyptian mummy Beresford had brought back from his excavations some 26 years earlier where his first wife was killed during a rock fall; a curse on the coffin is suspected.
23	3	"The Invisible Man"	Matt Carter	Tahsin Guner	7 January 2015 (2015-01-07)
The circus returns to Kembleford and local waitress Laura is held to her promise given in jest the year before to marry the clown or the hypnotist. The clown is murdered; in his dying breath he names the hypnotist. Laura's boyfriend, the clown's girlfriend, and another clown are all suspected. Laura's willingness to marry the hypnotist puzzles Father Brown, even though he agrees to marry the couple.
24	4	"The Sign of the Broken Sword"	Ian Barber	Stephen McAteer	8 January 2015 (2015-01-08)
A major is murdered on an army base by a legendary broken sword during commemorations of the men killed during the evacuation of Dunkirk. The sword belonged to the regiment's colonel who used the sword to charge an enemy position with his men. Father Brown has to uncover the secret of two murders being kept to uphold the honour of the regiment. Loosely based on the 1911 story of the same title.
25	5	"The Last Man"	John Greening	Jude Tindall	9 January 2015 (2015-01-09)
The arrest of the new cricket captain of Kembleford's cricket team for the murder of the team's fast bowler, a suicide the year before in the cricket pavilion and a match against a rival village to determine the ownership of the cricket ground finds Father Brown consoling the victim's mother, solving a murder involving blackmail, playing cricket and watching Lady Felicia as the "last man" of the innings.
26	6	"The Upcott Fraternity"	Paul Gibson	Paul Matthew Thompson	12 January 2015 (2015-01-12)
Father Brown is visiting his old Rector (Dudley Sutton) at Upcott Seminary for trainee priests when a student commits suicide, Brown attempts to find the truth behind his death and a student a year earlier, both members of a secret fraternity that has closed ranks. Father Brown enlists Sid to go undercover as a trainee priest despite Mrs McCarthy's misgivings.
27	7	"The Kembleford Boggart"	John Greening	Jonathan Neil	13 January 2015 (2015-01-13)
The domineering father (Simon Williams) of a successful young writer, 22-year-old Hannah, is murdered in a locked room and the only suspect is an itinerant traveller who comes to Kembleford every year in a caravan with his mother. Father Brown's suspicions are aroused when the murder has the hallmarks of a boggart, an unwelcome infant from another world created by Hannah in her book.
28	8	"The Lair of the Libertines"	Matt Carter	Lol Fletcher	14 January 2015 (2015-01-14)
Father Brown, Mrs McCarthy and Felicia find themselves stranded at a hotel hired by Madame Chania (Ronni Ancona) and her guests, international playboys, seeking hedonistic pleasures. When a local prostitute is found murdered in the grounds and two of the guests are killed, Father Brown realises they are in the lair of a hunter intent on killing them all.
29	9	"The Truth in the Wine"	Ian Barber	Kit Lambert	15 January 2015 (2015-01-15)
A dead dog in a vat of wine precedes the shooting to death of an itinerant labourer and theft of wages from the safe in the study of Colonel Anthony Forbes-Leith, owner of a failing winery. Father Brown discovers none of the suspects are whom they pretend to be.
30	10	"The Judgement of Man"	Ian Barber	Paul Matthew Thompson	16 January 2015 (2015-01-16)
An exhibition of valuable art at the Belvedere Museum includes a priceless artwork on loan from the Vatican. Father Brown spots his nemesis Hercule Flambeau (John Light), not realising he is a pawn in Flambeau's plan to steal the picture and wreak revenge on the museum's curator, a man who during the war had helped the Nazis loot paintings from Jewish families. Flambeau is shocked to find a woman from his past he thought dead seeking to avenge the death of her parents by killing the curator.
31	11	"The Time Machine"	Ian Barber	Tahsin Guner	19 January 2015 (2015-01-19)
Lady Felicia involves Father Brown with Jacob Francis, a young quantum physicist, who claims to have built a time machine so he can go back in time to prove his father was murdered in his locked laboratory by one of his family. When Francis proves his machine works he is murdered in the same laboratory, leaving Father Brown's only option to use the machine and see who killed the father and son.
32	12	"The Standing Stones"	Matt Carter	Rachel Flowerday	20 January 2015 (2015-01-20)
Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy visit the cottage hospital in the village of Standing where many of the children have been struck down by an outbreak of polio. When a local barmaid is found murdered at the local stone circle, her best friend Ginnie is arrested for her murder when it is discovered that they had fallen out over Ginnie blaming her for her son contracting polio. Unfortunately, the supposed murder weapon that is hoped will clear her only seems to strengthen the case against her. Then a local mystic makes a connection between the death and a legend about sacrificing an innocent at the stones - and someone tries to kill Ginnie and make it look like suicide.
33	13	"The Paradise of Thieves"	Diana Patrick	Rob Kinsman	21 January 2015 (2015-01-21)
Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy are at the local bank when armed raiders force the manager to open the locked safe using Father Brown as a witness. The robbers flee when the vault is opened and the manager's son-in-law is discovered dead inside. As the only key-holder, the manager is arrested by Inspector Sullivan. Father Brown uncovers fraud at the bank by the manager, financing a seedy nightclub owned by his son-in-law, but he needs Sid's help to break into the vault to discover how the murder was committed.
34	14	"The Deadly Seal"	Diana Patrick	Dan Muirden	22 January 2015 (2015-01-22)
Father Brown hears a penitent in confessional declare that they are going to kill Bishop Talbot the next day during a shooting party organised by a theatrical producer. Unable to reveal what he has heard, Father Brown also attends the shoot and although saving the Bishop, the Bishop's Assistant Albert Davies is killed instead. Father Brown discovers a deadly pact involving a child abuse victim and the murdered man's wife to kill another man while providing unbreakable alibis.
35	15	"The Owl of Minerva"	Matt Carter	Jude Tindall	23 January 2015 (2015-01-23)
A body of a journalist about to expose an offshoot of the Freemasons, The Owl of Minerva, is found dead in the woods. Inspector Sullivan's investigations find him on the run for killing a fellow detective and seeking sanctuary in the confessional at St Mary's. Father Brown, with the aid of Mrs McCarthy, Lady Felicia and Sid, rally round to try prove his innocence and protect him from a deadly organisation with members highly placed in the community. Final appearance of Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan.

Series 4 (2016)

Series four began filming at Gloucester Cathedral in June 2015.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
36	1	"The Mask of the Demon"	Paul Gibson	Jude Tindall	4 January 2016 (2016-01-04)
Lady Felicia knows the Hollywood star Rex Bishop who is in Kembleford filming a "B" movie The Brides of the Demon. He invites Father Brown and Mrs McCarthy, a fan of Bishop, to view the filming. Tensions are evident between the film's participants, the director, his actress wife, a starlet, Rex Bishop, and the writer. The director is found dead wearing a demon's mask and Inspector Mallory does not appreciate Father Brown's help. First appearance of Jack Deam as Inspector Mallory.
37	2	"The Brewer's Daughter"	Paul Gibson	Kit Lambert	5 January 2016 (2016-01-05)
Sid falls for Grace Fitzgerald, the married heiress to a brewery, and is her alibi when Mallory arrests her for murdering her father in a fire. Fitzgerald, refusing to use Sid as an alibi, asks Father Brown to search for the real killer and he uncovers evidence that Fitzgerald's husband and her younger sister killed the father. The suicide and a note left by another lover of Fitzgerald complicates the issue as he had been sacked by her husband when he caught them kissing.
38	3	"The Hangman's Demise"	David Beauchamp	Dan Muirden	6 January 2016 (2016-01-06)
A former hangman, Henry Lee, is confronted at his wedding anniversary by a mother about her son whom he executed a year before for the murder of a court secretary - an execution where the condemned man whispered to Lee the identity of the real killer. The following morning Lee is poisoned with hemlock. His friend George, an ex-policeman, is arrested and released. The mother, recently released from prison, is arrested and a motive for Lee's wife emerges. Father Brown untangles a web of deceit and corruption in the police as Lee lays dying.
39	4	"The Crackpot of the Empire"	David Beauchamp	Lol Fletcher	7 January 2016 (2016-01-07)
Father Brown is apprehensive when he receives an invitation to a party given by the recently-released Uncle Mirth, a former music hall comedian whom Brown helped put in an asylum. When Brown and the other invitees arrive at the venue, a derelict warehouse, he and Mirth's brother find envelopes containing their death certificates. Inspector Mallory finds another death certificate for a second brother who had died of a heart attack outside the presbytery the previous day.
40	5	"The Daughter of Autolycus"	Paul Gibson	Jude Tindall	8 January 2016 (2016-01-08)
Father Brown knows the Pope's coronation gift to the Queen of a priceless cross is too tempting to Flambeau and Brown convinces the Bishop to let him guard it. Flambeau arrives on Brown's doorstep seeking his help to steal the cross in order to save the life of his daughter whom he has never met, and who has been kidnapped by Flambeau's criminal partner he once left for dead. Before they can steal the cross it goes missing from the Bishop's Palace. Brown has underestimated Papal politics, Flambeau's daughter, and the consciences of men.
41	6	"The Rod of Asclepius"	David Beauchamp	Jude Tindall	11 January 2016 (2016-01-11)
Lady Felicia's reckless driving lands her and Mrs McCarthy in adjoining hospital beds. A new admittance to the ward dies the following morning on the operating table. A nurse claims it is murder and is found dead the same afternoon, forcing Inspector Mallory to do more than his initial cursory investigation. Father Brown, once Sid makes it past the officious substitute Parish Secretary and notifies him of developments, follows a different line of inquiry and Lady Felicia and Mrs McCarthy's snooping put the latter in danger on the same operating table.
42	7	"The Missing Man"	David Beauchamp	Rachel Flowerday	12 January 2016 (2016-01-12)
A pilot returns from the dead after eight years as Father Brown is about to marry his wife to his brother. No-one except his daughter is pleased to see him, especially his father who believes him to be a deserter. When the returnee is found shot in the head and blood-stained women's clothing is found, Inspector Mallory charges the wife, dismissing the daughter's claims that another woman entered the house. Father Brown finds a visiting card for a cross-dressing bar, realises the identity of the real killer and that they cannot be exposed.
43	8	"The Resurrectionists"	James Larkin	Rob Kinsman	13 January 2016 (2016-01-13)
Father Brown is puzzled when the grave of a recent burial is opened and the body is missing, only for it to turn up at the premises of a different undertaker. Inspector Mallory is even more mystified as the victim died of decapitation in a motor cycle accident with no sign of other injury. The undertaker is arrested and the animosity between him and the victim's mother is evident for all to see. Father Brown uncovers the reason behind their hatred and the forbidden love which the victim had for the undertaker's daughter.
44	9	"The Sins of the Father"	Paul Gibson	Al Smith	14 January 2016 (2016-01-14)
Robert Twyman, a leading aeronautics magnate, receives a note that his son, a piano player and contestant in a local variety show, would be killed if he does not confess. Next morning the son is found strangled by his piano in a locked house with only his father and butler present. Twyman is convinced a journalist piano-player rival of his son is the killer. Inspector Mallory arrests Twyman after Lady Felicia finds him standing over the dead body of the journalist by her piano. Father Brown notices that both pianists had been somehow playing the same music and the answer is to be found in a book given to him by Doctor Mordaunt Jackson, a psycho-analyst currently giving a lecture in Kembleford.
45	10	"The Wrath of Baron Samdi"	James Larkin	Tahsin Guner	15 January 2016 (2016-01-15)
Baron Samdi is the voodoo spirit of the dead that Emmanuel Jannite invokes when he follows his love, Yveline Lafond, to Kembleford. Lafond is working as lead singer in a Haitian jazz band. The band leader, also in love with Lafond, is found dead in a swimming pool, poisoned, and Jannite dies following a police chase. Inspector Mallory believes the case closed but Father Brown's snooping uncovers the real killer. As he confronts him, Brown collapses as the killer tells him that he has already poisoned him that morning.

Christmas special (2016)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
46	-	"The Star of Jacob"	Unknown	Unknown	23 December 2016 (2016-12-23)

Series 5 (2017)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
47	1	TBA	TBD	TBD	January 2017 (2017-01)

Reception

Christopher Stevens from the Daily Mail gave Father Brown four stars out of five.

Broadcast

Father Brown has been sold to 162 territories by BBC Worldwide. Broadcasters across the world including Australia (ABC), Sweden (TV8), Denmark (DR), Norway (NRK) and Iceland (RÚV). In the US, Father Brown has been sold to 40 public television stations with a reach of 30% of all US television households.

External links

• Father Brown at BBC Online
• Father Brown at IMDb