Jonathan Creek: Season 4

Houdini meets whodunit in these intriguing tales of magic and mystery starring comedian Alan Davies and Ab Fab alum Julia Sawahla! When a new TV crime series recruits Jonathan's specialist skills, he is reunited with his ex-girlfriend and old sparring partner, Carla Borrego (Sawahla). Carla is pushy and an equally determined amateur detective, and she has no intention of playing Watson to this dishevelled, laid-back Sherlock. Can they solve the curious case of a policewoman who has been impossibly strangled to death inside an empty gymnasium; the mystery of how a girl can grow back a full head of hair that only two days ago was hacked off by a kidnapper; the instance of the "ghost hunter" trying to communicate with his lover from "the other side" after a fatal boat accident; and the puzzle of how a man could physically transform himself into another person in front of someone's eyes?

At his mysterious country windmill, Jonathan Creek devises spectacular stage stunts for magician Adam Faust. It was Jonathan's friend, crime writer Maddy Magellan, who discovered another use for his extraordinary talent. Together they cracked a number of baffling murder mysteries, but success brought fame and now Maddy is so busy with her career she cannot help Jonathan.
However when a new TV crime series recruits Jonathan's specialist skills, he is reunited with his ex-girlfriend and old sparring partner, Carla Borrego (whom he met during the Satan's Chimney affair). Carla is as pushy as Maggie and an equally determined amateur detective, though she has no intention of playing Watson to this dishevelled, laid-back but oddly attractive Sherlock.
Can they solve the curious case of a policewoman who has been impossibly strangled to death inside an empty gymnasium; the mystery of how a girl can grow back a full head of hair that only two days ago was hacked off by a kidnapper; the instance of the ‘ghost hunter' trying to communicate with his lover from ‘the other side' after a fatal boat accident; and the puzzle of how a man could physically transform himself into another person in front of someone's eyes?

The Coonskin Cap - Jonathan Creek and Carla investigate the case of a policewoman who has been strangled to death inside an empty gymnasium.
Two young women have been murdered in almost identical circumstances, and fears are growing that the killer, who throttles his victims with a thin length of steel wire, will strike again. The only clue to his identity is the macabre shadow of a man seen lurking near the scene of the murders. A man who, according to eye witnesses, was wearing a Davy Crockett hat.
Brendan Baxter (Adrian Edmondson - Bottom,The Young Ones), the producer of thrusting new ‘true crime' series Eyes And Ears, is quick to recruit the specialist skills of Jonathan to accelerate the inquiry. But when Creek discovers the show's new presenter is his old sparring partner, Carla Borrego, events take an awkward turn.
Grudgingly accepting the challenge, Creek is not impressed by the tabloid antics of a TV show whose motives are, in his view, mercenary and voyeuristic. From the outset, he begins to suspect that the killer in the coonskin cap may not be all that he appears.
As the mystery deepens, the macabre image of Eduard Munch's expressionist painting The Scream unexpectedly turns out to be a key turning point in his deductions...

Angel Hair - Jonathan Creek is called in to explain how a girl who has just had a full set of shoulder-length hair cut off can miraculously have grown it all back in 48 hours.
Dudley Houseman (Jack Dee) is a man who, to all intents and purposes, has everything. A thriving career as a successful composer, and a fairytale marriage to gorgeous pop queen Sally Ellen Oakley (Caroline Carver). A marriage that according to tabloid The Sun has made him "the luckiest bastard in Britain".
The problem is, Sally Ellen Oakley, the sex icon, is just a male fantasy, artificially engineered for the cameras. Angels like that cannot possibly exist in real life. Or can they?
When the luscious Maria (Marie Boyle) comes along, Dudley is tempted to wonder if he has, indeed, died and gone to Heaven. All the more so when his new lover appears able to grow back a full head of hair that only two days earlier has been hacked off by a ruthless kidnapper.
Wigs and doubles are apparently out of the question - so clearly this is a puzzle for Jonathan Creek. One that, as it happens, does not seem to tax his deductive powers for very long.
Carla, on the other hand, is determined to figure it all out for herself this time, without any help from a man who seems to delight in treating her like a five-year-old.
Meanwhile, there is the distraction of a fanciable make-up girl, Pam (Tamsin Grieg), whose interests in Jonathan seem to have been suspiciously ignited since the death of her much-loved Springer spaniel...

The Tailor's Dummy - How can a man physically transform himself into another person, right in front of someone's eyes?
When the infamous feature writer Donna Henry savages a leading fashion designer in print, such is the victim's shock and desolation that he immediately takes his own life.
Resolved to avenge his father's death, Claude Bergman, heir to the legendary Marco Bergman fashion empire, sets out to teach the dogmatic Miss Henry a lesson, by demonstrating that the world is not - as she seems to be believe - full of certainties.
And after he pulls off an astonishing feat of metamorphosis, by changing his very identity right in front of her, she is forced to concede that her ‘black and white' view of life has finally been overturned.
Once again it is down to Jonathan Creek to find a rational explanation for the apparent miracle - a miracle that, on this occasion, seems to have been achieved with a little help from Groucho Marx.
Bizarrely, however, the riddle does not end there. As light is shed on one mystery, another deepens...
And suddenly the tragic suicide of Marco Bergman becomes the focus of an even more puzzling investigation, one that involves the life of Franklin D Roosevelt, a drawer full of socks, and a parrot named Harvey.

The Seer of the Sands - When a ghost hunter dies in a boating accident, his spirit seems to be speaking from beyond the grave.
Justin Mallory (Gary Cady) - ‘ghost hunter' and investigator into the spirit world - is a man dedicated to exposing fraud and exploitation in all its forms. One day, for no obvious reason, he takes to the bottle and cannot control his boat when it strays close to treacherous rocks. Though his body has not been recovered, there was no reason for him to commit suicide, so it seems to have been just a tragic accident.
But Mallory had secret American lover, Geraldine Vaccara (Lorelei King), and when she hears the news, she rushes to his seaside home in England. His house-keeper, Mickey Daniels (Jonathan Kydd) suspected there was someone in Mallory's life, but his adoring neighbour is devastated at the discovery.
On the beach, Geraldine meets a gypsy woman, who tells her to ask Justin's spirit five questions. Amazingly, Geraldine finds the answers written on a piece of paper inside a bottle buried in the sand directly beneath her.
So was Mallory wrong all these years, and is his spirit trying to communicate with her? Geraldine is convinced this is so, but can Jonathan Creek and Carla Borrego come up with a different explanation?
Geraldine, an influential businesswoman, had been trying to get a divorce from her husband. He had finally relented and Geraldine had sent Justin a fax on the day he died. It was good news, but Jonathan spots something to suggest that Mallory may have read it differently.
Then there is the question of the woman on the beach. Is she really a gypsy? And how could anyone possibly have guessed what questions Geraldine was going to ask, let alone bury the answers for her to find minutes after?
Guest stars also include Jonathan Kydd as Mallory's house-keeper, Mickey Daniels.

The Chequered Box - A senior police officer is filmed standing next to a hanged woman, but claims not to have seen the body...
Detective Inspector Adrian Fell (Colin McFarlane), a highly respected and intelligent police officer, seems to be the ideal subject for a profile on the Eyes And Ears television programme. Carla is certainly impressed when he solves the locked room mystery of a dead judge faster than Jonathan Creek might have.
But, acting on a tip-off, newspaper reporter Hattie Byron (Myra McFadyen) takes her camera on surveillance and films him at a scene of a murder. The victim is hanging from a noose, while Fell is wiping his fingerprints clean from her desk and then exits her office. Unfortunately, the film is stolen, along with Hattie's car, just as she is phoning her paper to tell them to hold the front page.
Meanwhile, Brendan Baxter is delighted to hear that film of his colonoscopy is being considered for an award. He has managed to get hold of a videotape and is planning a special screening tonight. Carla is not exactly looking forward to this, but in any case is physically prevented from attending the treat. She is in the portable toilet outside their house (don't ask!), when it towed away. Luckily, she has her mobile phone with her, and is able to call DI Fell for assistance.
Carla accepts an invitation from Fell and is dining at his house, when Jonathan Creek hears Hattie Byron's tale about the detective. He phones Carla with the news, and she is about to leave when Fell's daughter, Jessica (Petra Letang), turns up. So instead of going home, Carla creeps round the back of the house to eavesdrop.
When Hattie gets her film back, Fell is in real trouble. He claims he visited the murdered lawyer's office to protect his daughter, but there was no one there.The story sounds very thin.
Is Fell a ruthless killer? What sinister secret is contained in his mysterious chequered box?
In between burying and crucifying Adam Klaus, Jonathan Creek once again solves the seemingly unsolvable.

Gorgons Wood - Can a priceless Japanese figurine really be responsible for so much malevolence?
How did a priceless porcelain of the mystic monk Sikoto-no go missing from the small-town museum in Gorgons Wood? The theft took place, despite the fact that the Japanese figurine was surrounded by security guards.
The disappearance is followed by a series of tragic events. Could they be a manifestation of the Japanese monk's destructive nature? That might explain why its celebrity TV chef owner appears less concerned about losing it as might be expected. Or does he have something to hide?
When Creek and sidekick Carla Borrego are called in to investigate, the trail takes them deep into a mysterious wood, where a gnarled old beech tree holds the key to the puzzle.
Meanwhile, Adam Klaus has signed up for Animal Farm, a new reality TV show, where the stars crawl around in a pigsty and eat swill.
Guest stars: Celia Imrie (Calendar Girls, Gormenghast, dinnerladies), Michael Cochrane (Sharpe, Perfect World), Alice Patten (Charles II and daughter of Chris Patten, former Governor of Hong Kong) and Bamber Gascoigne (former question-master of University Challenge).

"A must for all those who like their murder mysteries to be cuddly, wry and exceedingly dotty. " The Times

"...the brilliant David Renwick's smartly sharp script and Alan Davies's charm conspire to make it a great, almost oldfashioned, murder mystery. With perfect pieces of theatrical misdirection, knowing and mischevious moments and perfect tone, Jonathan Creek was nothing short of magic." Guardian

"This is a cracking week for drama. Many old favourites are back ... but the one that makes the most welcome return is Jonathan Creek. It's like greeting an old friend, or putting on a pair of comfy slippers: cosy and familiar with no sharp surprises. The stories may verge on Famous Five territory ('Don't be soggy, Jonathan'), but they do have a steely undercurrent ... This is a real treat." Daily Mail

"True to form, Alan Davies provides a host of ‘ain't he sweet' moments during this series opener, with the always excellent Julia Sawalha returning as Jonathan's oppo, Carla." Guardian Guide

"...the ratings obsessed Brendan Baxter, a role in which Adrian Edmondson pretty well ran away with the show ... Alan Davies, with his curly hair and spaniel eyes, is a grannies' favourite." Daily Mail

"...this enjoyable amateur detective series..." Sunday Telegraph

"Entertainingly untaxing ... Alan Davies' charming portrayal of the duffel coat-wearing 'mop-haired magic geek' is a perfect combination of old-fashioned innocence and modern day street-smart." Daily Mail

"...an ingeniously enjoyable yarn ... The time constraints work in Jonathan Creek's favour and the wheels within wheels nature of the plot also extended to the humour, with Renwick's trademark caustic one-liners given full rein when directed at Adrian Edmonson's ratings hungry TV producer and, one can only assume, the writer's frustration with modern programme-makers." Stage

Directed by Sandy Johnson, Keith Washington, Marcus Mortimer, Richard Holthouse, Christine Gernon
Written by David Renwick
Produced by Verity Lambert, Susan Belbin
Executive Produced by David Renwick
Original Music by Julian Stewart Lindsay, Rick Wentworth
Cinematography by Geoff Harrison, Simon Maggs, Peter Jackson, Toby Moore
Film Editing by John MacDonnell, Joe Walker, Paul Garrick
Costume Design by James Baylam