Cosy crime carved out even more of its escapist monopoly this year, with Death Valley the latest TV iteration to find an audience over on the BBC.
But Channel 5 has had another enjoyably gentle whodunnit on its screens for several years now, before it found a whole new set of viewers this summer over on Netflix.
There’s good news for fans old and new alike, because we’re returning to the south of France for a Christmas special.
The Madame Blanc Mysteries stars Coronation Street alum Sally Lindsay – who created, co-wrote and executive-produced the show – as antiques dealer Jean White, who sets about investigating the death of her husband and other miscellaneous misdemeanours.
Set in a quaint French village, Jean teams up with taxi driver Dom, played by Benidorm’s Steve Edge, to get to the bottom of things. The pair are this show’s incarnation of the classic amateur detective duo and, later on, love interests.
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All four seasons of the crime caper hit Netflix this summer, complete with a set of larger-than-life characters and a bit of summer escapism in the Malta and Gozo filming locations, which stand in for the fictional village of Sainte Victoire.
Now they’re back for a two-hour 2025 Christmas special, in which the gang have been invited to a soirée at the Musée de Sainte Victoire on Christmas Eve.
Everything then starts to go a bit pear-shaped for the mystery-solving antiques expert, because Jean discovers a bomb inside a rare Ormolu box, once owned by Marie Antoinette.
There are codes and riddles that must be cracked to defuse the bomb. Plus, there’s a murderer in their midst! Like the Tim Burton-produced film before it, this Christmas soon starts to devolve into a nightmare.
The cosy crime cast is filled out with Robin Askwith and Only Fools and Horses’ Sue Holderness, as a couple of expats living large in a chateau, as well as one half of the Chuckle Brothers, Paul Chuckle, and Blackadder’s Tony Robinson.
Lindsay has said she will make The Madame Blanc Mysteries for as long as Channel 5 want them.
Ahead of the fourth season, she told gathered press: ‘I’m not under any, “Yes, I’ll quit when I’m on a high”. No, I won’t. I love it so much. I will do it until they want me to not do it, to be honest, because it’s such a special thing in my life. And it’s such a part of our lives now.’
The feel-good cosy crime show has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for its first season, as well as several positive reviews on IMDb.
SunnyDaise described the show as ‘almost perfect’, writing: ‘It’s great to have a show written by and predominantly starring over 50s that is clean enough for all generations to watch together.’
Paul_anson described the show as ‘silly fun in a light entertainment format’.
‘Of course it’s not meant to be taken seriously,’ Paul added. ‘Of course the actors are hamming it up. It’s still an entertaining little package best enjoyed with a nice glass of red French wine.’
‘Really enjoyed this,’ echoed robbiep-53815. ‘Great location. A bright sunny and refreshing change. The ongoing mystery is intriguing and the self contained weekly case to be solved keeps things ticking along nicely. A lovely change.’
A version of this article was originally published on June 25.
The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas special airs on Tuesday, 23 December at 8pm on Channel 5. It will be available to stream afterwards.
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