We always used to say that the arrival of a new series of the BBC’s Father Brown was one of the most reliable indicators of the end of the Christmas holiday period and the arrival of a brand New Year. Its absence at the start of 2021 was therefore a painful indicator of quite how dreadful the previous 12 months had been for everyone due to the outbreak of coronavirus. Filming on series 9 had been about to start when the first COVID cases arrived in the UK and the country went into lockdown, resulting in all TV production being suspended for months.
In a similar vein therefore, the return of GK Chesterton’s eponymous country priest to the afternoon schedules can be taken as joyous confirmation that everything is finally beginning to return to normal (bit-by-bit and omicron notwithstanding). A year later than originally intended, it was possible for the filming of series 9 of Father Brown to get underway and the results are now before us to warm our hearts at the start of 2022. And at first glance it seems reassuring familiar with few changes, the look and feel of the production very much as it was despite the onerous social distancing rules that had to be observed during production. There’s no obvious sign of those measures on the screen, and cast and crew are to be commended for producing another 10 polished instalments.
