Death Valley's spin on traditional murder mystery as series lands on BBC

The BBC's upcoming murder mystery series, Death Valley, is set to make its debut tonight (Sunday, May 25).

Penned by Paul Doolan, the six-part whodunnit revolves around quirky national treasure, John Chapel (Timothy Spall), a retired actor famed for his role in the popular fictional TV detective show Caesar.

When an unexpected murder occurs in John's neighbourhood, he joins forces with charming detective sergeant Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) to crack the case.

This unlikely pair of sleuths tackle intriguing murders each week, set against the picturesque backdrop of various Welsh locales.

"When John and Janie are not arguing about a case, they're inevitably up in each other's personal business," the synopsis reads, reports .

"Despite their differences, they soon realise they are the closest thing each other has to a best friend and unwittingly help one another move on from the past."

The main cast also features Steffan Rhodri as Janie's superior, DCI Barry Clarke, Melanie Walters as Yvonne, Janie's intrusive mother, and Remy Beasley as Rhiannon, a nemesis from Janie's past.

Completing the ensemble are Mike Bubbins as the overly amiable desk sergeant, Tony, and Rithvik Andugula as DC Evan Chaudhry, the "eager to please" junior police officer.

Guest stars include Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Sian Gibson, Patricia Hodge, Jim Howick and Karl Johnson.

At a recent press event for the series, executive producer Madeline Addy shared her enthusiasm for Paul Doolan's distinctive scripts, which were pivotal in attracting her to the project.

"[I got involved] quite early doors. My boss, Josh Cole, was a big champion of the project and sent it to me, and I read it and absolutely loved it," she disclosed.

"Paul is a very talented and very well respected comedy writer so it was really exciting to us that he wanted to create this really original comedy-drama with an edge to it.

"The fact that it feels it's genre blending, a mixing pot of different genres. Paul's got this classic whodunnit with a twist to it, and there's high-stakes drama and along with that, it's like an inter-generational comedy as well. So, there's quite a lot going on."

Madeline summed up her thoughts: "I think it's wholly original."

She also revealed that the show boasts over 70 cast members throughout its six episodes.

Timothy, the lead actor, opened up about the hurdles of embracing a more comedic role and delved into the intricacies of portraying two contrasting characters - the actor and his most iconic part.

"It's only hard because the expectation of making people laugh. Humour is a big taste thing, some people like certain aspects of it and some people don't," he remarked.

"The challenge is to try and play a character, however eccentric or supposedly funny they are."

Timothy went on to say: "It's nice to be able to play with that, someone who is a detective, and mess around with certain aspects of actors' [personalities], themselves, their skills and their conceits and over inflated versions of themselves.

"It was nice to be able to play a character who was somewhat heightened."

Death Valley will premiere on BBC One and BBC One Wales at 8.15pm on Sunday, May 25