Downton Abbey legend unrecognisable with unexpected new hairstyle in crime drama

Phyllis Logan swaps manners for mischief in the deliciously offbeat new crime drama, Murder Most Puzzling on Channel 5.

Best known for her refined roles as Downton Abbey ’s Mrs Hughes and Lovejoy ’s Lady Jane Felsham, the actress, 69, is throwing off the corset – and lighting a cigarette. In this six-parter, Phyllis Logan plays Cora Felton, a sharp-witted crossword queen with a wild streak.

“She’s a wonderful breath of fresh air,” Phyllis says. “I love the way she drinks Bloody Marys for breakfast and smokes like a demon. She’s nice enough, but she really doesn’t care. That’s what I aspire to be – but not necessarily smoking and drinking vodka.”

Cora’s been married – and divorced – several times, but Phyllis found the chaos invigorating. “She has this colourful backdrop to her life,” she says, “Her marriages have all ended in divorce but she’ll enter another one. She’s still a bit of a romantic. She hasn’t turned into an old cynic.”

Living in a lavish home with her niece Sherry (Charlotte Hope), Cora finds herself an unlikely anchor for the younger woman after an abusive relationship. Their bond is complex, but loving.

“It’s sweet,” Phyllis says. “Even though Sherry gets very frustrated with Cora, they adore each other. Cora didn’t have kids, but she and her niece are a real family unit.

Cora just wants Sherry to get over her divorce.” Together, they swap London for Bakerbury, a sleepy market town with dark secrets and bodies that come with cryptic clues.

So, when a corpse shows up alongside a crossword puzzle in the local graveyard, Cora’s reputation as the Puzzle Lady puts her on the police’s radar – but not always to their delight.

“She really interferes with the investigation,” Phyllis says. “I mean, who the hell does she think she is? But it’s so nice to have a woman of a certain age challenging the system.”

Cora doesn’t just challenge the establishment – she dives headfirst into danger. Teasing upcoming scenes for her character, Phyllis remembers, “I was on my knees with a plastic bag over my head,” she says, “I did that in the middle of the night in a graveyard with a smoke machine. It was very atmospheric.”

Although Phyllis was up for the action, she didn’t do her own stunts. “There were lots of stunts, like people falling into graves,” she says, “I had a fall so we had a stunt double for that. They were a great team.”

Seemingly set in the Yorkshire Dales, but shot in Northern Ireland, the show makes full use of the moody scenery. “We used some countryside which could be anywhere,” Phyllis says, “But it was lovely filming there. It’s a great place, and we had a great time.”

And there was a personal element, too. “We filmed in a place outside Belfast called Ballymena,” she remembers, “It’s where my maternal grandparents were born. They left to go to Scotland.”

Co-star Adam Best, who plays lead detective DCI Hooper, offered to help her explore her roots. “He said he’d drive around the area to see if we could find out more about my grandparents,” Phyllis says, “But we never really got the chance to do it.”

Busy shooting 10-to 12-hour days, Phyllis didn’t get much down time. “I didn’t get a chance to do much socialising,” she says, “I was working most of the time.”

But that didn’t stop her from forming warm bonds with castmates Charlotte – affectionately known as “Charlie” – and Alistair Brammer, who plays young journalist Anton Grant.

“Charlotte would go home when she wasn’t working,” Phyllis says, “But we had such a nice time on set. When were waiting for scenes to change around, we’d set up in the green room, which was in somebody’s house.

She’d be on the bed and I would be at the end of the bed, using it as my office. We were a right trio with Alistair!” The group shared everything, from stories to sweets. “I’m the old granny of the team,” Phyllis jokes.

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