Phyllis Logan admits taking on lead role in Murder Most Puzzling was ‘daunting‘
Opening up about her fear over tackling the role, Phyllis Logan has described taking on the lead role in Murder Most Puzzling as “daunting”.
Phyllis Logan has described taking on the lead role in Murder Most Puzzling as “daunting”.
The 69-year-old actress, best known for her long-running role as Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey, stars as Cora Felton, a crossword expert with a sharp tongue and an eccentric streak who teams up with local police to crack a series of murders in the fictional English town of Bakerbury.
Despite her admission it was an intimidating part to take on she also said it was ultimately too irresistible to pass up.
She told the Radio Times: “It’s just so wacky and different.”
The three-part comedy-drama began airing on Channel 5 on Thursday.
Murder Most Puzzling is based on the Puzzle Lady Mysteries by late American author Parnell Hall and marks Phyllis’s first leading role in a British series for some time.
Despite her extensive television experience, Phyllis said about the scale of the role initially giving her pause: “I read the script, and then I got my husband to read it too – I always like to get his opinion. He commented on how great the script was and what a wonderful part Cora is, and I felt the same.
“So I met up with the director, Tom (Dalton), who came up to Scotland to see me.
“I did tell him I was a little bit trepidatious because I knew the workload was going to be extraordinary – Cora has so much to do and so many lines.
“But eventually I had a talk to myself and said, ‘We can do this!’. I said yes and off we went…”
Phyllis added: “It’s daunting to be playing the lead character, but I thought I might as well! Normal police procedurals aren’t usually that interesting to me to be honest.
“I liked being in Shetland with Ashley Jensen because it had a great twist at the end, and I was playing a wonderful, nasty character, so that was great.
“I was also in a show called Guilt, which was different as well because it was more of a black comedy. The Puzzle Lady was appealing to me because it’s just so wacky and different, and ultimately entertaining I hope.
“I hope that people enjoy it for its entertainment value. You can’t accuse this show of being bleak.”
Murder Most Puzzling first aired on Channel 5 at 8pm on Thursday (19.06.25.)
The second episode will follow on Thursday (26.06.25), and will see Cora crosses paths with a prison inmate who insists he was wrongly convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend.
