Victoria Hamilton is guest starring in season 4 of the detective drama.
ITV detective drama McDonald & Dodds is returning for its fourth season, with Tala Gouveia and Jason Watkins reprising their roles as the titular duo.
As ever, they’re joined by a host of guest stars in each episode, with one famous face set to pop up in season 4 being that of Victoria Hamilton, the actress best known for her work on shows such as COBRA and The Crown, the latter of which she played the Queen Mother in.
Gouveia and Watkins spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com about working with Hamilton, and the latter revealed that his character, Dodds, has a “sort of dalliance” with her character, Dora.
Gouveia said: “I loved Victoria Hamilton. I think she was such a pro. I just loved watching her work and then I forget that, ‘Oh, I’m in a scene with her – OK, I better concentrate, step it up!’.”
Watkins added: “I had a lot to do with her. It’s a great departure… Dodds fancies her a bit. He actually has a sort of dalliance, or it looks like he’s heading that way, which is very unusual because he’s been shut down in that respect for such a long time. There’s potential with this character.”
Hamilton is set to appear in the show’s third episode, so fans will have to wait until then to see how that storyline unfolds.
While speaking with RadioTimes.com, Watkins also spoke about the show being labelled with the genre of ‘cosy crime’, saying it’s “dangerous” to make a series with that in mind.
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He said: “I think if you’re making a show with [cosy crime] in mind, that’s very dangerous. Although it’s a whodunnit, [McDonald & Dodds] is quite a complex show.
“In terms of the script, you’ve got this great conundrum puzzle, but then it might touch on the cultural misappropriation of the blues [and] obviously, because of our relationship, some of the people we meet [display] a slight shadow of racism.
“But it’s all played in a very subtle way and instead of it being a gritty documentary about one of those serious subjects, it’s actually something that is enjoyable to an audience [but] touches on much more serious subjects.”
McDonald & Dodds season 4 starts Sunday 21st July at 8pm on ITV1. Seasons 1-3 are available to watch now on ITVX.
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