Armchair Detectives
No one gets away with murder in Mortcliff!
Armchair Detectives is a British gameshow whodunnit series that debuted in 2017 on BBC One Daytime, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions. Hosted by Susan Calman, the show won a BAFTA Scotland award for Best Entertainment series in November 2018.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Game show, Whodunnit
- Presenter
- Susan Calman
- Opening theme
- Theme of Armchair Detectives ("Composers")
- Episodes
- 20
- Language
- English
- Series
- 1
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Producer
- Carly Brooks; Daniel Twist
Facts from the source article.
Development
The idea for the show came from Carly Brooks after she listened to crime podcasts like Serial, Undisclosed, and Truth & Justice. Noticing how these programs turned listeners into active participants in solving crimes, she wanted to make a television version of that experience. Brooks teamed up with Andy Brereton, and they settled on a gameshow whodunnit format, a playalong murder mystery. To pitch it to Jo Street, the BBC Daytime Commissioning Editor, they had her play a pilot game they had written. Brooks remembered using a whiteboard, papers on the wall, and Google images of models as suspects, while she narrated the story. Street, a crime enthusiast whose dog was named Columbo, solved the murder and had fun with it. She liked the concept because it was ambitious and fresh, balancing drama with a quiz, and she trusted the team’s ability to craft murder mysteries. Street and BBC Controller Dan McGolpin ordered 20 episodes, each running 45 minutes. The pilot aired in 2016, and the show now airs weekdays at 2:15 pm. Its catchphrase is “No one gets away with murder in Mortcliff!” Street wanted the tone to feel like Midsomer Murders, placing the show in the ‘Cosy Crime’ genre, where violence is downplayed or handled humorously, and the crime happens in a small, tight-knit community. David Bodycombe, who led the creation of the first series’ 20 cases, called it a mix between Cluedo and Midsomer Murders. While the show’s team comes up with the basic murder outline, they bring in David Bodycombe and Dan Peake—who previously worked on the clue-connecting show Only Connect—to turn those ideas into full puzzles. Their job is to carefully spread clues about means, motive, and opportunity throughout the story, using verbal, physical, forensic, audio, visual, written, and other forms.
Plot and gameplay
In this game, called an "immersive investigation," the audience is encouraged to solve the crime alongside the on-screen detectives. The action takes place in the fictional Scottish village of Mortcliff, a name combining "mort" (death) and "cliff" (cliffhanger). The in-story investigations are handled by DI Knight, DC Slater, and forensic expert Officer Simmons. Three armchair detectives compete to solve the murder by watching footage of events and examining physical evidence like photos and forensics, though they never interact with suspects. The winner receives a golden magnifying glass.
Critical reception
In anticipation of the series, ObservationDeck questioned how innovative it could be compared to Whodunnit. Den of Geek called the show 'brilliant fun', noting that Calman brings a 'delightful, hilarious persona', and argued that while the 'pleasingly old fashioned' show contains some 'hilariously petty reasons to kill', it is the most successful attempt at the playalong murder mystery format. UKGameShows deemed the show 'infectious' and suggested it might become cult television, noting that the acting is deliberately hammy to convey clues through stereotypical verbal and non-verbal cues, and that the inserts have a slow, exaggerated pace. The site also observed that the case does not use a repertory company, meaning the same actors do not play different roles in each episode. Herald Scotland noted the show's low budget, lack of a cash prize, and Acorn Antiques-style acting, calling it a 'cuddly' crime show. The Times described it as a 'lethally mild' piece of afternoon entertainment, jokingly offering alternatives such as A Place in the Sun for better locations, Come Dine with Me for more 'vicious crimes', and Loose Women for more 'females being harassed or tortured'.
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