The first three series, by and large, are built around a brilliant impossibility, fairly clued for the most part, and throw Jonathan and Maddie into the mix quickly and with a fair dose of humour that works perfectly. Alison, the only daughter left, now grown up, is summoned to Daemon’s Roost to learn the truth about what happened to the rest of her family. As Christmas Specials go it’s no ‘Black Canary’ or ‘Satan’s Chimney’, but it isn’t a complete turkey either. Orvat zber fcrpvsvp nobhg zl ceboyrzf jvgu gur ernfba Nyvfba jnf frag njnl – juvyr V pna pregnvayl haqrefgnaq jul gur qverpgbe jbhyq jnag uvf qnhtugre gb or fcnerq sebz yvivat fbzrjurer gung jbhyq unir cnvashy zrzbevrf, V pnaabg erzbgryl haqrefgnaq jul ur bcgrq gb fgnl naq yvir va vfbyngvba.

This may seem like a nitpick out of keeping with the festive season, but the whole subplot leaves a bad aftertaste at the end of a rather good episode of Jonathan Creek. This blog is dedicated to musings and philosophisings on the reading, writing and collecting of impossible crimes, locked room mysteries and classic detective fiction. Creek had found out that she was murdered in an elaborate plot involving a book and a hidden poison pill, that rolled into his wife’s glass in their locked room. But by far Renwick’s cleverest stroke is the reveal that Ryman isn’t Nina’s husband; the characters – and by extension the audience – happily assume that the pair are married, and so the ‘twist’ comes as a real rug-pull moment that leaves everyone feeling a tad guilty.Earlier this evening, I was feeling somewhat tired when I happened to remember a comment on my latest “Sherlock” review which recommended the “Jonathan Creek” Christmas special. But without any agency of her own, Polly is resigned to nagging Jonathan about putting the first three seasons of the show in the big skip, being Creeksplained to, and watching her husband BURN A MAN TO DEATH. With his health failing, Clore has summoned home his stepdaughter Alison ( Georgie Lord), to finally share with her the chilling truth of what happened to her family there when she was a child. He summons Alison back to the house to tell her the truth, before being paralysed by a stroke and unable to spill his secret. Unfortunately this proves to be one of this episode’s weaker points – the killer (not seen in that original episode; he murdered via poisoned self-addressed envelopes) comes back to hunt down Creek in a strange act of revenge after his prison release.

A welcome addition to the Creek canon, with top drawer support from the always entertaining Warwick Davis. The mystery of the fiery inferno in particular struck me as a wonderfully visual puzzle and I enjoyed the gothic elements associated with that story enormously. There is also the film Willow which he starred in and he will also star in the TV series which is supposed to be released in 2022. His third, surviving, daughter Alison is now an adult and found herself summoned to see Clore just before his death.Guest stars: John Bird, Hattie Hayridge, Jonathan Ross, Nina Sosanya, John Bennett, Cavan Clerkin and Lee Ingleby.