Fans of Gavin & Stacey might struggle to recognise actor Robert Wilfort, who famously portrayed Stacey’s older brother Jason, in his latest role. Swapping the laughs for a different kind of drama, Robert is guest starring in the BBC daytime mystery series Father Brown, appearing as a clean-shaven maths professor – quite the change from his scruffy character Jason, who was involved in the notorious fishing trip with Uncle Bryn in the much-loved sitcom.
The mystery of the trip has been a long-standing source of intrigue among fans, and though the big reveal was highly anticipated during the 2024 Christmas finale, viewers were left hanging. Despite this, at a special screening of the finale, Robert expressed his contentment with keeping the secret under wraps: “I’d like to say now and forever, the joke has always been you don’t find out what happens on the fishing trip. I’m sorry everybody, but that has always been the joke and it always will be because it’s funny. It’s funnier that way. And I was so pleased that we didn’t reveal it – because we’ve never known what it is.”
(Image: BBC Studios/Gary Moyes)
In the latest episode of Father Brown, which aired on Friday 7 March, Robert found himself at the heart of another mystery. He starred as William Fitzgibbon, a Maths Professor at Gloucester University, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation when a member of the local sewing circle (played by Carlyss Peer) is found stabbed to death.
The episode also features Nicola Stephenson as his wife Martha, Beyond Paradise’s Felicity Montagu as the formidable Judith Skelton, and Coronation Street’s Naomi Radcliffe.
The series draws inspiration from G.K. Chesterton’s short stories written between 1910 and 1936, with Mark Williams portraying the insightful and gentle priest, Father Brown, reports the Mirror.
While the original stories were set between the two World Wars, the BBC adaptation takes place in the 1950s, a time characterised by rationing, the illegality of homosexuality and abortion, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation.
Mark Williams shared: “We broadcast the 12th series of Father Brown this January, which means we have made 130 episodes. I was feeling quite impressed by this, I thought there can’t have been many people who’ve played the eponymous character in a series for 130 shows. Then I read about Jack Warner who played Dixon of Dock Green 432 times, so that took the wind out of my sails a bit.”
But it’s not all about numbers for Mark as he lovingly added, “Making 12 series of Father Brown has enriched my life immeasurably. There have been many friendships made and we have quite a few children born during our time filming to cast and crew which makes us a real tribe. And I give thanks to G K Chesterton’s creation because Father Brown has kept me fascinated.”
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