MASTERPIECE: MOONFLOWER MURDERS key art | ©2024 PBS/ Eleventh Hour Films
In MOONFLOWER MURDERS, Sunday nights on PBS MASTERPIECE, actual retired English book editor Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) and fictional ‘50s master detective Atticus Pünd (Tim McMullan) are both back on the case.
In the previous MAGPIE MURDERS, Susan had been the editor on all of the Atticus Pünd mystery novels. When the last book led to the murder of Atticus’s creator, unpleasant novelist Alan Conway (Conleth Hill), Susan wound up solving the crime. Surprisingly, Atticus began appearing to Susan and giving her oblique advice, at the same time he was busy solving the 1950s case that Alan had written for him.
Now running a hotel with her boyfriend Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis) in Crete, Susan is drawn back into investigating another murder in England that has surprising ties to an early Atticus novel. Once again, we see Susan’s real-world sleuthing and Atticus’s 1950s adventures, and once again, Atticus shows up to gently suggest to Susan what she may want to consider.
While real time has moved forward in MOONFLOWER MURDERS, this finds Atticus at an earlier point in his career, where he is not as famous as he is later. He also has a different assistant, Madeline Cain, played by Pippa Bennett-Warner. Madeline is efficient, observant – and has a few other qualities as well.
Bennett-Warner, originally from Banbury, England, has starred in three seasons of the crime thriller series GANGS OF LONDON. Some of her other credits include SEE HOW THEY RUN, A BIT OF LIGHT, ROADKILL, OBSESSION, HARLOTS, DOCTOR WHO, and Cordelia in NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: KING LEAR.
During PBS’s portion of the summer Television Critics Association (TCA) press tour in Pasadena, California, Bennett-Warner participates in a Q&A session for MOONFLOWER MURDERS, and subsequently engages in a one-on-one follow-up conversation. This interview combines her comments from both.
Before becoming involved in MOONFLOWER MURDERS, Bennett-Warner says she used to read the young adult novels by series creator/scriptwriter Anthony Horowitz.
“Everything,” Bennett-Warner affirms. “SWITCH, all of the ALEX RIDER stuff, GROOSHAM GRANGE. All of my childhood was his work. Big fan.”
She did not, however, read Horowitz’s novel of MOONFLOWER MURDERS before taking on the role of Madeline. “On purpose. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to get swayed by what might be in there, as opposed to [what is in] the script to play.”
Since we see Madeline as a young woman in the 1950s, what kind of research did Bennett-Warner do to play her in that period?
Daniel Mays, Pippa Bennett-Warner and Tim McMullan in MASTERPIECE: MOONFLOWER MURDERS | ©2024 PBS/ Eleventh Hour Films
“I looked at 1950s deportment, because women did hold themselves in a different way, and as soon as you put on those really tight, restrictive clothes, you’re immediately in the 1950s, which was really fun. I found her through that. I think the hair and makeup team and costume teams did an amazing job with everybody’s looks. Everybody just looks sensational. I did lots of research into that, and also into secretaries, because a lot of women, that’s what their careers were, they came up doing secretarial work.”
On the panel, Horowitz compliments Bennett-Warner on her portrayal. “You have a ‘50s vibe, a way of performing, don’t you? I mean, in this part, not overall. You find so many facets in that character, then you do different things.”
“She was very much on the page,” Bennett-Warner replies. “You’ve done all the work for me, Anthony. I just had to go in and make her my own. But she came quite easily to me in the sense that I felt quite connected to her from the moment I read your script.
“The challenge was actually doing [Horowitz’s] work justice. But I found her quite easy to tap into. I haven’t really had the opportunity to play a part like Madeline, where I could sometimes be a little bit silly. Actually, at one point, I said to myself, ‘Oh, my gosh, my performance is getting quite big, and I won’t say anything, so I’m going to keep going with it, because I was kind of pushing her and pushing her and pushing her. But I think she’s really there on the page, and I just kept stretching her, if that makes any sense, and seeing what I could get away with.
“Also, I think the relationship with Tim [as Atticus], and also because Tim and I had a really lovely fizzy working chemistry. Coming new into that world, he kind of helped me place her, because without him, she wouldn’t be in it. So, he was my way in as well.”
There are aspects of Madeline’s persona that are not readily apparent in the first episode.
“Correct,” Bennett-Warner agrees with a laugh.
How does Bennett-Warner balance those aspects with what we see of Madeline from the outset?
“I think it’s like in comedy, where you have to play the truth of every situation. That’s what makes it funny. And with her, I know what the Easter egg is, I know what the end is, and I’m just trying not to give the game away, by honoring the truth of every moment, if that makes any sense.”
There’s one scene where Madeline faints. Was that physically difficult? Bennett-Warner laughs again. “Yes, it kind of was. It was so particular to the shot, and I had to sweep all of the papers off the table [while falling]. But it was funny. I had a good time.”
What else does Bennett-Warner have coming up?
“I have just finished GANGS OF LONDON Season 3, which is great, I did a film called DON’T WORRY, GO BACK TO SLEEP, with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, and I’ve just finished a big film adaptation of an Enid Blyton book, [THE FARAWAY TREE].”
And what would Bennett-Warner most like people to know about MOONFLOWER MURDERS?
“That it’s brilliant.”
Also, “I just found Madeline to be so enticing. Not only was it one of the best filming experiences that I’ve had as an actor to date, but I really just found her thrilling. When I finish a job, I find it sometimes quite difficult to leave characters, because I become slightly obsessed. She’s a part of me, and I really miss her. I really miss getting in my redhead wig, which we nicknamed Whitney. It was a real joy and a privilege to get to be a part of this show.”
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Article: MOONFLOWER MURDERS: Actress Pippa Bennett-Warner on the PBS MASTERPIECE mystery series – Exclusive Interview
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