Latest news with #clergyman
BBC News
06-08-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Filming wraps on series 13 of Father Brown, as first look images and special guest stars are revealed
Sorcha Cusack will also be making a special return as Mrs McCarthy for the first episode. Mark Williams is back as Father Brown, the crime busting clergyman based on the classic character created by GK Chesterton. The 13th series also sees the return of fan favourite cast members Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan, Claudie Blakley as the new Mrs Isabel Sullivan, Ruby-May Martinwood as Brenda and John Burton as Sergeant Goodfellow. Also returning are Nancy Carroll as Lady Felicia, John Light as Hercule Flambeau, Lex Shrapnel as Father Lazarus, Roger May as Canon Fox and Kieran Hodgson as Father Lindsey. Following the jubilant wedding celebrations at the end of series 12, the new Mr and Mrs Sullivan settle into married life and a new home, with Isabel thrilled to be welcomed into the Policeman's Wives Society. Meanwhile, Brenda goes on a journey of self-empowerment as she covers the role of Parish Secretary and learns to drive with the help of Sergeant Goodfellow. Father Brown is tasked by Flambeau to visit Father Lazarus in prison, resulting in a deadly game of cat and mouse which ruffles the feathers of Canon Fox. With his consecration now looming, Bishop-Elect Fox plans to enact his revenge upon Father Brown, leaving Kembleford changed forever. And in a Father Brown first – the group take a trip to the seaside! Mark Williams says: 'My Dad was a surveyor and taught me how to look at buildings, not just their architecture but how they were used, and why they were where they are. So one of the constant pleasures of filming Father Brown for me is the places we film in, and I always have the relevant Pevsner's 'Buildings of England' book to hand. This year, our 13th, has been a great year for interesting locations. We have filmed in The Chateaux Impney a French fantasy in Droitwich, the little theatre in Chipping Norton (an ex Salvation Army Citadel), the wonderful 18th Century octagonal Crown Courts in Warwick and an atmospheric ex-Nunnery in Great Malvern with a glorious chapel by Ninian Comper. Also, The Fleece Inn in Bretforton which is a English pub time capsule, the spectacular Baroque church at Great Witley, and to top it off a selection of lovely stone Cotswold houses and churches. What a fabulous itinerary. And we filmed an episode at the seaside! Lucky lad, as my Dad would have said.' Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime Helen Munson says: 'Father Brown has many loyal fans and they are NOT going to be disappointed with the latest episodes. The team at BBC Studios have delivered another fabulous series, and there are some very exciting guest appearances too!' Executive Producer Neil Irvine says: 'I'm delighted that Mark Williams is back as Father Brown for a phenomenal thirteenth series, which promises to be the most exciting to date. Mrs McCarthy's return, a rock'n'roll invasion and a trip to the seaside are just a few of the treats in store for our loyal audience. And when Canon Fox becomes Bishop-Elect, Father Brown finds his position dangling perilously on a thread. Can he secure his position in Kembleford once and for all?' Father Brown, which first aired on BBC Daytime in 2013, is the UK's number 1 Daytime drama of the last decade and a global success with 140 episodes made (including those just filmed). Father Brown's 12th series recently concluded on screen and is the number 1 daytime drama of 2025 to date. The series continues to be a hit internationally and is viewed by audiences in US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, South Korea, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Japan. Father Brown is a BBC Studios Drama Production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, commissioned by Rob Unsworth, Head of BBC Daytime and Early Peak commissioning. The Executive Producer for BBC Studios Drama Productions is Neil Irvine, the Series Producer is David Innes Edwards and the Script Producer is Dawn Coulson-Beckett. Helen Munson is the Commissioning Editor for BBC Daytime. BBC Studios is handling global sales. Father Brown series 13 will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer early next year. FM About BBC Studios BBC Studios is the main commercial arm of BBC Commercial Ltd and generated revenues of £2.1 billion in the last year and profits of over £200 million for a fourth consecutive year. Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, the business is built on two operating areas: the content studio, which produces, invests and distributes TV and audio globally and media & streaming, with BBC branded channels, services including UKTV, and BritBox International and joint ventures in the UK and internationally. The business made almost 3,300 hours of award-winning British programmes last year for a wide range of UK and global broadcasters and platforms. Its content is internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, and includes world-famous brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, the Planet series, Bluey and Doctor Who. BBC Studios | Website | Press Office | X | LinkedIn | Instagram |
Irish Times
22-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Rev Philip McKinley: ‘My children call me silly, old and rusty. I'm only 44′
How agreeable are you? My role as a Church of Ireland clergyman is profoundly relational. I work with a huge amount of committed volunteers and with people when they're sick and struggling. They are agreeable with me, so I hope I'm agreeable with them. My role couldn't function if I were either a people pleaser or inflexible. What's your middle name and what do you think of it? I have two middle names, Richard and George. George is my maternal grandfather's first name and also my paternal grandfather's first name. Richard is a family name that stretches back to the last Church of Ireland archbishop Richard Lawrence, of whom I'm descended. However, I was specifically named after my half-uncle, Maj Richard McKinley, who died in Monte Casino on March 16th, 1944, aged 25, fighting for the 16th Punjabi Division of the Indian army. No one ever calls me Richard or George. Where was your favourite place in Ireland? Skellig Michael, Co Kerry. It's beyond words, a place of mesmerising solitude and contemplation. I have only visited once, but it left a profound impression. Just before I was to be ordained as a priest, I made inquiries to request that I stay overnight, alone in a beehive cell, to prepare myself for what lay ahead. I wasn't successful in my application, but if an opportunity did arise, I would love to stay there just one night. Although preferably not in winter. Describe yourself in three words I asked my four children if I was cool or silly. In roaring unison, they replied that I was silly. My six-year-old daughter added that, even though I'm only 44, I was also old and rusty. There you have it: Silly. Old. Rusty. READ MORE [ Prof Ian Robertson: 'My father was more like a brother, and my brother was more like a father' Opens in new window ] When did you last get angry? I don't think I get angry too often. I am passionate about things, and this can lead to disappointments and frustrations. What have you lost that you would like to have back? It's not a personal loss. I'm based in St Bridget's Cathedral in Kildare. In 1185, a famous Welsh historian named Gerald Wales came to the monastery and read from a spectacular copy of the Gospels, which was produced in the scriptorium of the Kildare monastery. Gerald said the book was so beautiful it must have been the work, not of men, but of angels. Scholars agree there was once a Book of Kildare, which they say was on a par with the Book of Kells. I would love a geophysical survey or an archaeological dig to uncover this spectacular manuscript again. What's your strongest childhood memory? Probably experiences with my grandparents, like eating exquisitely delicious tomatoes from my grandfather's greenhouse, tasting sherry that my grandmother would let me have a sip of, or bathing in my other grandmother's pine-flavoured Radox bubble bath with bubbles up to the brim. Where do you come in your family's birth order and has this defined you? I was the youngest for 8½ years, and then my throne was usurped by my younger brother, Ian. He went on to play international rugby for Italy – with one eye, I might add – so he has definitely overshadowed me! [ Photographer John Minihan: 'I've seen a lot of heartache in my life but I've never been unhappy' ] What do you expect to happen when you die? I believe that after the death of my body, I will face God's judgment. This might sound scary, but it's also deeply reassuring, as there will be ultimate justice for those who exercised good in life and those who did not. I also believe there is eternal life after physical, earthly life. When were you happiest? A richer term for me is when you are at peace. Life can be full of these moments, from spectacular examples such as my wedding day, my beautiful wife, Julie, or the birth of my four children, or simple moments like having a fresh coffee on a Monday morning. The 17th-century French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal famously said that all the world's problems stem from man's inability to sit still in a room. Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? Although we're not the same age, I admire the actor Gabriel Byrne. He trained to be a priest for five years, so he might have some sympathies for the role. What is your biggest career/personal regret? It's difficult within my current work to do personal projects because I am committed to serving, but I love to compose music. I've written hundreds of songs, but I've never adequately carved out space to record and perform my music. Have you any psychological quirks? When I was training for ordination, I undertook some psychological and personality tests. One test revealed that I was a very high activist and a very low contemplative. My lecturer told me that I needed to, and I quote, 'Protest less and pray more'. I'm working on that. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
