Mrs. Sidhu Investigates

 

(2013)
Created by Suk Pannu
Starring Meera Syal, Craig Parkenson, Naana Agyei Ampadu, Gurjeet Singh, Gordon Kennedy
IMDB Entry

My local library includes a subscription to Hoopla, which lets you read books online. It also has some television show, mostly British mysteries, and that's where I discovered Mrs. Sidhu Investigates.

Mrs. Sidhu (Meera Syal) is a widow and runs a catering company. She is a woman in her 50s, of Bengali descent, and turns out to be an excellent chef, finding jobs all over Slough and its environs. And when she shows up, there's usually a murder.

Mrs. Sidhu is smart and very observant, and uses he cooking skills to give goodies to witnesses to get them to open up to her. She then reports to DCI Burton (Craig Parkinson), who finds her meddling annoying, but is willing to listen to her findings even as he tells her to get off the case.  Burton is aided by Sergeant Mint (Naana Agyei Ampadu) and is pushed by his boss Superintendent De Vries (Gordon Kennedy). Mrs. Sidhu is aided (reluctantly) by her feckless son Tez (Gurjeet Singh).

The stories are well constructed, but for any mystery these days, it's the personalities that make it work. Mrs. Sidhu is bright, bubbly, and relentless in solving the crime. DCI Burton is morose, more so because he's just divorced and recently blew an important case. The contrast between the characters makes the show more interesting.

There's some very good writing. Mrs. Sidhu is introduced as planning a catering for a wedding. The bride and groom are there. The bride refuses one of her dishes, saying she doesn't like fish. When urged to eat it, she finds it delicious. Mr.s Sidhu also observes that she doesn't love her husband and wishes the marriage wouldn't happen. Very quickly we learn she's a great cook, and that she's a shrew judge of people.

Meera Syal is a successful UK actress. She originated the role in a series of radio dramas, and is sometimes credited as a consultant/writer for the episodes. Her role is full of charm. Craig Parkinson was one of the social workers in Misfits and is a very similar character here. Naana Agyei Ampadu shows a lot of quiet wisdom as Mint; she can see how useful Mrs. Sidhu can be, but also understand Burton. Gurjeet Singh makes a great slacker.

There has only been one season of four episodes. I hope they do more.