A Madame Blanc has joked that she was left traumatised after the cast was forced to wear heavy Christmas costumes in 40-degree heat while filming the festive special.
Coronation Street legend Sally Lindsay returns to Sainte Victoire as Jean White – an antique dealer and sleuth who is now all loved up with her partner Dom Hayes, played by Benidorm’s Steve Edge.
The pair found romance at the end of the last series, set in France.
Now, as the special airs on Christmas Eve, viewers will see them exchanging thoughtful presents.
They are interrupted by a phone call from the Chief of Police André Caron, played by Death In Paradise‘s Alex Gaumond, who reveals there has been a murder at the Christmas market.
Wearing woollen festive jumpers at the peak of summer, Sally revealed they sweltered as they filmed the scenes.
She said: “We filmed it at 40° in August—it was one of the hottest days on record.”
“There were a lot of people in the cast wearing jumpers, bless them.
“It’s bizarre but I’m used to filming Christmas in the summer and then you put it away and you forget about it – like the real thing.
“Christmas comes around but twice a year for me.”
Co-writer Sue Vincent added: “It’s really surreal.
“Christmas in the sunshine is a bit of a funny thing, but I think we’ve got used to it, seeing the tree up in the square.
“As for the heat, nothing will ever top the Christmas cracker costume. That left me with trauma,
“I sweated in places I never thought possible.
“I thought I was being clever because I chose a sleeveless costume, but I didn’t realise it was made of foil. It’s the nearest I will
ever get to running a marathon.
“I learnt my lesson and, this year, Gloria’s just got some lit-up Deely boppers that don’t cause excess sweating.”
In the opening scenes, the murder takes place in a market, where father-and-son puppeteers Frederick and Christian are spotted laughing and drinking mulled wine.
“Last year we went for a Cluedo murder-mystery theme so, this time, we’ve gone all-out festive.
“It’s Dom and Jean’s first Christmas, so that’s all very sweet but, of course, there’s a ghastly murder as well. It involves a puppeteer at the Christmas market.
“I’ve always been obsessed with puppets and magic shows, they were synonymous with Christmas when I was a kid and I wanted to hark back to that.
“There’s also a surprise ending involving Jeremy, Judith and Uncle Patrick – you really won’t see that coming.”
The two brothers are laughing and joking as the scene opens.
Christian mingles in the crowd with a puppet in each hand, and then Frederick misses his cue. Suddenly, a street vendor lets out a shriek as Frederick is found lying on the ground holding a blood-soaked puppet.
After hearing about the murder from her colleague, Jean cuts short her Christmas and arrives at the crime scene only to find something sinister about the puppet and the drama then begins to unfold.
Shameless‘ Sue Vincent as mechanic Gloria Beausha, while Benidorm’s Robin Asquith and Only Fools and Horses Sue Holderness play an eccentric married couple Jeremy and Judith Lloyd James.
Meanwhile, Black Adder’s Tony Robinson and Paul Chuckle play Dom’s Uncle Patrick, a petty thief turned pub landlord and Trevor, Gloria’s dad.
As more cases emerge and an old friend reappears, will Jean and Dom be able to keep up their romance?
The Christmas special will air on Tuesday, December 24th, at 9 p.m.
