Miss Scarlet stars talk new sidekick: 'Alexander's very different to The Duke — but Stuart Martin's are huge shoes to fill!'

The "will-they-won’t-they" dynamic of Miss Scarlet and The Duke had fans of the Victorian crime drama on tenterhooks for four series, so fans were bereft when actor Stuart Martin quit his role as William "The Duke" Wellington with the character leaving 1890s London — and Kate Phillips’ private detective Miss Eliza Scarlet — for a job in New York.

But you can’t keep a good woman down as the plucky investigator is back for series five of the newly titled Miss Scarlet, which is airing in the UK from Wednesday, March 5 at 9 pm on U&Alibi (available as a box set), having already aired on PBS Masterpiece in the US earlier this year.

"Eliza’s an independent woman whose agency is thriving, she doesn't need an 'and', ha, ha," Kate cheekily tells us in our exclusive chat alongside Tom Durant-Pritchard, who joins series five as Scotland Yard’s new Detective Inspector Alexander Blake. "I had some reservations about joining such a well-established show and Stuart has huge shoes to fill — but Alexander is such a different character to The Duke and I soon felt like I’d been there years!"

It’s been months since The Duke’s departure, and Eliza’s heartbroken after their kiss. Throwing herself into her work at the agency, Eliza’s optimistic about meeting DI Blake. But there’s a problem: he does NOT work with private detectives!

Here, Kate, 35, and Tom, 37, tell us more…

Tom, How would you describe DI Alexander Blake?

Tom: "As ex-military, Alexander is a man of order and structure who’s always been used to doing his job a certain way. He doesn’t like outside interference, so the prospect of private detectives trying to meddle in his business is everything he doesn’t want. However, Eliza is very good at what she does, so his views on private detectives alter a little bit as the series goes on."

How does the dynamic between Eliza and Alexander differ from what we saw between Eliza and The Duke? How is Eliza dealing with The Duke’s departure?

Kate: "When we met The Duke and Eliza in series one, we discovered they'd known each other since they were kids. You could argue, the relationship between The Duke and Eliza was very stuck in the past before they realised their potential, whereas Eliza and Alexander are meeting each other as adult professionals looking ahead. Eliza knows The Duke’s left to follow his own dreams in New York but she’s hopeful there's a chance he could return — so the door’s not firmly shut on that chapter."

Can we expect a ‘will-they-won’t-they’ scenario between Eliza and Alexander?

Kate: "Oh, I'm all in for a will-they-won't-they - but Miss Scarlet will always be a story about a very independent woman who’s carving her own way, against all the odds, in a man's world."

What can you tease about any cases for this series?

Kate: "In episode one, Eliza's on the trail of a missing Lord accused of murder; her accountant Clarence Pettigrew (Paul Bazely) comes along to help and finally gets to leave the office! I know Paul was excited about this development because it became a running joke in season four that you only ever saw Clarence at the agency, so he wondered whether he was just a figment of Eliza's imagination — but now it's proven Clarence does really exist! Eliza and Clarence’s friendship has really blossomed; Paul and I know where to find the humor."

Can you recall any memorable moments filming series five?

Tom: "We were filming one scene taking place at the morgue with Alexander talking to DS Phelps (Tim Chipping) about medication that had been badly prescribed to one of the victims. We’re talking over the man’s ‘dead body’ and I’m about 30 seconds into this monologue when the actor playing the corpse started snoring. For the hour we were filming, he just kept nodding off!"

Why do you think fans are so obsessed with Miss Scarlet?

Tom: "People love Miss Scarlet because it's a combination of all that’s great about television. It’s a Victorian period drama so, visually, it’s just wonderful to watch. Then there’s all the romance; aside from any romantic relationship, there’s a certain romance to the aesthetic of the whole thing. To top all that, you've got interesting crimes and cases. I mean, what's not to like?"

Miss Scarlet returns Wednesday at 9pm on U&alibi.