Sally Lindsay has said the success of The Madame Blanc Mysteries has been "the biggest shock of my life" as the Channel 5 drama returns for a fifth series. The actress, who co-created the show with Sue Vincent, reprises her role as amateur detective and antiques dealer Jean White in the crime-comedy-drama set in the fictional village of Sainte Victoire in the south of France.
Jean is joined in the new series by her fiancé Dom (Steve Edge), close friend Gloria (Sue Vincent), and Jeremy and Judith Lloyd James, played by Robin Askwith and Sue Holderness. The new season also features guest stars including Bonnie Langford, Michael Fenton Stevens, Justin Moorhouse, Brian Capron, Lesley Joseph, Jason Manford, Su Pollard, Louisa Lytton, Frazer Hines and Zoe Lyons.
A Surprising Success Story
The show debuted in October 2021 and quickly became one of Channel 5's highest-rated programmes. Speaking exclusively to Express publisher Reach PLC, Lindsay admitted she remains "shocked" by the show's success. "I knew it had legs, and I'd been in things like Mount Pleasant, Coronation Street, and Still Open All Hours, I really do love a return, and I love the camaraderie," she said.
She added: "So it was always my intention for it to carry on, that was always going to be the hope. Because it was just Sue and me, and I created it, I didn't think it would be this successful, I got to say, that has been the biggest shock of my life, I think, and the biggest joy of my life, really, apart from my boys."
Filming in Malta
Although the drama is set in France, filming takes place in Malta. Lindsay said the location has become a home from home, where she has developed "amazing" bonds. "We've created this sort of other country that now, there are loads of people that are my best friends, which is amazing," she revealed.
"We get to spend time in the sunshine with my dearest friends I've turned into, like Sue and Robin, and obviously Edge, who I've known for 30 years anyway, so we have this time where we've become sort of a friendship group, really, as opposed to a cast," she said. "So it's quite a beautiful way to earn a living, to be honest. I feel extremely grateful every time they give us the green light."
The fifth series of The Madame Blanc Mysteries premieres in the UK on Thursday, 29 October 2026 at 9:05 pm on Channel 5, followed by a Christmas special.
