TV shows we love: Sister Boniface

I LOVE Sister Boniface – both character and show. The former is witty, smart, humble, and a nun; all the things (with one notable exception!) that I’ve always struggled to be. The latter I love because it’s British comfort telly at its very best…

Make yourself a mug of Earl Grey and settle down for half an hour in the Cotswolds of the 1960s: rolling fields, quaint country villages, chiming church bells, and eccentric characters. There’ll be murders aplenty, exciting twists and turns to every plot, and oodles of gentle humour. And always a cheerful ending.

Personally, I adore that the majority of Sister Boniface is set in and around the village of Chipping Norton, my family home. In fact, just last week, they filmed a season two instalment down the street from my Mum, who sent me loads of photos of behind-the-scenes action! But even if you’ve never visited the Cotswolds, there’s still something comfortingly familiar to this divine series…

It’s set in the England we remember (or which was described to us by our parents): a sort of golden-hazed, endless summer packed with odd festivals and odder characters; an extended village where everyone’s a little nuts but basically good at heart.

Add to that a motorbiking nun with a hefty IQ (Sister Boniface holds a double starred first and a PhD from Cambridge, and was rumoured to have been with MI5 during the war!), a constable just in from the Caribbean realms and stumped by English eccentricity, and a wily female reporter making her way in a man’s world, and you’ve got everything required for the ultimate in cosy viewing.

Season 1 was a hit (the theme song alone deserves an honourable mention for its soaring chords and cathedralic vocals). Season 2 is underway. And for Brits abroad, both are a must-see; a heart-warming escape into a simpler, sunnier past. This is the England we wish still existed. You can smell the lavender.