Airdate: Signora Volpe

Three-part detective series Signora Volpe is coming to Acorn TV in early May.

Starring Emilia Fox (Silent Witness, Delicious, The Pianist) as a spy on a break from MI6, it was filmed on location in the stunning Lazio and Umbria regions in Italy.

To the casual observer, there’s nothing remarkable about Sylvia Fox (Fox) – an intelligent, confident woman in her forties, she tends to keep quiet about her formidable linguistic abilities, impressive knowledge of weaponry, and skills as a markswoman. Questions about her professional life are met with bland answers about an unspectacular career in the Civil Service. Which is only very slightly true – because until recently, Sylvia was a high-ranking British spy. When Sylvia arrives in Italy for the wedding of her niece Alice, she’s disillusioned with her job at MI6 headquarters in London, and in need of a break. But then the bridegroom disappears, leaving a dead body in the lake at the bottom of his garden, and Sylvia takes it upon herself to solve the mystery and save Alice from disaster.

Despite the unpromising start to her holiday, Sylvia is enchanted by Umbria, the green heart of Italy, and is surprised and pleased to find herself reconnecting with her estranged sister Isabel Vitale (Tara Fitzgerald – Game of Thrones, Belgravia), who lives in the handsome hillside town of Panicale. When she stumbles upon a beautiful, derelict old house, Sylvia decides to buy it, quit her job and start afresh.

But Sylvia was never cut out for a quiet life and finds herself involved in a bevy of fresh mysteries – from the disappearance of a young woman a quarter of a century ago, to the theft of a truffle pig and a blackmail plot against the son of a Russian politician. At first, Carabinieri Captain Giovanni Riva (Giovanni Cirfiera – American Crime Story; The Assassination of Gianni Versace, Queen of the South) resents Sylvia’s interference, but he soon begins to seek her help.

Rachel Cuperman (Midsomer Murders) and Sally Griffiths (Midsomer Murders) serve as creators, writers, and executive producers. Josie Law (The Disappearance of Alice Creed and Albatross), Marc Samuelson (Tom & Viv), Dudi Appleton (The Most Fertile Man) and Emilia Fox also serve as executive producers, with Mark Brozel (Troy: Fall Of A City) and Appleton as directors, and Patricia Rybarczyk (Tango One) as producer.

Monday May 2nd on Acorn TV.