With the shortest day of the year upon us, TV viewers can look forward to an extra treat of winter sunshine in the new year, as the BBC has announced it is showcasing the first series of hit crime drama The Mallorca Files in a new slot on Saturday afternoons. In addition to its availability as a ten episode downloadable box set on BBC iPlayer, the first series will be available weekly at 5.30pm from Saturday 4 January.
Starring Elen Rhys as DC Miranda Blake and Julian Looman as DC Max Winter, The Mallorca Files centres around two mismatched detectives – an introverted Brit who is used to living by the rules, and her German counterpart, whose approach to policing involves little interest in process – who have to learn to work together, despite their differences on the eponymous Balaeric holiday island. The programme is set against the stunning back drop of Majorca, with sizzling chemistry between the leads; the witty scripts from Dan Sefton and his team of writers. and the catchy theme tune have all won the series a legion of fans.
In addition to the popular vote, the series has garnered critical acclaim from a wide range of outlets including The Times (“A perfect slab of daytime sunshine), RadioTimes.com (“Just the TV we need for a gloomy winter), while the Daily Mail’s Christopher Stevens gave the show a five star review calling it “hotter than spicy tapas”.
The Mallorca Files is a Cosmopolitan Pictures/Clerkenwell Films co-production for the BBC. Ben Donald and Murray Ferguson are executive producers, together with Dan Sefton who in season one led a team of writers, which included Rachael New, Sarah-Lou Hawkins, Dan Muirden and Alex McBride.