Anthony Horowitz & Lesley Manville Episode 6, Marble Hall Murders | MASTERPIECE Studio

And this week we are joined once again by Marble Hall Murders author, screenwriter, and executive producer, Anthony Horowitz.

Welcome.

Thank you very much.

It's a pleasure to talk to you.

So before we get to the finale, I do want to discuss the incredible cat and mouse scene in episode five between Susan and Charles in prison, which is a sensational two-hander between Lesley Manville and Michael Maloney.

They are both, to me, at the top of their game, as is director Rebecca Gatward.

How important was it to you that Susan facing her attacker get the final word in here?

But when you're writing what has become almost a long-running series, we now have done three seasons of it, you're always looking to do something new, something different, something you haven't done before, something that will make the whole show stand out.

And for me, it was that scene.

I mean, first of all, the fact that Michael Maloney agreed to come back for one day's filming, which is how long it took to shoot, incredibly, because the whole scene, I think, goes on for about 18 minutes.

They managed to do it in one day, which is all he had time for, was itself remarkable.

But to have actors of that caliber, and as you say, a brilliant director too, Creating a scene, which is all words, it's all dialogue.

It's just all down to performance.

For me, watching it, it was like watching a masterclass in acting.

There are so many levels to it of anger and hostility and that sort of coldness and a mocking quality.

And talking here about Michael's performance particularly.

So there's an element of Hannibal Lecter in it all.

really.

I mean, it's a meeting of pure evil in a way, and yet she has to defend herself, which I think she does in a fantastic way.

So I think just as a piece of drama is what it was.

But also, and I may have said this to you the last time we spoke, for me, the pleasure of being able to explore a killer after his identity has been revealed in a murder mystery story was... hugely appealing because normally you get to it was so-and-so, he or she is the killer, the end, and you never hear about them again.

This time I was able to actually explore.

We've had the crime.

Let's look at the punishment.

Let's look at what it means to this man to be locked up in a prison for pretty much the rest of his life, to be guilty of having taken another person's life.