Ashley Jensen reckons she'd be an 'absolutely terrible' detective in real life – unlike her on-screen alter ego Agatha Raisin.
Extras star Ashley reprises her role as the PR whizz-turned-amateur sleuth fighting crime in the Cotswolds as the comedy drama returns to Sky1 for a new eight-part series this week.
But while she described Agatha as an 'excellent detective', she was certain it wasn't a job she could do. "Oh no, I would be absolutely terrible," Ashley told What's on TV. "I bundle about in a permanent state of chaos!"
Talking about what makes Agatha a good detective, Ashley said: "She's using all her skills that she had as a PR executive, she is incredibly organised, she has an eye for detail, she has a way of getting people to do exactly what she wants, she's quite a good manipulator. She's just a real modern woman. She wears this clothing – the lips, the make-up and the heels – like a suit of armour but underneath she's a real woman."
Each week, Agatha is aided in her investigations by former PA Roy Silver (former Gavin & Stacey star Mathew Horne) and neighbour James Lacey (ex-Waterloo Road star Jamie Glover), who Agatha has a real soft spot for.
"They have a sort of magnetic relationship," said Ashley. "The opposite ends of a magnet; they really annoy each other but they're strangely drawn to each other. He is everything that she is not; he's an academic, he's quiet, he's dignified, he is – in her eyes – a proper gentleman.
"Agatha doesn't attract men very easily, so she's got her sights set on James Lacey and it becomes an interesting relationship throughout the series."
With her sassy outfits, killer heels and designer handbags, Agatha is a somewhat unlikely detective. But Ashley admitted her outfits don't get in the way of catching criminals.
"I can walk on any terrain in four-inch stilettos now," said Ashley. "I can walk on gravel, cobbles and in long grass, mud. I can scale walls, I can climb ladders and crawl in windows. Those shoes were extremely useful… I picked locks, I broke windows. They were her weapon really."
Agatha Raisin starts on Tuesday June 7 at 9pm on Sky1.
Watch our full interview with Ashley Jensen, above...
