Drama Matters: The Last Witch

Medieval stained glass and illuminated manuscripts plus scratchy titles and spooky music put us firmly in weird goings-on territory, and that’s before we learn we’re in real-world witch central (aka Halifax) where a mysterious murder has taken place. Is oddball character Alice Lister (Katherine Kelly, secretive but charismatic) involved?

The weird flashbacks that accompany her and the stray dog who’s adopted her, plus obvious supernatural abilities and hints of a centuries-old sibling feud would suggest so, but the various strands of an elliptical narrative that put her in the hands of charming historian Daniel and sweet-natured widow Miranda (Anne Reid, shifting effortlessly from sweet to menacing) take a long time to come together in Bafta-winning writer Sally Wainwright’s engaging tale.

Once they do, the devilish action develops at a breakneck pace to a denouement that will leave you feeling as cheated as the final episode of BBC2’s ‘The Fall’ did earlier this year. More please, and soon.