Agatha Raisin

Agatha Raisin, as portrayed by Ashley Jensen.

* Television series
* Book series

**Agatha Raisin** is the title character in the *Agatha Raisin* book series, as well as the subsequent radio and television adaptations.

She is a retired public relations executive who moved to the Cotswolds village of Carsely, where she became an amateur sleuth. She eventually became a licensed private investigator and set up her own detective agency.

She is portrayed by Ashley Jensen, and voiced by Penelope Keith in the radio adaptation.

## Biography

### Television series

#### Early life

One summer when she was a child, Agatha's parents took her to Carsely on a camping holiday. She found the countryside to be magical and knew she wanted to live there someday. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death*)

In her 20s Agatha was married to Jimmy Raisin who was good looking, drunk and always asking for money. She thought he had died until he turned up on her wedding day to James Lacey. (TV: *The Murderous Marriage*)

Agatha worked as one of London's top PR's and represented many people for her company including popular band Boyhood, they were part of her last work as a PR. She retired in 2014. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death*)

#### Season 1

After moving to Carsely, Agatha entered the village's annual quiche baking competition in an attempt to fit in. However, as she wasn't a skilled baker, she chose to buy a quiche from a speciality shop in London and pass it off as her own. Despite entering a professionally made quiche into the competition, Agatha lost to six time reigning champion Ella Cartwright, who was secretly having an affair with the judge. Later, when the judge ate some leftovers of Agatha's quiche and died of poisoning, Agatha set out to clear her name. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death*)

Agatha quickly developed a romantic interest in her next door neighbour James Lacey. Much to Agatha's annoyance, however, James had started dating Carsely newcomer Mary Fortune. Putting her PR experience to good use, Agatha helped promote the village's charity film night hosted at Charles Fraith's house. When rambler Jessica Tarnick was later murdered on Charles's property, Agatha was asked by the victim's friend to investigate. Enlisting the help of James, the two went undercover as a married couple to question the rest of Jessica's rambling group. (TV: *The Walkers of Dembley*)

Agatha joined the church bell ringing group and befriended the group's leader, Amanda Ballard. Agatha later discovered Amanda hanging from the belfry with a suicide note, but having gotten to know Amanda and her lifestyle she suspected foul play was involved. (TV: *Hell's Bells*)

Agatha once again put her PR skills to work when Roy Silver asked for her help with publicity for a mineral water company local to the Cotswolds. Following the death of the local Parish Council Chairman, who held the deciding vote on whether to allow the company to continue using the village's natural spring, Agatha didn't want to get involved. She then changed her mind after seeing James and Mary working together to investigate the murder. (TV: *The Wellspring of Death*)

In another effort to be part of the community, Agatha participated in Carsely's annual open garden competition - hoping to score points with a Zen garden. In addition to vandalisation and sabotage throughout the village ahead of the competition, Mary Fortune was found murdered and planted in her own back garden. With James left heartbroken, Agatha decided to investigate Mary's murder. (TV: *The Potted Gardener*)

After going on a date with village vet and heartthrob Paul Bladen, Agatha was shocked when he showed up dead the next day. Unconvinced by claims he committed suicide, Agatha and James investigated, only to find that Agatha wasn't the only woman in the village to fall under the young vet's charms. The stakes were upped, however, when halfway through her investigation a second murder occurred and Agatha started to receive threatening letters. (TV: *The Vicious Vet*)

After helping Charles rent out Barfield House as a wedding venue, Agatha quickly found herself investigating the murder of a young bride who apparently drowned in a flash flood after her wedding. (TV: *The Day the Floods Came*)

In order to escape personal embarrassment after a dying-disaster made her hair fall out, Agatha ditched Carsely for the vast Wyckhadden Hotel where she turned to a special hair tonic supplied by the local 'witch' Francie Juddle. However, Agatha became the centre of another scandal when the witch was discovered bludgeoned to death shortly after her arrival. Naturally, she began investigating in order to uncover the killer and clear her name. (TV: *The Witch of Wyckhadden*)

Due to marry James Lacey after the events in Wyckhadden, the wedding ceremony was halted mid-vow by the arrival of Jimmy Raisin, Agatha's ex-husband whom she believed was dead and had therefore neglected to mention to her fiancé. To make matters worse, Jimmy turns up dead in a ditch the very next day. With Agatha at the top of the suspect list, she raced to prove her innocence and save her relationship with James! (TV: *The Murderous Marriage*)

#### Season 2

After an utterly disastrous trip to Cyprus, Agatha returned to Carsely. Desperately in need of some pampering and a new look, Agatha turned to the capable hands of Evesham’s hottest new hairdresser, the alluring Jonny Shawpart. Despite her best efforts, it wasn't long before Agatha fell under his spell and accepted Jonny’s invitation to dinner. Later, having learnt that fellow Carsely Ladies Society member Liza Friendly was absolutely terrified of him, the gang quickly discovered that Liza wasn't the only woman afraid of Jonny. Agatha and her friends set out to discover whether he’d been blackmailing the village women, but things took an unexpected turn when Jonny dropped dead in his salon after being poisoned by ricin injected into his beloved vitamins.

Agatha waited until the police were distracted so she could steal Jonny’s keys and get into his house to hide any incriminating evidence he was using to blackmail local women. She was shocked to find his list of victims was much longer than she had imagined, forcing her to wonder if one of the women she had been so determined to protect may in fact be the killer. With the list of potential suspects growing, Agatha decided to look into Jonny’s mysterious past. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before her attention returned to the village with the news that her neighbour Deirdra Darry was found murdered. With the case now feeling more personal than ever, Agatha found renewed determination to find the killer before they had the chance to strike again. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Wizard of Evesham*)

Hearing that her ex-fiance James was due back in Carsely any moment, Agatha took herself away to the remote village of Fryfam, under the pretence of needing the solitude to write her debut novel. Struggling to find inspiration for said novel, Agatha was quickly distracted by odd flashing ethereal lights in her garden. Spooked by what she'd seen, she headed off to the pub and spoke to the barmaid, Rosie. She started to realise that the whole village was obsessed with fairies; local legend had it that they live there and protect the villagers, however, Agatha didn't feel very ‘protected’ when she later returned to the cottage to find an effigy of herself and a note telling her to leave the village.

Upon hearing that she’s somewhat of an investigator, Agatha was approached by Lucy Trumpington-James, who wanted her to investigate her husband Tolly, as she suspected he was having an affair with Rosie. The next day, Agatha headed to their manor house where she finally found a welcoming face in the village courtesy of Mrs. J, the cleaner. Having now met the rude and obnoxious Tolly, Agatha immediately agreed to help Lucy, and decided to lampoon the not-so charming country ‘gent’ in her newly inspired novel: a murder mystery titled 'The Posh Guy Had It Coming'.

Agatha’s longing for peace was short lived when Charles, bored of an Agatha-free Carsely came to join her. At his insistence, they decided to investigate the fairies... but their investigation skills turned to far more serious matters when Tolly was found dead! To make matters worse, local policeman DCI Hand somehow found suspicious evidence in Agatha’s cottage... alongside the more than incriminating manuscript of her novel. The pressure was on for Agatha and the gang to find the real killer and prove her innocence before anyone else got hurt.

Much to DCI Hand’s disappointment, the police lacked enough evidence to hold Agatha. She was promptly released, under the strictest instructions from Hand to stop meddling. Agatha promised she would, and stayed true to her word... for a minute or two... before pursuing the case with DCI Hand as her prime suspect. Now joined in Fryfam by Bill and Gemma, the gang started to think they were making headway until one of their suspects was found brutally murdered. Now on the hunt for a suspected serial killer, Agatha was more focussed than ever on the case... but knowing that the killer was so keen to frame her, Agatha knew that she needed to be more careful. It quickly became apparent that many of her new neighbours in Fryfam harboured dark secrets that they did not want Agatha to expose, but which one of them was the murderer? (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Fairies of Fryfam*)

Agatha and her friends were shocked to find Carsely's popular new curate, Tristan Delon, murdered in the vicarage. With Sarah the prime suspect in his murder, Agatha and the gang began working to prove her innocence. However, an unintentionally bad steer to the police from Agatha led to a local villager becoming the next victim.

After her investigating blunder led to a second murder, Agatha was ready to turn her back on investigating for good, leaving Sarah to feel even more helpless and now in the frame for two murders. However, when another villager was killed in front James, the close call put Agatha firmly back on the investigation. Agatha was once again determined to clear Sarah’s name as well as to protect her friends and loved ones. A drunken revelation at the annual Carsely Village duck race put Agatha hot on the murderer’s tail, but it soon became clear that this killer wasn't going to give up without a fight! (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Curious Curate*)

#### Season 3

Having become an officially licensed private detective, Agatha opened her own detective agency, but potential clients weren't exactly breaking down the door of her new office. In search of business, Agatha and James visited Ivy Hall, a house said to be haunted since the English Civil War. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Haunted House*)

Business at the agency had been booming ever since Agatha solved the mystery surrounding the haunting of Ivy Hall. However, a scathing newspaper article by Inspector Wilkes, claiming Agatha was nothing more than an amateur who got lucky, began to harm the business. When Charles brought in his wealthy friend to hire the agency to investigate death threats against her daughter, Agatha had the opportunity to prove her critics wrong. After disaster struck at the daughter's engagement party, Agatha enrolled in dance lessons to try to outmanoeuvre the culprit. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Deadly Dance*)

Tensions between Agatha and James were running high ahead of a smooth jazz night at Barfield House. Agatha quickly became jealous when Melissa Sheppard, James' alleged writing partner, showed up at the event and greeted him with a kiss. Shortly afterwards, Melissa was found dead by the police and James had suddenly disappeared too, forcing Agatha to team up with her former enemy Sheila to find James and clear his name. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Love from Hell*)

To take her mind off her breakup with James, Agatha and the gang ventured out to the Winter Fayre, where the highlight of the evening is the roast pig on a spit. The event turned into a crime scene, however, when the main course turned out to be a tattooed human torso. (TV: *Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns*)

### Book series

#### Early life

Agatha came from a working-class family in Birmingham. As a child, her family usually went away to Butlin's Holiday Camp, however, one summer Agatha's parents took her to the Cotswolds on holiday instead. She found the countryside beautiful and tranquil. She knew even as a child that one day she'd live there. In order to keep her dream intact, she didn't visit the Cotswolds again until after she had purchased a house in the village of Carsely many years later.

Her parents made her leave school at age fifteen to work in a biscuit factory. The women she worked with annoyed her and she was disgusted by her parents' constant drunkenness. This prompted her to work extra time, putting away money in a savings account that her parents couldn't access. One day she decided she'd had enough and left for London without even saying goodbye to her parents. In London, she began working as a waitress seven days a week until she could afford shorthand and typing lessons. Once qualified, she got a secretary job at a public relations firm.

Just as she was beginning to learn the business, she fell in love with Jimmy Raisin. Jimmy had no steady employment, but Agatha thought that marriage would motivate him to settle down. They got married and lived together in Kilburn. Only after marrying him did she realise that he was just another drunk. After two years of marriage she decided she was tired of being the sole breadwinner in the relationship and sick of putting up with his increasing bouts of drunken violence. One morning she simply packed her belongings and moved out. She had expected him to turn up eventually, if only for money, but he never did. On one occasion she returned to their place in Kilburn to find he had simply disappeared. Consequently, she assumed he was dead and never even filed for divorce, not that she intended to marry again.

Agatha continued to work hard at her job, becoming more ambitious and quickly developing a taste for the expensive clothing you'd expect of a high up public relations executive. (BOOK: *Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death*)

#### Life in Carsely

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

Having retired and sold her public relations company, Agatha moved from London to the sleepy village of Carsely in the Cotswolds. Initially, she found village life dull and lonely. As the newest incomer, she found it hard to ingratiate herself among the villagers. After hearing about the village's upcoming best quiche competition, she figured that participating in the competition would help her fit in to village life and earn her favour among the locals.

Not much of a baker, Agatha bought an expensive quiche from a professional bakery in London which she entered into the competition as her own. When the competition judge later dropped dead, poisoned by Agatha's entry, her lie was exposed and her status in the village sunk even lower. She decided she must turn amateur sleuth to save her name.

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

Using her recently acquired cat as an excuse, Agatha dressed up to the nines to visit the village's new veterinary surgery for an appointment with the handsome vet Paul Bladen but she arrived to find practically all the women of Carsely in the waiting room! She was later delighted when Paul invited her out for dinner, however, her flirtation with the vet was cut short by his untimely demise, prompting her to take up her second case as an amateur detective. The police were keen to write off Paul's death as a tragic accident, but Agatha and neighbour James Lacey suspected foul play.

Their investigations led them to the discovery that the vet was busy romancing half the women in the village with the aim of extracting money from them, apparently to feed his gambling habit.

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

Jealous of James’s new love interest, divorcée and wizard gardener Mary Fortune, Agatha called in help from her friend Roy to provide an instant garden for the village open day, pretending that her own hard work and aptitude have created the vision. As the horticultural show approached, a series of petty crimes were committed against the contenders and Mary came under suspicion as the potential perpetrator. After the show, however, James and Agatha were horrified to discover Mary's dead body ‘planted’ head down in one of her own flowerpots. The pair set about trying to find her murderer.

Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley

After six months in London working for the PR firm she sold her business to, Agatha returned to her beloved Cotswold village to find James running a local ramblers’ club. In order to lose weight, and get closer to her attractive neighbour, she signed up for the walks. When the body of militant rambler Jessica Tartinck was found in the middle of local baronet Sir Charles Fraith's field, he was arrested and Agatha was asked to investigate by Carsely neighbour Mrs. Mason, whose niece had recently started dating Sir Charles. To find out who the true killer was, Agatha and James posed as a married couple in the victim's nearby town of Dembley and joined the Ramblers’ Association, discovering a whole range of suspects with a motive to kill Jessica.

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

At last, Agatha is about to marry the handsome James Lacey. As she went about making her wedding plans, she was fully aware that she never divorced her alcoholic ex, Jimmy Raisin, and had lied to James, telling him that her first husband died of drink years ago. Aware she had no proof that this is the case, and terrified to delay the nuptials in case she lost the love of her life, Agatha opted to get married in the registry office instead of the village church, upsetting her friend, Mrs Bloxby as well as many of the villagers.

As a blissful Agatha prepared to become Mrs. Lacey, the wedding was halted by local policeman Fred Griggs, who had met Jimmy in the village and discovered that Agatha was about to commit bigamy. Faced with Jimmy, Agatha screamed, ‘I’ll kill you, you bastard,’ in front of the gathered guests. A furious James told her that she had disgraced him and he would never forgive her. Devastated, she payed Jimmy to go away and retired to her empty home to lick her wounds. As dawn broke the following day, Agatha ventured out, only to be confronted by her drunken ex. She shoved him into a ditch screeching, ‘Why don’t you die?’ When Jimmy was found dead in the same ditch, less than an hour later, Agatha was charged with his murder. Having sold her house, she had nowhere to go until James returned and offered her his spare room. Together they sought out to find the real murderer and clear their own names. While all roads seemed to lead to a Mrs. Serena Gore-Appleton, who had attended a health farm with Jimmy, the mysterious lady seemed impossible to track down.

## Personality

### Television series

Once an acerbic public relations executive, Agatha has become a sassy amateur detective. She is often direct, stubborn and unafraid to speak her mind.

Agatha is known to comfort eat when she's lonely or anxious. Her therapist believed she defined herself through work. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death*)

### Book series

After making a life for herself in London, working hard at her job and surviving her disappointing marriage to Jimmy Raisin, Agatha found herself becoming more competent and aggressive until eventually the shy girl she used to be disappeared under layers of ambition. (BOOK: *Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death*)

## Physical appearance

### Television series

Agatha has blonde hair, which she wears in a bob. She wears sharp, bold and figure-hugging clothes with high heels and a handbag.

### Book series

Agatha is described as having shiny brown hair cut in a Dutch bob, a plain square face and a stocky figure. (BOOK: *Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death*)

## Appearances

* Television appearances
* Book appearances
* Radio appearances

* Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death

**Season 1 (8/8)**

* 1.01 - The Walkers of Dembley
* 1.02 - Hell's Bells
* 1.03 - The Wellspring of Death
* 1.04 - The Potted Gardener
* 1.05 - The Vicious Vet
* 1.06 - The Day the Floods Came
* 1.07 - The Witch of Wyckhadden
* 1.08 - The Murderous Marriage

**Season 2 (3/3)**

* 2.01 - Agatha Raisin & the Wizard of Evesham
* 2.02 - Agatha Raisin & the Fairies of Fryfam
* 2.03 - Agatha Raisin & the Curious Curate

**Season 3 (4/4)**

* 3.01 - Agatha Raisin & the Haunted House
* 3.02 - Agatha Raisin & the Deadly Dance
* 3.03 - Agatha Raisin & the Love from Hell
* 3.04 - Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns

**Season 4 (4/4)**

* 4.01 - Agatha Raisin & Kissing Christmas Goodbye
* 4.02 - Agatha Raisin: Love, Lies & Liquor
* 4.03 - Agatha Raisin & a Spoonful of Poison
* 4.04 - Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride

- 1 - Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death

- 2 - Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet

- 3 - Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener

- 4 - Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley

- 5 - Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

- 6 - Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

- 7 - Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

- 8 - Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

- 9 - Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

- 10 - Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam

- 11 - Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell

- 12 - Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came

- 13 - Agatha Raisin and the Curious Curate

- 14 - Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House

- 15 - Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance

- 16 - Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon

- 17 - Agatha Raisin and Love, Lies and Liquor

- 18 - Agatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye

- 19 - Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison

- 20 - Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride

- 21 - Agatha Raisin and the Busy Body

- 22 - Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns

- 23 - Agatha Raisin and Hiss and Hers

- 24 - Agatha Raisin: Something Borrowed, Someone Dead

- 25 - Agatha Raisin and the Blood of an Englishman

- 26 - Agatha Raisin: Dishing the Dirt

- 27 - Agatha Raisin: Pushing up Daisies

- 28 - Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree

- 29 - Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer

- 30 - Agatha Raisin: Beating About the Bush

- 31 - Agatha Raisin: Hot to Trot

- 32 - Agatha Raisin: Down the Hatch

- 33 - Agatha Raisin and the Devil's Delight (upcoming)

**Short stories**

* Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble
* Agatha Raisin: Hell's Bells
* Agatha's First Case

- The Quiche of Death

**Series 1 (6/6)**

* 1.01 - The Vicious Vet
* 1.02 - The Body in the Bathroom
* 1.03 - The Potted Gardener
* 1.04 - The Gardener's Legacy
* 1.05 - The Walkers of Dembley
* 1.06 - A Marriage of Convenience

**Series 2 (6/6)**

* 2.01 - The Curious Curate
* 2.02 - Duck and Cover
* 2.03 - Buried Treasure
* 2.04 - The Civil War
* 2.05 - The Wizard of Evesham
* 2.06 - The Moment of Truth

**Series 3 (6/6)**

* 3.01 - The Murderous Marriage
* 3.02 - The Disappearing Trick
* 3.03 - The Terrible Tourist
* 3.04 - The Green-Eyed Monster
* 3.05 - The Fairies of Fryfam
* 3.06 - Murder in the Dark

## Gallery

A full photo gallery with pictures of **Agatha Raisin** can be found ***here***.
## Trivia

* Her typical breakfast consists of one cup of instant black coffee and two filtertipped cigarettes. (BOOK: *Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death*, *Agatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns*)
* Before moving to Carsely, she had not cycled since the age of six. (BOOK: *Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death*)
* While living in London, Agatha had regular therapy sessions. She stopped these sessions shortly after moving to Carsely. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death*)
* She has two pet cats, Boswell and Hodge. (BOOK: *Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet*)
	+ In the television adaptation, she only has Hodge as a pet. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Quiche of Death*)
* Agatha married Jimmy Raisin when she was 22. (TV: *The Day the Floods Came*)
* Agatha was born in Dumfries. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Fairies of Fryfam*)
* At college, Agatha studied photography. (TV: *Agatha Raisin & the Haunted House*)