Cal Wilson hosts Sleuth 101.
Comedian Cal Wilson is happy to play host to Sleuth 101 if it means she doesn't have to work out whodunit.
Cal Wilson admits she's not so bright when it comes to detective work, but she still loves to play along.
As the host of the ABC's new comedy-mystery Sleuth 101, she concedes she missed a lot of the key clues herself and knows just how her guest detectives feel.
"I read the first script and I didn't pick them up either. My powers of observation are not great unless it's about what shoes you're wearing, or nice jewellery. But other than that, I'd missed the dead person with the knife sticking out of them!" she says.
"The show is a comedy whodunit that is a combination of pre-recorded footage and live interviews. But it's putting comedians who know they're funny way out of their comfort zone, which I think is one of the most enjoyable parts of it. It's watching people that you know have to struggle a bit more."
Guest detectives include Frank Woodley, Hamish Blake, Julia Morris, Adam Richard, Peter Rowsthorn, Claire Hooper and Colin Lane. The first sleuth is comedian Dave O'Neill.
"He loves a bit of old school '70s detective work," says Wilson. "Frank Woodley was his usual Frank Woodley self, writhing all over the furniture and causing mayhem. Adam Richard was probably my favourite which I probably shouldn't say, but he was just so incredibly mean to all the suspects. He had a blast. And every single comedian said to me afterwards 'Oh my God, that was really scary!'"
Wilson says the detectives get no rehearsal or cheat sheets to assist them in solving the crimes. The first time they witness the murder is at the same time as the audience, via a pre-recorded "murder" directly before they walk out in front of the cameras.
"The guest detectives literally arrive, get dressed backstage, they see the titles and that's the start of the show.
"The actors who are playing the suspects have a rehearsal in the afternoon and we use the warm up guy as the guinea pig to try and solve the mystery. I think he managed to get it once out of eight times."
Both detectives and suspects improvise their way through interrogation scenes with Wilson as host overseeing the action to ensure key clues emerge from the interviews.
"All of the stuff that you see in the pre-record is 'true' but the suspects are allowed to lie when they speak to the detectives," she says.
With guest actors including John Wood, Samuel Johnson, Mark Mitchell, Caroline Craig, Kimberley Davies, Robyn Butler, Alan Brough and Denise Drysdale the show looks like being a light precursor to ABC's darker UK mysteries on a Friday night.
"You get to warm up your detective skills on Sleuth 101 and then you go into the serious stuff."
Sleuth 101 airs 8pm Fridays on ABC1.
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