Season 1
Jonathan Creek: The Judas Tree is a feature-length episode of the BBC crime drama series Jonathan Creek, written and directed by series creator David Renwick, which focuses on a series of mysteries surrounding housekeeper Emily Somerton, including a vanishing house and the murder of her employer Harriet Dore.
The special aired in the UK on BBC One on 4 April, 2010. It is 94 minutes long.
The Judas Tree aired in South Africa on DStv's BBC Entertainment on Tuesday 21 December 2010, at 20h00.
Synopsis
When a young woman becomes seemingly possessed by the spirit of a Victorian sorceress, illusionist Jonathan Creek and intrepid investigator Joey Ross must fight to prove she is innocent of murder, as the supernatural detective drama returns for a one-off special.
In a lofty old timbered house on the outskirts of London, mystery surrounds the strange death of a former owner, Dr Thadeus Northcote, who, in 1889, fell victim to the supernatural powers of his Egyptian housekeeper and secret lover, the sensuously beautiful Selima Al Sharad.
Spurned by her master, she is said to have sealed his fate by correctly predicting the exact time and day he would meet a dreadful, agonising death - apparently without any physical or rational explanation.
More than a hundred years later the house, Green Lanterns, has become home to celebrated crime writer Hugo Dore and his publisher wife, Harriet. But even he has been unable to unlock the riddle of Dr Northcote's death.
And when he rescues sweet young Emily Somerton from her menial job in a shoe shop to assist his ageing housekeeper Mrs Gantry, the malign presence of her Victorian predecessor once again appears to stalk the house...
Gradually, Emily becomes convinced she is losing her mind, as a series of mysterious developments suggest she is no longer in control of her own actions - and that an unearthly force is encouraging her to commit murder...
Perhaps a chance meeting with a likeable young man in a duffel coat will offer an avenue of hope?