The Penultimate Episode of 'Madame Blanc Mysteries' Season 4 Features Death by Umbrella

There’s great excitement in the penultimate episode of Season 4 of Acorn TV’s The Madame Blanc Mysteries when the much-beloved British TV show Antique Antics comes to Saint-Victoire. In a case of TV imitating TV, Antique Antics is highly reminiscent of Antiques Roadshow and its many other spinoffs. For antique expert turned detective Jean White (Sally Lindsay) it’s a chance to meet up with old friends, and see a glimpse of the proverbial path not taken. She chose her life in Saint-Victoire instead of accepting an offer to become the host of the show. While she has the personality and expertise, she knew she would hate the publicity and lack of privacy, whereas she enjoys life in an idyllic French village, with good friends, lots of wine, and last but not least, her almost-fiancé, Dom. At least, we think she does. Because, as we saw last week, some cracks have started appearing in that perfect relationship.

But Jean is delighted that her old friend David (Les Dennis), the host of Antique Antics, now enjoys fame and fortune as a genial, courteous foil to his younger, arrogant, and ambitious co-host Nick (Richard Black).

Crowds gather outside in the bright sunlight to have their trash/treasures evaluated. The event takes place in the Lloyd-Jameses’ palatial summer house, and the couple are, as ever, ready to schmooze and explore new business ventures. But where are the stars of the show and the crew? Their van broke down on the trip from the airport, but Gloria and her beloved Electric LadyVan came to the rescue. Nick and glamorous presenter Elaine (Lorraine Burroughs) are not at all happy as they wait for Gloria to fix the vehicle. In a separate but equally unfortunate incident, the tech crew is stuck in Gatwick. Will the show go on? Of course it will!

As they wait for the presenters to arrive, Jeremy Lloyd-James accepts a gift bag for Elaine from a mostly harmless stalker named Nigel (Graeme Hawley) who comes to every show. Although Nigel isn’t allowed contact with Elaine, the staff will accept gifts; this time it's a box of chocolates. Nick, brandishing a large black umbrella as sun protection, is less than gracious, but Jean and the gang pitch in to get the filming underway. Jeremy appoints himself in charge of refreshments, and  Judith offers to hold the boom, but she’s really too short (and too ditzy) so Dom takes over. 

Judith is delighted to be reassigned to makeup and, ignoring director Paul’s advice on subtlety, goes for Full Clown. Dom can’t help but notice how close Jean is to Director Paul (Edward MacLiam), and he’s suspicious of Jean and David’s mutual affection. (Get over it, Dom!) Gloria has brought a treasure from her bathroom, a lithograph of the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo (not a favorite hero in France), which Elaine values at €600, to her delight. Aloof at first, Elaine warms to Gloria and the two chat like old friends while Paul struts arrogantly around the room with his umbrella, insulting anyone who gets in his way.

Jean is made uncomfortable when she learns both Paul and David plan to create a spin-off of the current show, and she could be in the running to host. She’s also not pleased to see Dom ordered about by the Antique Antics staff.

But as Paul gives his closing statement for the episode, a woman screams nearby. Gloria runs to investigate and finds Elaine is dying, probably poisoned. Police Chief Inspector André Caron arrives to take statements. Nick, clearly not known for his warmth or tact, explains that although Elaine was a brilliant dealer, she lacked warmth onscreen and had annoying showbiz habits such as only drinking pure spring water. In fact, on the drive from the airport, she lost her bottle of water, and David provided her with a fresh one.

Gloria is in shock from Elaine’s death, particularly as the two women had bonded in their short time together. Judith insists she rest and escorts her to a bedroom where Gloria admits she is succumbing to a migraine but doesn’t have her medication with her. In a rare moment of empathy, Judith shares that she also suffered from migraines after losing twin babies, and offers to go to Gloria’s garage to find her medication. Even though Caron has ordered no one should leave the murder scene, Judith and Jeremy sneak out of the house on their errand of mercy.

Caron is very interested in David as a suspect, since he gave Elaine a bottle of water, and Jean is furious. She knows David is no murderer, and when she takes a closer look at the footage, she discovers that Elaine ate one of the chocolates that stalker Nigel brought as a gift to her. But Judith and Jeremy polished off the rest of the chocolates, and they are both perfectly well.

Jean finds out there’s more to Nigel and Elaine’s relationship. Some years ago, Nigel, short of funds for his mother’s funeral, asked Elaine to buy a painting the family owned. Elaine gave him £1,000, but recognized the artist was none other than Mary Cassatt, and she’d sold it for £20,000. Now he stalks her to remind her what she owes him. But David is still a suspect, and Caron asks Jean to sit in on his interview. She is furious and refuses.

Meanwhile, Dom seethes with resentment as Jean pays more attention to David, and even more to Paul. Feeling better, Gloria asks Jean if she’ll sell her Battle of Waterloo lithograph because she feels it’s tainted by Elaine’s death. She tells Jean that Elaine had a recent mosquito bite on her leg, which was odd because there are no mosquitoes at this altitude. Thinking back to Gloria and Elaine’s discussion of the lithograph, Jean remembers Nick was being his usual obnoxious self, pushing Judith out of the way and dropping his umbrella on the floor as he made his way to the camera for the show’s closing speech. And Jean understands what happened, remembering a case on the first season of Antique Antics that featured a Bulgarian Umbrella. 

In 1978, Bulgarian dissident writer Georgi Ivanov Markov was murdered on Waterloo Bridge in London by the Bulgarian Secret Service. The weapon was an umbrella with the tip engineered to a sharp point and containing a lethal dose of ricin, and when a Bulgarian Umbrella showed up on Antique Antics, Nick bought it. Just in case, you know, he needed to dispose of a rival, which Elaine was now. Antique Antics was slated to end, and she, not Nick, had been chosen to host a new show.

After Nick is arrested, the show is packed up, with Dom staying behind to help, and Paul and Jean go for a drink together at La Couronne. Paul announces he has some exciting news, and grabs both her hands, just as Dom walks in. Dom assumes the worst, and both he and Jean are very angry. She tells him that her old friend Paul was sharing the news that, after years of trying, his wife was finally pregnant. Paul even has the image of the 12-week scan on his phone. Jean is insulted that Dom didn’t trust her, and worse, that he resents her professional work, just as he did on Malta last week. All this on the verge of an engagement announcement, which now seems more of a desperate power grab by Dom than anything else. Will they resolve their relationship next week in the Season 4 finale?

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Season 4 continues with new episodes every Monday through August 4, 2025, on Acorn TV. Seasons 1 through 3 are available to stream on Acorn TV. You can also watch Seasons 1 and 2 on select PBS Passports––check your local streaming services.