Murder Most Horrid was a black comedy series shown on television on the BBC throughout the 1990s starring Dawn French.
Each show was a new story written by a different writer and starred a new cast in a similar vein to Alfred Hitchcock Presents but with a comedic twist. Dawn French, who starred in all of them, played a different role each week, sometimes being the murderer and sometimes the victim. This highlighted her versatility as a solo actress.
The series started in 1991 as a pilot created by Anthony Horowitz and made by Talkback Productions, a company owned by Smith and Jones. Its high quality scripts parodying the traditional British murder mystery became well known by a select group of fans, but its dark humour made it less of a mainstream hit than other series starring French such as The Vicar of Dibley.
Filmed in London, England, French's roles varied hugely including roles as a domineering femme fatale, a shy policewoman, a determined scientist and the grim reaper dressed in a powder pink suit.
The series ended after four seasons in 1999 when French decided to become a stay-at-home mum. Over the 8 years it was aired it received a British Comedy award for Best TV Comedy Drama and Best Comedy Series.
Special guests on the series were numerous. Famous actors included names such as Jane Asher, Tony Slattery, Kathy Burke, Michael Elphick, Nigel Havers and Thelma Barlow.
Sources
http://www.bbcprograms.com/pbs/catalog/murdermost/murdmain.htm
http://dawnfrench.tripod.com/murdermosthorrid.html
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-3979/Murder_Most_Horrid/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101149/