Seven has announced that The Doctor Blake Mysteries will return this year, however, it won’t be with the show’s star, Craig McLachlan, who is currently fighting charges of sexual harassment by his fellow actors.
Fairfax Media is reporting that a Seven spokesman has confirmed the return of the show that will have a new plot and will centre around Blake’s housekeeper and love interest Jean Beazley (played by the actress Nadine Garner).
Seven has declined to make any public comment, but a spokesperson did confirm to B&T that the show would return.
B&T understands that the new series hasn’t even gone into production and no release date has yet been confirmed.
The broadcaster won the rights to the period drama from the ABC last year well before the claims against McLachlan became public in January of this year.
The original complaints surfaced after a 2014 stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show where McLachlan played the lead role of Frank-N-Furter. McLachlan has said he will sue both Fairfax Media and the ABC for defamation following their joint-investigation.
In February this year, producers of The Doctor Blake Mysteries cleared McLachlan of any wrongdoing but admitted the work culture on set was often “bawdy and crude” which some people may have been offended by.
The findings of the report said: “There were no findings of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct or workplace bullying by Craig McLachlan or any other person on Doctor Blake.
“People highlighted the fact that Doctor Blake‘s workplace culture has consisted of, amongst other things, a workplace humour which has been described by many as sexual, lewd, bawdy, ‘Benny-Hill-esque’ and crude and that some of the behaviour relating to this humour may be offensive to people regardless of the fact no formal complaints have been received.”
