A murder-mystery series set in Marlow and based on a series by a local novelist is up for two National Television Awards.

Robert Thorogood, who has lived in Marlow for more than a decade and is known as the brains behind the BBC’s hugely popular Death in Paradise, took to social media this week to celebrate the news that a dramatisation of his latest venture – a series of murder-mystery novels – had been nominated for two major small-screen awards.

The Marlow Murder Club, a two-part series based on the first novel in Thorogood’s series, has been nominated in two categories at this year's National Television Awards (NTAs).

It followed retiree and crossword writer Judith Potts, played by Downton Abbey’s Samantha Bond, as she recruited two new friends to help solve the mysterious death of her neighbour across the Thames, and drew in record viewership numbers of 2.7 million while airing on the Drama channel and UKTV in March.

The series has been nominated in the NTA’s Best New Drama category with Bond also up for Best Drama Performance for her turn as the heroine sleuth.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Thorogood said he was “thrilled” to see the newly adapted TV show up for two awards alongside previous creations, Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise.

He encouraged his followers to vote for The Marlow Murder Club in particular, writing: “We’re a very new show on a very small channel and we need all the help we can get!”

READ MORE: The Marlow Murder Club review: Cosy crime with local inspiration front and centre

It comes after UKTV confirmed this week that a second series of the locally-filmed production is underway, with crews expected to return to the town this summer.

Thorogood will join forces with Midsomer Murders writer Julia Gilbert and Lucia Haynes to pen the screenplay for the second series, with the first two episodes focusing on his second book, Death Comes to Marlow, and the next four based on original, standalone stories.

Bond, Cara Horgan and Jo Martin will return as Marlow's trio of sleuths-in-residence Judith, Becks and Suzie, to investigate "a seemingly impossible murder inside a locked study", "an unexpectedly brutal accident at the prestigious Marlow sailing club", and more.

The first series was met with a positive local reaction after hitting small screens in the spring, with Mayor David Brown describing it as a “fantastic love letter to the town” and vicar’s wife Helen Bull, who maintains that fictional counterpart Becks was not based on her, telling the Free Press it was a “fantastic” watch.

Voting for the National Television Awards is open now at https://www.nationaltvawards.com/. Nominees will be narrowed down to a final shortlist before the winners are announced during the ceremony at The 02 London on September 11.