Friday, October 15, 2010 1:28 PM EDT

PM to film cameo on Victorian-era cop show

STEVEN CHASE

Stephen Harper is trading the Punch and Judy show of Canadian politics for a Victorian-era crime drama today, making a cameo appearance on a hit TV series that’s beloved by his daughter.

Mr. Harper will film his part for Murdoch Mysteries Friday in Toronto, sources say.

It’s expected the Prime Minister will appear as a policeman on the whodunit, which airs on CityTV and has built up a big international following in countries such Britain.

Sources say Mr. Harper’s daughter, Rachel, is a big fan of the Murdoch Mysteries, based on books by Maureen Jennings. The show follows the adventures of Detective William Murdoch, an investigator who solves murders in 1890s Toronto.

It’s not the Prime Minister’s first appearance on the small screen. Among other things, he’s appeared on CTV’s Corner Gas comedy show.

Mr. Harper’s official itinerary Friday included a meeting with the Murdoch Mysteries cast.

The show’s production website says the one-hour series portrays “a handsome young detective [using] radical forensic techniques to solve some of the city’s most gruesome murders.”

Detective Murdoch’s “unconventional approach elicits skepticism from his boss, Inspector Brackenreid.”

In the end, the detective “is often the only one who can crack the case.”

Maybe the story line in the case is that of a corrupt cop?