‘Watson’ Casts Rachel Hayward as Lestrade — Get Scoop on Her Dynamic With John (PHOTOS)

Dr. John Watson (Morris Chestnut) is about to meet Lestrade — but in the CBS drama, this character is not a detective inspector with Scotland Yard or male, like in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Rachel Hayward will guest star as Detective Lestrade, who’s with the Pittsburgh Police, TV Insider has learned exclusively. She appears in the April 20 episode, “The Man with the Alien Hand,” of Watson, and we also have the first look photos of her at her desk and with Watson (above and below).

Sergei Bachlakov / CBS

In this episode, the 10th of the season, Watson is thrown into a detective case when he is unsure whether the patient he is treating for one of the rarest ailments in the world, Alien Hand Syndrome, is guilty of pushing his brother in front of a bus to his death.

“When Watson comes to believe that one of his patients is guilty of a crime in our 10th episode, it presented a natural opportunity to introduce Watson‘s version of the iconic Detective Lestrade,” executive producer and showrunner Craig Sweeny previews for us. “Even though Lestrade has spent 20 years investigating murders with the Pittsburgh Police, Watson presents her with the most outlandish theory she’s ever heard. Lestrade (played with deadpan brilliance by Rachel Hayward) is initially wary of Watson, but she comes to appreciate his unique mind and the two of them wind up eager to collaborate again.”

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In the series premiere, Watson mentioned another Scotland Yard inspector, Gregson, and after, Sweeny confirmed to us that we wouldn’t see that character this season. He also teased Lestrade’s appearance at the time, calling the detective and Watson’s collaboration “very much … an ongoing relationship.”

What do you think of the casting of Rachel Hayward as Lestrade? Let us know in the comments section below.

Watson, Sundays, 9/8c, CBS