Diana Quick is Cecelia Weiss in Houdini & Doyle

Here's some Houdini & Doyle casting news that has been keep under wraps until now. Houdini's mother, Cecelia Weiss, will appear in the series played by 69-year-old Diana Quick, a popular British stage and television actress best known for her role as Lady Julia Flyte in the series Brideshead Revisited.

Quick joins the ranks of Angela Clarke (Houdini '53), Ruth Gordon (The Great Houdinis), Rita Zohar (Young Harry Houdini), Grace Zabriskie (Houdini '98), and Eszter Ónodi (Houdini Miniseries) in playing Houdini's "sainted" mother.

But the series might be using Cecelia's character in a unique way. As I reported back in November, she may also appear as a young woman played by 29-year-old actress Bo Martyn. Whether this will be in flashbacks or maybe something more supernatural remains to be seen.

Houdini & Doyle episode one, "The Maggie’s Redress", airs this Sunday at 10:15 PM on ITV and ITV Encore in the UK. The series will air on FOX in the U.S. and Global TV in Canada starting May 2.

Related:

• Final two episodes of Houdini & Doyle feature "Young Cecilia"
• 100 years ago: Mama's death and the birth of a myth
• Houdini & Doyle - Episode Guide