Although I was completely unaware of the Good Witch franchise that has been a fixture on the Hallmark Network for ten years now, the popular series based on the movies that is currently in its fourth season on the Hallmark Channel is a show that I have followed from its inception. I was instantly smitten with the character Mayor Martha and the actress who portrays her to a fault, Catherine Disher. Recently, I had the supreme joy of chatting with Catherine, and this woman is such a treat to interview. We discussed all things Good Witch, but indeed, our connection was much more powerful than the effervescent character she has been playing for over ten years. 

Copyright 2009 Crown Media Holdings, Inc./Photographer Chris Helcermanas-Benge

RH: Catherine, I am so very glad I get to talk with you today! 

CD: Thank you, Ruth, and thank you for reaching out. Happy to talk with you.

I actually listened to an interview you recently did with the Hallmarkies Podcast since they and I do a lot of collaboration, and it was so much fun. I want to tell you that it is your character, Mayor Martha, that is the reason I started watching  Good Witch.

Aw, that’s so sweet.

Good Witch

And it’s funny. My daughter’s name is Martha, so when I heard there was this character on the show named Martha, I was very interested in watching.

My mother’s name was Martha.

Oh, that’s interesting! Well, for some reason, I had never watched the movies nor heard about the franchise until the show came along. We didn’t always have the Hallmark Channel, but when Hallmark asked me to review this new show, I did. And although I enjoyed all the characters, I loved your character. 

That’s very sweet. Well, maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t watch the movies because I was the bad guy in the movies.

That’s what I understand. People have told me that. I have plans to go back and watch all the movies, but I have not as of yet. I am watching all the new Hallmark stuff, and I don’t always get to watch their old programming.

They really are producing so much new content, and it’s just great. A lot of movies and series. But from the movies, Martha has evolved, I think. And I’m nothing like Martha. I play her and there’s some of my humor in there. I always try to inject humor wherever I can. In the first movie, I guess you’d say Martha was a real bad guy, and the second one she wasn’t too nice either. It took her awhile to come around. {laughs}

That’s what I understand. When I was asking the fans for questions to ask you, the fans were telling me about your character being the bad guy.

Good Witch

It was odd when they started to make Martha nice. I almost didn’t know what to do with her. And I still play her with a little bit of an edge because she can be a bit impulsive and childish. And the first thing that goes through her head usually comes out of her mouth. I think Cassie makes her want to be a better person. Martha’s first impulse is not necessarily nice. It is more of an egotistical and selfish impulse. The good thing with Martha, however, is that she usually redeems herself by the end of the episode.

Absolutely. And what you said about Cassie, well, I think Cassie inspires everybody to be a better person.  And Cassie always thinks the best of everybody. I think she looks at a person and always sees their potential and what they’re capable of. And I love that about her.

That’s absolutely true. And I think that’s one of the gifts of the show. It’s called Good Witch, but the “magic” in the Good Witch is a very human kind of “magic.” Cassie is just a very perceptive person, and she sees the best in everybody, even the not-so-great characters. It’s really kind of inspiring. And Catherine Bell herself is an extremely nice person. She’s just lovely. And I’ve worked with her now for over ten years, and I’ve never seen her upset or irritated…maybe slightly. I’ve worked on so many sets and series before this, and the number one on the call sheet is not always such a patient or thoughtful person in regards to the other people around them. Catherine is the exact opposite of that type; she has been a pleasure to work with for over ten years.

Wow, it’s hard to believe that Good Witch has been around for ten years. When you guys started those movies, did you have any concept that ten years later you’d still be playing these characters? 

Oh, no, not at all. In fact, when we did the first movie, I was doing another series at the time. I was on a cop show, kind of a procedural. I had to beg, borrow, and steal to get the time off to do the movies. Catherine was doing Army Wives. So we both had to steal the time, and Hallmark did whatever they could to shoot around our schedules. Chris Potter was in the movies, and he was shooting another series at the time as well. So it just became this thing that we would come together once a year and shoot a Good Witch movie for two weeks. It was fun to see everybody, and generally, we had the same crew. We always had the same director, Craig Pryce. It was always fun, and it was just like Old Home Week.

When we were shooting the last movie, Catherine got word during the shooting that Army Wives had been canceled. Because the movies were so successful, we had been talking for some time about the possibility of being able to make Good Witch into a series. So when she heard about Army Wives being canceled–that was in the fall the year before we started shooting the series–a little light came into everybody’s eyes as the possibility became more real. I am so happy that we get to be able to do this. I think Mayor Martha is the only character I can play now.

Actually, you have been in another Hallmark film, Love’s Complicated. 

Love Is Complicated

Yeah, I think it was called something else first, like My Life As a Doormat, which was a really unusual title. I understand it was based on a book by the same name. That was fun. It was a very short gig for me. It was filmed up north here in Ontario. I’ve never had a bad experience yet on a Hallmark set. It’s always a very pleasant experience.

That’s what I’ve heard from so many people. Those I have interviewed who have been on a Hallmark set always say it’s a positive experience. I don’t tend to hear negative things about working with Hallmark. 

We had a couple of actors from Cedar Cove a couple seasons back. They were guest stars on the show {Teryl Rothery and Rebecca Marshall}, and they had an equally fabulous time shooting Cedar Cove. I think part of that is the material. You’re not out killing zombies or worrying about some terrorist attack in the script. It’s very human stuff, and it’s generally uplifting. And I think that permeates the set.

I would agree. In my case, I have a daughter who will be turning fifteen and my two parents who are retired, and we all live out in the country together. We don’t live on a farm, but we have two miniature goats.

I had a goat when I was growing up named Tripper. We lived on a farm outside Montreal when I was growing up. My father was a psychiatrist. My mother bred horses that never made it, so we got to ride them as hunters. My father dabbled in beef cattle. I had a goat and a Shetland pony, and when I had to go back to school at the end of the summer, I had to pass the goat off to the Shetland pony. So the goat followed the Shetland pony around forever. But I loved that goat. Goats are incredible. Once they bond with you, they are just relentless. And they are incredibly persistent. With Tripper, if she didn’t see me, she would wake up in the morning and run out of the barn and stand outside our house and bleat for hours until I came out. And she ate every flower my mother planted. I would bring her in the house, and she’d make a mess, and it was mayhem. She had a big crush on one of our dogs. She used to follow him around too.

Our dog would love to play rough with the goats if she could, but we just can’t let her because we’re afraid she’d hurt them. She’s definitely my dad’s dog as well, and doesn’t always mind us. She’s very spoiled. She knows she has to follow the rules when she’s with us, but she doesn’t follow the rules when she’s with him. 

I inherited my dad’s dog. She’s half golden retriever. Her mother was a pure-bred golden retriever, and one day she got out, and she bred with I-don’t-know-what. So I’ve got Cindy now, my dad’s dog, the progeny of that union. She’s half Golden, but maybe a little bit of German Shepherd and Husky. I’ve got my dog too, which is an Aussiedoodle. We’re overrun with animals at the moment. A turtle in the bathtub. The tank had an irretrievable algae problem so I finally ditched the tank, and now I’ve got the turtle in one of our bathtubs.

We don’t have a turtle, but we do have seven cats. 

I have three. I had four, but I had to put one down recently. I am of your ilk. We are kindred spirits in the animal department.

We used to have more cats. Most of ours are formerly feral, and we finally got them all fixed. One good thing is they keep the rodent population down out here in the country.

That is good. So they can go outside? You’re not too worried about the coyotes getting them?

Mostly they seem to be able to take care of themselves. We may have lost a couple to coyotes, but we haven’t lost any cats in quite some time which is good. I have lived other places in my life, but I was born in Washington state, and I’m glad I’m living back here now.

I like the cool humid weather. I guess that’s the British in me. I don’t like the heat.

So, Catherine, how did you get started out in the entertainment industry?

Well, I started doing theater as a teenager, and I went to a boarding school in New Hampshire. I was born in England, but I grew up in Montreal. I went to Phillips Exeter Academy. When I was there, they had this amazing acting teacher, Rodney Marriott. He was a real character. He was just a fantastic theater teacher. I did tons of student-run theater there.

When I left, I went back to McGill University in Montreal, and there were two student-run theaters. And that’s all I did. Theater, theater, theater. I lived in a house with the directors of both student theaters. That’s what I did for four years. And then I auditioned for the National Theater School of Canada and went to theater school.

I graduated when I was twenty-five and moved to Toronto. I thought I would be doing theater work, but almost immediately I started getting TV work. I was still doing theater for the first couple years, but I was doing TV work as well. The TV and voice worked happened rather quickly for me. So I just gradually fell out of doing theater work. I haven’t counted recently how many TV series I have done, but I think it’s around eight or nine television series over the years. Some ran for one year, and some ran for three.

And I’ve been doing cartoons almost from the get-go. I didn’t think I was suited for cartoons. My first cartoon job was for Beetlejuice. It was a cartoon based on the movie. I auditioned for one head of a two-headed talking monster. I got the part, and when I went in, I didn’t know anything. So I was standing at the microphone, and you’re in the booth behind the glass. The other head was played by an amazing actor named Ron Rubin. He did basically seven different voices, made the sound of a door opening, and he did a few impressions. So I put up my hand and said, “I think I may be in the wrong place.” It took me years to feel confident about walking in and basically making a fool of myself.

My son does voice work too. He doesn’t do on-camera stuff because he didn’t like it very much. He started voice work when he was very young. He went away to University for a while, and now he’s back, finishing up his University work here in Toronto. And he’s started doing voice work again.

Cartoons are great. They’re short hours, and you get to walk in wearing your comfy shoes and no makeup. And they appreciate it when you change the words around a bit and make it funnier. It can be just a joy.

I’ve talked with many actors who do both on-camera and voice work, and what you’re saying is what they always appreciate. No makeup, no costumes, and they really enjoy that part of it.

While it can be fun, it requires a lot of energy, and it takes a little preparation, especially if it’s not a character that you do on a consistent basis. But it’s fun, and it should be fun.

I’ve also heard that voice actors do not like to be filmed when they are doing these roles.

Oh, no, gosh, it’s awful! I was working once for a cartoon, and they brought a film crew in and I was so self-conscious. I remember another time too. I was doing the Care Bears Movie years ago, and another actress was in there with me. She started laughing, and I asked her what she was laughing about, and she said, “You should see your face!” I don’t think I can even get up that high anymore. I was Friend Bear. And I said to her, “Right back atcha! You should see your face!” {laughs} Thankfully, you don’t often have to do it in front of people.

Jean Grey X-Men

I did the first X-Men cartoon years ago. My son was about five at the time. Up to that time, I was a little bit embarrassed about doing cartoons. It wasn’t as prevalent as it is now. Every actor wants to do cartoons now, but back then it was a sort of niche thing, and there weren’t that many actors doing it. Then I realized that when he hit kindergarten, I was kind of a hero. He loved to go into comic book stores. His dad played Professor X on the show. So he loved to go into comic book stores and say that his mom was Jean Grey, and his dad was Professor X. And the comic book clerks–these poor, pale young guys–would just fall apart.

This fourth season of Good Witch is by far the best in my opinion. I have just loved it. 

That’s just great. Thank you.

I enjoyed the other seasons too, but I have enjoyed the interactions, the writing, and just everything about this season. I’ve found myself looking forward to it more than ever. Maybe it’s because Sam and Cassie are finally engaged and they’re looking toward marriage. And their kids having this feud that finally got resolved was quite an arc.

I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that.

And it’s been so much fun watching Abigail this season too. 

You really do find out a lot more about Abigail this season. Sarah Power is a lovely person. She’s so much fun to be around, and I get to do a lot of scenes with her. She’s such a great friend, and she’s a really fabulous person.

And I have to say, there isn’t anybody on set where you say, “Uh-oh, I have to do a scene with them.” Everybody is lovely. We all have a good time. It’s not tense or anything like that. In fact, I don’t even feel like I’m on a set. I feel like I’m in my living room. Of course, I have big hair, which I normally don’t have. So it feels like I’m in my living room with big hair, too much jewelry, and doing a scene with friends.

I think as viewers, we feel the same way. We feel like we know these characters, and it’s very comfortable to watch and enjoy. You feel like you’re almost there when you’re watching the show. You feel like you’re a friend or part of the family. 

You know, I feel that way when people come up and talk to me about the show, and inevitably, every time I go shopping, someone will come up to me. It’s invariably positive and complimentary, and people just say how much they love the show. And often people you wouldn’t expect. Young people, older people, people of all races and backgrounds. Even young men have come up to me, and I think, “I didn’t think you would be part of our audience, but there you are.” It’s a pleasure when people come up to me, and everyone is always so nice and respectful. And I think, “Uh-oh, I shouldn’t have worn sweatpants to the Value-Mart.”

I think that’s great that they recognize you in spite of that.

I know I’m always shocked! I always think I’m fooling myself with Martha’s hair, her jewelry, and her colorful clothes, and her handbag, I always think, “I don’t look anything like Martha.” {laughs} Apparently, I’m easy to spot.

That just shows how much they love the show. Even though you’re only in your fourth season, your character has been around for ten years. 

There’s not really that many of us left from the movies. There’s Catherine Bell and myself. There’s Peter MacNeill, who plays George. And Sarah Power, who plays Abigail. And Randal {Edwards}, who plays my assistant Jared, was in one of the movies. Oh, and my husband… Paul Miller plays my husband, and he was in the movies. He took a hiatus in movie number four and ended up back on the show in season two. But some of the actors from the movies have been replaced because time had jumped forward, and they needed actors who could look older. And then there are new characters. But some of our crew has been with us through all the movies and shows.

That’s always nice to hear. That means you must be doing something right. As much as I love the cast, often you get the real story from the crew. I regularly hear from crew members how much they enjoy working on Hallmark sets and that they want to come back. So if much of the crew has stuck around, I consider that a testament to the show.

You can sort of tell when a crew is engaged in the material that you’re shooting. I spend most of my time trying to make the crew laugh. If we go to shoot something and there’s utter silence, we wonder what’s wrong. You kind of feel like shriveling to the side. It can sometimes be hard to know what actually works or not. But it has been a joy, and I can’t believe it’s been over ten years.

Photo: Catherine Disher, Sarah Power Credit: Copyright 2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Shane Mahood

It’s hard to believe it’s in its fourth season. And Hallmark is still relatively new to episodic TV. 

That’s true, but their audiences have increased like no other network. We do remarkably well when you compare us to other better-known, critically-acclaimed cable shows. Some of my favorite HBO shows…when I look them up to see how many viewers they have, I’m always astonished that Good Witch gets far more viewers. There’s a real market for what Hallmark is doing, and I think they’ve been very smart about the materials they choose and how they go about it. My hat is off to them.

I am with you on that. I get so excited when the executives will send out information showing how well one of their shows or films did in terms of viewers. There really are only three shows that air on the network–Good Witch, Chesapeake Shores, and When Calls the Heart. I know Cedar Cove was their first, and it only made it three seasons, which is still good. But the others are still here.

I have to say in the TV world that getting three seasons out of a show is very commendable. And having more than that is really special. With When Calls the Heart going into its sixth season, I say congratulations to them.

I know on the podcast I listened how you mentioned we’re supposed to watch out for Mayor Martha this season. I understand there may be some twists that happen. 

Photo: Seann Gallagher, Kylee Evans, Sarah Power, James Denton, Catherine Bell, Catherine Disher, Tessa Mossey, Cody Ray Thompson Credit: Copyright 2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Shane Mahood

Well, all I will say is that there are a few surprises in the show and a few plot twists. I can’t really tell you about them because I don’t want to ruin it for you. But there are some surprises in store for viewers, which I think is really nice. That way you don’t get too comfortable, and you have to figure out what’s gonna happen next.

Well, I like that about shows. I don’t like spoilers, and I like plot twists. I plan to keep watching, and I’m sure the viewers will too. 

It’s not like other shows. It’s not like anyone dies. My son was pestering me for years to watch The Walking Dead, and it was so terrifying. I finally compromised. I could watch it if I muted it and didn’t listen to the dialogue. I would have my IMDB open so I could look up who might die next. I could look up which actors did which seasons, so I would know who might not make it. It took all the fun out of it, but I had to explain to my son that I had to watch this show in a way that didn’t make me stressed out.

I understand. I can handle it once in a while if a horrific tragedy happens, but not all the time. For example, I never have had the desire to watch Game Of Thrones.  I have never had an interest.

I was late to the game on that one. I’m not a fan of a lot of violence. That show has a lot of good storytelling too. But I’m not a fan of a lot of the supernatural stuff. I’m over it. I did a vampire show years ago, and it was one of the first vampire shows on TV. And after that, it seemed like every show had vampires. Every show had zombies. Or every police thriller was about a serial killer. So many of these shows are just drenched in violence, and I just became tired of it. I can turn on the W Network–it has my real estate shows that are on there too–and then they have Hallmark movies when they’re on…like four or five in a row. I can find myself sitting there for two or three movies in a row before I realize that the time has passed.

In addition to Good Witch, is there anything else upcoming for you that you would like to mention?

With Viola Mueller behind-the-scenes Good Witch

I’ve actually been taking a bit of a break. I was shooting pretty solidly for about six months. February and March here, not a lot of stuff is shooting. I always keep up with my voice stuff. But this year, I just needed a bit of a break.

Assuming that Good Witch is renewed, what would you like to see for Mayor Martha in season five?

I think Martha feels like she is a member of the Merriwick family and that she can visit Grey House whenever she wants. She doesn’t even bother knocking anymore. I think it would be kind of fun if she found out she had a distant relative who was a Merriwick and if she thought she had some magical powers, which of course, she doesn’t.

You know, I’m always surprised. We’ve had a couple of different writers over the years. I’ll see a new idea and think, “Oh, I can’t imagine Martha doing that.” You don’t say no; I wouldn’t say no anyway. It’s the rule of improv. You don’t say no. You try it. It’s sort of opened me up to all different kinds of versions of Martha over the years. So whenever there’s a new idea for Martha, I always try in my own head to get on the bandwagon and see where it takes us. I think that’s part of the fun.

I just want her to be mayor for life. Mayor is the perfect position for Martha. I don’t know what she’d do with herself otherwise.

I agree. I would not want to see them ever try to get her out of office. 

I don’t know how you’d ever get that gavel out of her hand. There’s nothing Martha enjoys more than presiding over some kind of meeting where a bunch of people have to listen to her.

{laughs} I remember the time she had laryngitis. 

That was so weird because I actually got really sick with laryngitis. I think I had had it once before in my life. In fact, the time that I had it before, we had just shot a Good Witch movie, and the director and two of the producers were out sick with laryngitis. I was doing another series–a hospital/medical show–and the first day, they wanted to give me a kiss, and I realized they were all sick, and I said, “Whoa! Step back!” And they said, “It’s okay. It’s just laryngitis.” Laryngitis is the worst thing an actor can get. Everything else you can power through, but if you actually can’t talk…and sure enough, the next week I had to go back to the hospital show, and I couldn’t even make a sound. I remember that the first day of shooting, I had to phone the AD at seven in the morning and I couldn’t even make myself understood over the phone. He kept saying, “Who is this?” They had to take me for some shots so I could actually get my voice back.

When we were shooting that episode–and we shoot in blocks of two–there were about fifteen days of shooting, and I actually had laryngitis. But the weird part was that as the show went on, as Martha’s laryngitis was getting worse and worse, mine was getting better and better. Then I had to act like I had laryngitis.

Any character you’d like to see more of on the show?

I love the actor who plays Jared, my assistant. He’s so funny. Randal is such a lovely guy. There was a day when it was just Sarah, Randal and me in the mayor’s office, and we just laughed like for sixteen hours. He’s incredibly funny, and I’m always happy when he’s on the show. I hope to see him again sometime in one of the shows. He’s not always there.

I would love to see a crossover to other shows on Hallmark for Mayor Martha. 

That would be fun. When Calls the Heart. One of those characters could zoom up in time and show up on Good Witch.

Or what if Mayor Martha showed up on When Calls the Heart?

{laughs} So she would travel back in time! Well, I would get to ride a horse. I rode my whole life for the most part. I’ve felt very comfortable around horses. I always wanted to be in a Western. But I always joke to people that after ten years, people want to go off and do other things, and it will just be me left. Martha’s Middleton Mysteries. And the other actors could just make appearances every now and then.

I think that would be great! You could have your own spinoff series. I know I’d watch it, and I bet other Hallmark fans would too. When I said I was going to be interviewing you, the fans told me how much they love you and they think you’re the best. I heard nothing negative. I know the fans have even done something like Mayor Martha Mondays where they post a picture of your character as a tribute to her.

What I loved was two years ago or so, a writer wrote content for videos for the web. And it was called “Martha’s Minute.” It was like someone having their own public access television show, which nobody watches, and that is something that I think Martha would love. I really loved doing them because they were funny with me in front of the camera. She was making lots of mistakes. I think that would be something that would be right up Martha’s alley.  A little community, public access show, but really she pictures herself with a huge audience.

That would be fun. We’ll have to see if that happens again. I know another favorite Martha moment I had was when Mayor Martha performed the wedding ceremony for her son.

Yes, Martha has performed many weddings over the years. But yes, for that episode, the writer wrote the most beautiful vows. He’s a funny guy with a rather dark sense of humor, which doesn’t come out in his writing at all. He’s very smart. So I wasn’t expecting these beautiful vows. Even in the read-through, before we started shooting that particular episode, I just welled up every time I read them. They were so lovely.

I remember that was a little bit unexpected–not that she was performing the ceremony, but it was just so beautiful and well-written.

I went up to the writer and said, “I expect your dark sense of humor, but I didn’t expect this..” And by dark, I don’t mean terrible, by the way. I enjoy his sense of humor. He’s very quick and funny. To see this deeply moving stuff come from him, I was like, “You know, you missed your calling. You should have a business just writing people’s wedding vows.”

I heartily agree. And I remember how I wasn’t the only fan who loved that scene. Of course, we’re all hoping that Sam and Cassie get married this season, and maybe it will be an even more beautiful ceremony. But only time will tell. Thank you so much for today, Catherine. It’s been just lovely chatting with you.

Same here, Ruth. And say “hi” to your Martha for me.

Catherine Disher as Mayor Martha Credit: Copyright 2015 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Brooke Palmer

Chatting with Catherine was a definite highlight for me as I have thoroughly luxuriated in her character for the past four years on Good Witch. Even on the days when I thought, “Do I really want to take the time to watch the show?” it was always Catherine’s depiction of Martha that kept me coming back for more. 

On a personal note, Catherine took a good twenty minutes or so getting to know me as well (I left my long-windedness out of this interview, for which my readers can be grateful), and sometimes actors are not as willing to take the time to engage in this kind of chit-chat. In Catherine’s case, I couldn’t be more content because in so doing, we discovered various mutual connections and interests. Simply put, Catherine Disher is exactly whom you would hope she is and abundantly more. She is kind, witty, humble, pragmatic, and above all, genuine. She is always quick to extol the other members of the cast and crew, but there is no doubt in my mind that without Mayor Martha, this show would not be nearly as entertaining, humorous, nor even as heartfelt. After all, Martha possesses numerous characteristics to the extreme with which many of us struggle from time to time, though in a more negligible manner (hopefully). Catherine is able to take a flawed character like Martha and inspire us to love her in spite of (and even because of) her imperfections. And it unquestionably requires a woman of compelling substance and proficient capabilities to appropriate a two-dimensional character from the page and transform her into a fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional character on the screen.

So if you are not watching Good Witch each Sunday night on the Hallmark Channel (season four is winding down, but you can still catch up), I would invite you to check out this vivaciously enchanting show full of family values, entertaining storylines, and a vast array of talented actors characterizing intriguing roles. In addition to this, I would invite you to investigate Catherine’s IMDB page below and consider watching some of her other works as there is something there that is bound to appeal to everyone on some level. While Catherine has no social media handles, there is no doubt that her version of Mayor Martha is a personality that fans all over the world have come to recognize as she has resonated with an innumerable amount of people from all walks of life. In short, Mayor Martha is a cultural phenomenon that will continue to captivate the masses long after the series breathes its last (which won’t be for many more seasons, we can only hope). Moreover, I can only believe that even as Catherine advances in years and continues to voice and embody characters for our enjoyment and enlightenment that she won’t retire for years to come. I absolutely adore her as a person and as an artist, and as far as I am concerned, we need more professionals like Catherine in this all-too-often tumultuous, artificial world. Indeed, Hallmark is blessed to have Catherine as a part of a glittering cast of delightful souls who continue to dazzle the fans with such amazing shows and sweet storylines. I can hardly wait to see what the future holds for Catherine as well as for Mayor Martha!

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