''Lord Peter Wimsey'' is a series of television serial adaptations of five

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries fo ...

novels by Dorothy L. Sayers starring

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career spanning 70 years. He found prominence in the films of the Boulting brothers, including '' ...

broadcast on BBC One between 1972 and 1975, beginning with ''

Clouds of Witness ''Clouds of Witness'' is a 1926 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, the second in her series featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. In the United States the novel was first published in 1927 under the title ''Clouds of Witnesses''. It was adapted for te ...

'' in April 1972.

Cast

Glyn Houston Glyn Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston. Early life Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorga ...

Mervyn Bunter Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers' novels and short stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. Literary Background Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) wrote a number of novels and short stories concerning the adventures of ...

(''Clouds of Witness'', ''The Nine Tailors'', ''Five Red Herrings'') *

Derek Newark Derek John Newark (8 June 1933 – 11 August 1998) was an English actor in television, film and theatre. Career Newark began his working life as a soldier in the Coldstream Guards before joining the Royal Artillery. However, he wanted to beco ...

as Mervyn Bunter (''The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club'') *

Mark Eden Douglas John Malin (14 February 1928 – 1 January 2021), known professionally as Mark Eden, was an English actor. He was best known for his portrayal of villainous Alan Bradley in ''Coronation Street'' from 1986 to 1989. Early life Mark Ede ...

as Inspector Charles Parker (''Clouds of Witness'', ''The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club'', ''Murder Must Advertise'', ''The Nine Tailors'') *

Rachel Herbert Rachel Herbert (born 1935) is a British actress whose television appearances include roles in '' Deadline Midnight'' (1960), ''Thursday Theatre'' (1964), ''The Villains'' (1964), ''No Hiding Place'' (1963–65), ''Danger Man'' (1965), ''The Power ...

as Lady Mary Wimsey (''Clouds of Witness'', ''Murder Must Advertise'')

Production

The adaptations star

as aristocratic sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, the second son of the

Duke of Denver In the works of Dorothy L. Sayers, the fictional title of Duke of Denver is held by Gerald Wimsey, older brother of the books' protagonist, Lord Peter Wimsey. In novels written after Sayers' death by Jill Paton Walsh (with the cooperation of the S ...

. Not wanting for money, charm or intelligence, Wimsey takes up detective work as an amateur pursuit, using his connections and social status to assist the police in their investigations. Carmichael played the role concurrently in a series of BBC Radio 4 adaptations from 1973, which eventually completed the whole sequence of Sayers's novels. In ''The Radio Detectives'' (1999), Carmichael recalls that he had hoped to continue with further television adaptations, but acknowledged that by 1975 he was too old to play the part onscreen for the sequence of more romantic novels featuring crime writer Harriet Vane. He felt that as a result of a technician strike, production of the fifth adaptation under a new producer,

Bill Sellars William Sellars (5 June 1925 – 19 December 2018) was an English television producer and director, most active from the 1960s to the 1980s. His entire 33-year-career was spent working on projects for the BBC.''All Memories Great & Small'', Oli ...

, was not as successful, after which the series was not renewed. (Three later television adaptations of the Harriet Vane stories were produced as '' A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery'' with

Edward Petherbridge Edward Petherbridge (born 3 August 1936) is an English actor, writer and artist. Among his many roles, he portrayed Lord Peter Wimsey in the 1987 BBC television adaptations of Dorothy L. Sayers' novels, and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's ''R ...

as Wimsey in 1987.)

played Wimsey's loyal

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...

and assistant

in three adaptations and

in ''The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club'' (the character does not appear in ''Murder Must Advertise'').

played Inspector Charles Parker, Lord Peter's friend and contact at Scotland Yard in three adaptations. The series was recorded in the then-standard format of videotape for studio sequences (recorded at

Television Centre, London Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for TV production, opera ...

and

Pebble Mill Pebble Mill Studios was the BBC's television studio complex located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, which served as the headquarters for BBC Birmingham from 1971 until 2004. The nine-acre site was opened by Princess Anne o ...

Birmingham from the second serial) and 16mm film for exterior location scenes. Locations included

St Peter's Church, Walpole St Peter __NOTOC__ St Peter's Church is an active Anglican parish church in Walpole St Peter, Norfolk, England. One of the largest churches in the county, it is known as "the Cathedral of the Fens". It is in the Diocese of Ely. The largely Perpendicular b ...

and Terrington St John, Norfolk for ''

The Nine Tailors ''The Nine Tailors'' is a 1934 mystery novel by the British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. The story is set in the Lincolnshire Fens, and revolves around a group of bell-ringers at the local parish church. The b ...

'' and

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of ...

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

in Scotland for ''The Five Red Herrings'', the latter almost entirely shot on film due to a technician strike, with only a few studio sequences taped in studios in Glasgow. The 1930s-style theme tune was written by

Herbert Chappell Herbert Reginald Chappell (18 March 1934 – 20 October 2019) was a British conductor, composer and film-maker, best known for his television scores. Education and early career Born in Bristol, Herbert Chappell's first musical training was as a ch ...

. The BBC record of Herbert Chappell's theme tune featured a second track "Size Ten Shuffle" which in re-arranged form was used as the theme for

FilmFair FilmFair was a British production company and animation studio that produced children's television series, animated cartoons, educational films, and television advertisements. The company made numerous stop motion films using puppets, clay animat ...

's adaptation of ''

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

'' (1976–1980).

Episodes

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=August 2020 1972 British television series debuts 1975 British television series endings BBC television dramas English-language television shows 1970s British drama television series Period television series British crime drama television series BBC mystery television shows Television series set in the 1930s British detective television series