''The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries'' is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
detective
A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
television series, broadcast on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, which was adapted from nine of the novels by
Dame Ngaio Marsh
Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.
As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of Det ...
, featuring the character Chief Inspector
Roderick Alleyn
Roderick Alleyn (pronounced "Allen") is a fictional character who first appeared in 1934. He is the policeman hero of the 32 detective novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh and her gentleman detective belong firmly in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, ...
. The pilot episode was shown in 1990, with
Simon Williams playing the part of Alleyn. Two series followed in 1993 and 1994, with
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a veteran British film, television and theatre actor, author and producer, known, amongst other things, for his roles as Inspector Alleyn in ''The Inspect ...
replacing Williams in the title role.
Premise
In the pilot episode, the character of Alleyn was played by
Simon Williams.
William Simons
Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons (17 November 1940 – 21 June 2019) was a Welsh-born actor best known for his role as PC Alf Ventress in '' Heartbeat'', a role he played for 18 years, from 1992 to 2010.
Early life
Simons was born on 17 Novem ...
was cast as Alleyn's right-hand man and "
Dr Watson
John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
", Detective Inspector Fox, and
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom '' 2point4 Children'' ...
starred as painter Agatha Troy, Alleyn's love interest. When a full series finally came to screen three years later, Simon Williams was unavailable, and the role of Alleyn was filled by
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a veteran British film, television and theatre actor, author and producer, known, amongst other things, for his roles as Inspector Alleyn in ''The Inspect ...
, while Simons and Lang reprised their roles. Over the course of two series, eight episodes were broadcast, each focusing on a separate novel in the series. Both Malahide series were released on DVD in 2007, via
Acorn Media
RLJE International Ltd, d/b/a Acorn DVD, a British company that publishes and distributes DVDs, as well as selling home-video products and streaming videos with a particular focus on British television.
History
Launched in 1997, Acorn Media U. ...
. In 2011, Acorn acquired the rights to the pilot, and in 2012, issued a repackaged version of the set containing the Williams pilot. This set was also released in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Unlike the original novels, whose first story takes place as early as 1934, after World War I, the pilot and thus all subsequent episodes take place after World War II, with "Artists in Crime" being set in late 1948.
Cast
*
Simon Williams as
Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn (pilot only)
*
Patrick Malahide
Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a veteran British film, television and theatre actor, author and producer, known, amongst other things, for his roles as Inspector Alleyn in ''The Inspect ...
as Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn
*
William Simons
Clifford William Cumberbatch Simons (17 November 1940 – 21 June 2019) was a Welsh-born actor best known for his role as PC Alf Ventress in '' Heartbeat'', a role he played for 18 years, from 1992 to 2010.
Early life
Simons was born on 17 Novem ...
as Inspector Fox
*
Belinda Lang
Belinda Lucy Lange (born 23 December 1953), known professionally as Belinda Lang, is an English actress. She is known for playing Liza in the ITV sitcom '' Second Thoughts'' (1991–94), and Bill Porter in the BBC sitcom '' 2point4 Children'' ...
as Agatha Troy
*
Tim Dutton
Tim Dutton (born 1967) is a British stage, film, and television actor. Dutton's films include '' Darkness Falls'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), The Infiltrator (2016) and '' The Detonator''. He starred in the Academy Award and BAFTA ...
as D.S. Bailey
*
Sandy Welch
Sandra Elizabeth "Sandy" Welch (born 6 December 1953 in Chester, Cheshire) is a British television writer and screenwriter.
Welch is a graduate of the National Film and Television School.
As a screenwriter, Welch has developed many serials fo ...
as D.C. Robinson
*
Leslie Schofield
Leslie Schofield (born 12 December 1938) is an English actor who is most famous in the UK for his role as Jeff Healy in the soap opera ''EastEnders'', whom he played from 1997 to 2000. His character was famous for unsuccessfully proposing to P ...
as A.C.C. Connors
*
Mark Penfold as Doctor Curtis
Episodes
Pilot (1990)
Series 1 (1993)
Series 2 (1994)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, The
1990 British television series debuts
1994 British television series endings
1990s British drama television series
Television shows based on British novels
British detective television series
1990s British crime television series
BBC mystery television shows
English-language television shows
1990s British mystery television series