The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a British crime drama television series that aired on BBC One from 12 March 2001 to 1 June 2008, and is available to stream on BritBox. Based on novels by the American writer Elizabeth George, it comprises six series and 24 episodes. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Tommy Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton (Nathaniel Parker), is assigned to the Metropolitan Police and finds himself paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers (Sharon Small). In addition to the tensions involved in solving murder cases, the series is built on clashes of personality, gender and class: Lynley is a polished man and a peer of the realm, and Havers is an untidy woman from a working-class background.
In August 2007, the BBC announced its intention to stop production of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Fans of the series mounted a campaign to save it, with a petition and by contacting the BBC, but without success. All six series have since been released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK.
All episodes from the first two series and two from the third are based on Elizabeth George's novels, though the plots and characters are often significantly altered. Initially adapted by Lizzie Mickery, later episodes are original stories for television based on George's characters. The music for the series was composed by Robert Lockhart; later series were scored by Debbie Wiseman.
Production
The first episode (pilot), A Great Deliverance, was broadcast on 12 and 13 March 2001, the only two-part episode throughout the series run. It also based on the first Inspector Lynley novel. The first full series began broadcasting on 8 April 2002, with the first episode based on and named after the third novel, Well-Schooled in Murder. The first eleven episodes were based on and named after the eleven Inspector Lynley novels published from 1988 to 2001, but not all in the published sequence.
Filming
Exterior shots of Lynley and Havers' base were filmed at the Bircham Dyson Bell solicitors offices on Broadway, central London. The first episode of series five was notable for being shot in Dungeness in Kent. In the first episode, Lynley drove a Peugeot 607; whereas in both series one and two he drove a Jensen Interceptor; and in later episodes a Bristol 410. Despite the frequently recurring remark in PBS Mystery! presenter Diana Rigg's introductions to the series that Lynley "is the one with the Bentley", he never drove a Bentley on TV. He does, however, drive one in the George novels. In the pilot episode, the character of Helen Clyde was played by Emma Fielding. She was portrayed by Lesley Vickerage from series one to three (from series three she and Lynley had married and she was thus known as Helen Lynley) and by Catherine Russell in series five.
Cast
- Nathaniel Parker as Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley
- Sharon Small as Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers
- Emma Fielding as Helen Clyde (Pilot)
- Lesley Vickerage as Helen Clyde (Series 1-2) / Helen Lynley (Series 3)
- Catherine Russell as Helen Lynley (Series 5)
- Paul Hickey as Forensic Pathologist Stewart Lafferty (Series 4-6)
- Shaun Parkes as Detective Constable Winston Nkata (Series 5-6)