Cocktails with Paul Temple, anybody?

4:30pm Thursday 14th August 2008

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He has apparently solved more crimes than Miss Marple, is a tad smoother than Sherlock Holmes and some think he’s slicker than Bergerac. Paul Temple, crime novelist turned private detective, ruled the airwaves for 30 years and went on to appear in novels, television, films and even a daily comic strip. Created by Francis Durbridge, the suave and sophisticated Mr T inhabited a world of fast cars, glamorous women, cravats and chilled cocktails where he solved case after case assisted by his chic wife Steve, a Fleet Street journalist. And it wasn’t just us Brits who loved the English private eye; the series was also a massive success in countries as diverse as Finland, Australia, Germany and Israel. So successful was the series that it ran from 1938 to 1968 on BBC Radio making the super sleuth one of the most popular detectives of all time. And his popularity continues… Thanks to cassette and CD sales of more than 200,000 since BBC Audiobooks published the first title in 1999, Paul Temple has a whole new generation of fans. So, you can imagine my delight when a copy of the latest CD - Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery - dropped on to my desk. I remember the TV series, but not the radio broadcasts. Anyway, I’ve just finished disc one, and I’m totally hooked. Three more to go…