All four series of Lynne Truss's comedy thrillers set in 1950s Brighton - plus Christmas special
Brighton, 1957: a sunny seaside resort with a sinister underbelly. This den of villainy is policed by the touchingly innocent Inspector Steine, who naively believes he wiped out all the hoodlums in the Middle Street Massacre six years earlier. Can long-suffering Sergeant Brunswick and keen Constable Twitten persuade him that a criminal mastermind is at large - and that the station's charlady, Mrs Groynes, might bear investigation?
Inspector Steine - A headless corpse on the ghost train, a murdered theatre critic, a bank robbery and a beautiful fish-and-chip-shop owner spell trouble for the hapless Inspector. Meanwhile, a deranged criminal escapes from Broadmoor seeking revenge...
The Casebook of Inspector Steine - A matinee at the Hippodrome gives Mrs Groynes an idea, a day out in a vintage car proves eventful, Brunswick organises a police open day and goes undercover in a girls' school, and Steine meets a shady aristocrat - and finds his life in danger.
The Adventures of Inspector Steine - When his chance to shine is scuppered by Steine, Brunswick wants to kill him. But is he behind the attempts on Steine's life - or could it be the Unknown Villain, or old adversary Mrs Vine? Events are further complicated by a criminal convention and the reappearance of Brunswick's old flame, Doris...
The Return of Inspector Steine - Second World War bomb disposal hero Captain Hoagland limps into the station, with an award for Sergeant Brunswick and a head in a box. The latter is a warning that Adelaide Vine is back - and sadistic criminal Terence Chambers is heading for Brighton too, hell bent on havoc.
Christmas for Inspector Steine - It is December 1957, the year of the Queen's inaugural Christmas broadcast and Mrs Groynes' first seasonal celebrations with new husband Captain Hoagland. But only Twitten has the festive spirit...
Michael Fenton Stevens stars as Inspector Steine, with John Ramm as Sergeant Brunswick, Matt Green as Constable Twitten and Jan Ravens and Samantha Spiro as Mrs Groynes.
Production credits
Written by Lynne Truss
Produced and directed by Karen Rose and Marilyn Imrie
Original music by Anthony May
Sound design: David Thomas
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4
Starring Michael Fenton Stevens as Inspector Steine, John Ramm as Sergeant Brunswick, Matt Green as Constable Twitten and Jan Ravens and Samantha Spiro as Mrs Groynes
Cast
Maisie - Carla Mendonça/Rachel Atkins
Georgie/BBC announcer/Chaplain/Albert/Bobby/Cecil/Pierre/Diamond Tony - David Holt
Boy - Cameron Cleaver
Stanley/Bouncer - Michael Roberts
Cook - Allan Corduner
Johnnie - Jason Hughes
Ruby - Carolyn Backhouse
Ventriloquist Vince/Warder - Kim Wall
Adelaide Vine/Gloria's mother - Janet Ellis
Brian the Brain/Mystery guest/Terence Chambers - Ewan Bailey
Rudi - Ethan Brook
Doris - Rachel Atkins
Roy - Will Keen
Hinge - Nicholas Le Prevost
Phyllis - Michelle Tate
Female panellist - Sophie Dearlove
Lord Melamine - Mark Heap
Jupiter - Philip Jackson
Unknown Villain - Adrian Bower
Roy - Douglas Hodge
Captain Hoagland - Robert Bathhurst
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 January-2 March 2007 (Inspector Steine), 4 April-9 May 2008 (The Casebook of Inspector Steine), 2 September-30 October 2009 (The Adventures of Inspector Steine), 17 October-21 November 2011 (The Return of Inspector Steine), 23 December 2013 (The Christmas of Inspector Steine)
