Ian Carmichael starred as Dorothy L. Sayers’ aristocratic art connoisseur, bibliophile (with a penchant for banned literature) and amateur detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, as he went about solving murder cases in the 1920s.
In the five-part ‘Clouds of Witness’, Lord Peter’s brother, the Duke of Denver, was accused of murdering their sister Mary’s fiancé and it was up to his Lordship and his faithful man Bunter (Glyn Houston) to untangle all the clues and the contradicting testimonies of a cloud of witnesses to save Denver.
The following four episodes – broadcast under the umbrella title “The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club” in February 1973 – dealt with the death of two of the club members on Armistice Day 1922, with Lord Peter brought in by a solicitor to determine which of the two aged, estranged siblings died first.
“Murder Must Advertise” (December 1973) began with a copywriter at an advertising firm killed in a fall down some stairs. The owner of the firm engaged Wimsey to investigate, which led him (undercover) into a world of drug dealers.
The four episodes in the story “The Nine Tailors” (April and May 1974) found Lord Peter Wimsey stranded in a New Year’s Eve snowstorm in the fens of eastern England where he became the overnight guest of a local clergyman and enthusiast of bell-ringing in his magnificent medieval church.
Some months later the vicar summoned his Lordship back to the village to investigate a mysterious body newly discovered in the churchyard, an unknown man secretly buried, who had apparently died about the time of Wimsey’s first visit.
The final story, “Five Red Herrings” (July and August 1975), took Wimsey into the art world as he investigated the murder of a Scottish artist called Campbell whose body was found at the foot of a coastal cliff.
Mark Eden co-starred as Chief Inspector Parker.
Lord Peter Wimsey
Ian Carmichael Bunter
Glyn Houston (1)
Derek Newark (2) Det. Inspector Parker
Mark Eden Lady Mary Wimsey
Rachel Herbert
Episodes
Clouds of Witness – Part 1 | Clouds of Witness – Part 2 | Clouds of Witness – Part 3 | Clouds of Witness – Part 4 | Clouds of Witness – Part 5 || Execution Day | That Damned Dorland Woman | Mr Oliver | Mysterious Circumstances || Murder Must Advertise – Part 1 | Murder Must Advertise – Part 2 | Murder Must Advertise – Part 3 | Murder Must Advertise – Part 4 || The Nine Tailors – Part 1 | The Nine Tailors – Part 2 | The Nine Tailors – Part 3 | The Nine Tailors – Part 4 || Five Red Herrings – Part 1 | Five Red Herrings – Part 2 | Five Red Herrings – Part 3 | Five Red Herrings – Part 4
