The Ruth Rendell Mysteries


The Ruth Rendell Mysteries is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broadcast on ITV between 2 August 1987 and 11 October 2000. Created by author Ruth Rendell, the first six series focused entirely on her main literary character, Chief Inspector Reg Wexford, played by George Baker. Repeat airings of these series changed the programme's title to The Inspector Wexford Mysteries. However, later series shifted focus to other short stories previously written by Rendell, with Wexford featuring in only three further stories, in 1996, 1998 and 2000. When broadcast, these three stories were broadcast under the title Inspector Wexford.
In some cases stories were expanded from Rendell's original material or elements from a number of stories were woven together into one episode. A smaller number of episodes were based on Rendell's full-length novels, such as The Strawberry Tree starring Simon Ward, Going Wrong starring James Callis, A Case of Coincidence starring Keith Barron and Ronald Pickup, Front Seat starring Janet Suzman, and The Lake of Darkness starring Jerome Flynn. A total of fifty-five episodes featured Inspector Wexford, alongside his wife Dora and his assistant DI Mike Burden. A total of twenty-nine episodes focused on other characters.
The first six series were released on VHS, but have never been released on DVD due to licensing rights issues with The Walt Disney Company, who owns Television South's back catalogue of programming. Series seven to twelve have since been released on DVD as a Best Of box set, omitting four episodes.

Plot

Each episode follows the investigations of Chief Inspector Reg Wexford and his team of detectives in the fictional town of Kingsmarkham. The cases they investigate are often complex and involve a range of characters with hidden motives and dark secrets.
The series delves into the psychology of crime, exploring the motives and behaviors of both the perpetrators and the victims. The stories are often dark and gritty, with themes of murder, revenge, jealousy, and betrayal.
Throughout the series, Wexford faces personal challenges and struggles with his own demons, including his complicated relationship with his wife, Dora. Despite his personal troubles, Wexford remains a dedicated and determined detective, committed to solving each case and bringing justice to the victims.

Cast

Regulars

Episodes

Series 6 (1992)

This was the last series to solely feature Inspector Wexford. The last episode and subsequent series shifted focus onto other characters previously featured in short stories by Rendell.

Series 7 (1994)

This series was the first series not to feature Inspector Wexford, with focus being shifted to other leading characters from Rendell's repertoire of short stories. The lead role of Steven Whalby is played by Colin Firth.

Media releases

The first six series were released on VHS on 21 January 2000 via IMC Vision. This was shortly before the rights to Television South's back-catalogue were purchased by The Walt Disney Company during their purchase of Fox Family Worldwide in 2001, which has subsequently led to all other TVS programmes being unavailable for commercial release on VHS or DVD.
Subsequently, the remaining six series were released on DVD on 9 April 2007, as The Best Of Ruth Rendell Mysteries, via Network. As these series were not produced by TVS, the licensing rights became available for a DVD release. However, four episodes were omitted, none of which have ever been commercially released. Again, the remaining six series were released on DVD in the United States on 24 June 2008. Series seven-twelve have since been repeated on ITV3 and ITV Encore, however, once again the four episodes omitted from the DVD were not broadcast, suggesting that the licensing rights for these episodes are no longer available.
Some episodes from the TVS series have come out on DVD released by German company PIDAX. Episodes included on the two box sets include A Guilty Thing Suprised, Shake Hands Forever, No Crying He Makes, Some Lie And Some Die and The Best MancTo Die on volume 1, with Murder Being Once Done, Achilles Heel, The House In The Corner and Kissing The Gunners Daughter parts 1 & 2 on volume 2. You can buy these on a few different websites including Amazon. Some episodes have full credits and some don't. Both sets are under the name of Inspektor Wexford Ermittelt
SeriesYear# of episodesFormatRelease datesNotes
Series 119874VHS21 January 2000Never released on DVD due to issue with Television South licensing rights.
Series 2198873 x VHS
DVD		21 January 2000
30 May 2016		Never released on DVD in the UK due to issue with Television South licensing rights. Released on DVD for the first time in Germany in May 2016. Two of the three stories were heavily cut for the DVD, each story losing around 45 minutes against the original broadcast version.
Series 3198973 x VHS21 January 2000Never released on DVD due to issue with Television South licensing rights.
Series 4199094 x VHS
DVD		21 January 2000
30 May 2016		Never released on DVD in the UK due to issue with Television South licensing rights. "Some Lie and Some Die" and "The Best Man to Die" released on DVD for the first time in Germany in May 2016. Both stories were heavily cut for the DVD, each losing over 41 minutes against the original broadcast version.
Series 51991115 x VHS
DVD		21 January 2000
30 May 2016		Never released on DVD in the UK due to issue with Television South licensing rights. "Murder Being Once Done" and "Achilles Heel" released on DVD for the first time in Germany in May 2016. The story "Murder Being Once Done" was heavily cut for the DVD, losing around 42 minutes against the original broadcast version.
Series 61992114 x VHS
DVD		21 January 2000
30 May 2016		Never released on DVD in the UK due to issue with Television South licensing rights. "The Mouse in the Corner" and "Kissing the Gunner's Daughter" released on DVD for the first time in Germany in May 2016.
Series 71992-19944DVD9 April 2007Episode 1, "Talking to Strange Men", is not included in this set and has never been commercially released.
Series 819955DVD9 April 2007Episodes 4-5, "The Strawberry Tree", are not included in this set and has never been commercially released.
Series 919968DVD9 April 2007Episode 1, "Heartstones", is not included in this set and has never been commercially released.
Series 1019978DVD9 April 2007Episode 5, "Thornapple", is not included in this set and has never been commercially released.
Series 1119987DVD9 April 2007Includes all seven episodes.
Series 121999-20003DVD9 April 2007Includes all three episodes.