I love Jonathan Creek, the BBC mystery series from the late 90s, early 2000s. Alan Davies in that duffle coat, mooching about a windmill, using his big brain to solve seemingly impossible crimes. Wonderful. The earlier episodes are perfect, and despite knowing whodunit, I get quite a lot of comfort from rewatching them. The show went downhill a bit towards the end, but still, lots to love.

The series is one of those that is sometimes talked about for a reboot, but writer David Renwick retired from writing for television, so it seems very unlikely. I was quite surprised and happy to see this post then, that talks of a book from a stage play that has not yet happened.

I’ve explored the idea of a theatrical version of Jonathan Creek ever since we aired the final episode of the show a decade ago. A couple of years back, I got round to drafting a manuscript which would have finally seen Jonathan reunited with the investigative journalist Maddy Magellan, which fans have been asking me about for 25 years now! But staging a production like ours - with live illusions - is slow and expensive, so while we figure out the logistics required to (hopefully) one day bring The Fantom of the Acropolis to the West End, I thought it was high time the story saw the light of day. I hope you enjoy this final chapter (at least for now…) of Jonathan Creek.

The book is being funded via Kickstarter (didn’t know that was still a thing) and it’s creeping towards its goal. I’d be glad to read the book, but more than anything I hope the stage play happens. It’d be so interesting to see who would be cast, and getting Jonathan and Maddie back together would be a dream. I’d buy tickets for that, for sure.