Hetty Wainthropp Investigates: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates is a gentle British crime/comedy drama television programme that aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One.

Patricia Routledge starred as the titular character (Henrietta "Hetty" Wainthropp), Derek Benfield as her patient husband Robert, Dominic Monaghan as their lodger (and her assistant) Geoffrey Shawcross and John Graham Davies as DCI Adams.

Later episodes include Suzanne Maddock as Janet Frazer, a feisty young auto mechanic who sells a car to Geoffrey; their relationship develops by the end of the series, and Frank Mills as Robert's brother Frank, who visits in series 3 while Robert is in Australia and appears in the final episode. In the United States, episodes have been featured on PBS's anthology programme Mystery!.

Hetty Wainthropp is a retired working-class woman from Darwen in North West England, who has a knack for jumping to conclusions and solving crimes of varying bafflement which often are too minor to concern the police. Although on occasion her husband offers assistance, he more often than not tends to the home while Hetty gads about the countryside with young Geoffrey in search of resolution and justice. In many episodes Hetty seeks the help and advice of DCI Adams of the local constabulary.

Series details

• Title: Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, Comedy, Crime
• Premiere date: 1996-01-03
• Final broadcast date listed: 1998-09-04
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 50 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 6.6/10
• TVMaze ID: 10694
• IMDb ID: tt0127376
• TVDB ID: 76343

Cast and credited roles

• Patricia Routledge — Hetty Wainthropp
• Dominic Monaghan — Geoffrey Shawcross
• Derek Benfield — Robert Wainthropp

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1996-01-03; final listed air date 1996-02-07; episode order: 6.
• Season 2: premiered 1996-11-29; final listed air date 1997-01-10; episode order: 6.
• Season 3: premiered 1997-11-28; final listed air date 1998-01-30; episode order: 9.
• Season 4: premiered 1998-07-24; final listed air date 1998-09-04; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Hetty Wainthropp Investigates on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.