The Singing Detective: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The Singing Detective was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1 in 1986 on Sunday nights from 16 November to 21 December with later PBS and cable television showings in the United States. Mystery writer Philip E. Marlow is suffering writer's block and is hospitalised because his psoriatic arthropathy, a chronic skin and joint disease, is at an acute stage forming lesions and sores over his entire body, and partially cripples his hands and feet. As a result of constant pain, a fever caused by the condition, and his refusal to take medication, Marlow falls into a fantasy world involving his Chandleresque novel, The Singing Detective, an escapist adventure about a detective (also named "Philip Marlow") who sings at a dance hall and takes the jobs "the guys who don't sing" won't take.

Series details

• Title: The Singing Detective
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, Crime
• Premiere date: 1986-11-16
• Final broadcast date listed: 1986-12-21
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 70 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 11508
• IMDb ID: tt0090521
• TVDB ID: 72628

Cast and credited roles

• Michael Gambon — Philip Marlow
• Patrick Malahide — Mark Binney
• Joanne Whalley — Nurse Mills
• David Ryall — Mr. Hall
• Gerard Horan — Reginald
• Leslie French — Mr. Tomkey
• Ron Cook — First Mysterious Man
• George Rossi — Second Mysterious Man
• Lyndon Davies — Philip (aged 10)
• Sharon D. Clarke — Night Nurse

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1986-11-16; final listed air date 1986-12-21; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Singing Detective 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.