Eight abridged novels

Paul Temple at the Double

Anthony Head reads eight abridged novels by Francis Durbridge. 
 
Send for Paul Temple, based on the first ever Paul Temple radio serial, centres around the mystery of The Green Finger. 
 
In Paul Temple and the Front Page Men, a series of thefts is linked to high profile kidnapping cases - and then murder. 
 
News of Paul Temple links a vivacious actress, a mysterious letter and an enigmatic doctor in Paul's latest case. 
 
In Paul Temple and the Tyler Mystery, the main suspect in a murder case is someone Paul put away for fraud four years earlier... 
 
In Paul Temple East of Algiers, the Temples travel to Tunis in order to deliver a package - but a series of murders ensues. 
 
In Paul Temple and the Kelby Affair, a sensational diary appears to be at the centre of Alfred Kelby's murder. 
 
In Paul Temple and the Harkdale Robbery, a suspect involved in a robbery is found dead - in the garage of Paul's own country cottage. 
 
Paul Temple and the Curzon Case is a gripping story of kidnap, intrigue and sudden death, and Paul must work to find out if all the events are connected. 
 
Anthony Head, famed for his TV roles in Buffy and Little Britain, reads these stories inspired by one of the most successful BBC radio serials of the Twentieth Century. 
 
Caution: these stories contain language that may cause offense, and dated attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set. 
 
(P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Three unabridged novels

Paul Temple Deduces

Toby Stephens reads three thrilling unabridged novels by Francis Durbridge. 
 
In Paul Temple Intervenes, the murder of a well-known American heralds a spate of celebrity deaths that become known as the Marquis murders. The police are baffled, and the Home Secretary is calling for Paul Temple to intervene... 
 
In Paul Temple and the Geneva Mystery, Paul faces danger once again as he and Steve must find the answer to one vital question: is Carl Milbourne, supposedly killed in a motor accident in Switzerland, dead or alive? 
 
In Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery, a brand of expensive designer coats sparks the latest mystery, when Steve goes missing and another woman is brutally strangled and thrown into the Thames. A trip to the funfair yields further clues... 
 
Toby Stephens, known for roles including Gustav Graves in Die Another Day, reads these stories based on some of the most popular BBC radio serials of the Twentieth Century. 
 
Caution: these stories contain language that may cause offense, and dated attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set. 
 
(P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Francis Henry Durbridge was an English playwright and author born in Hull. In 1938, he created the character Paul Temple for the BBC radio serial Send for Paul Temple. A crime novelist and detective, the gentlemanly Temple solved numerous crimes with the help of Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist who later became his wife. The character proved enormously popular and appeared in 16 radio serials and later spawned a 64-part big-budget television series (1969-71) and radio productions, as well as a number of comic strips, four feature films and various foreign radio productions.

Three abridged novels

A Tim Frazer Trilogy

Anthony Head reads three unabridged novels by Francis Durbridge. 
 
In The World of Tim Frazer, the engineer-turned-spy's friend and ex-business partner Harry Denston has gone missing. That's not all: he owes money, and there are several people desperate to track him down. Frazer must put the pieces together. 
 
In Tim Frazer Again, when special agent Leo Salinger is killed by a fast car in Amsterdam, Frazer is sent over to trail the young woman who was at the wheel. Was it a genuine accident? The case grows more complicated at every turn. 
 
In Tim Frazer Gets The Message, Frazer is sent to Wales to find out why a British intelligence agent was brutally murdered. There's also the matter of a missing German scientist. Can Frazer find out what links the two agents, before it's too late? 
 
Anthony Head, famed for his TV roles in Buffy and Little Britain, reads these stories inspired by one of the most successful BBC TV serials of the 1960s. 
 
(P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Paul Temple Returns (2006-2013)

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Four

Paul Temple lives again in these five complete radio dramas starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stephenson.

Paul Temple lives again in five BBC Radio 4 remakes of classic adventures, starring Crawford Logan as Paul and Gerda Stephenson as Steve. 
 
Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery (2006): A pair of spectacles spells danger for the suave sleuth and his wife as they embark on a trip to Egypt. 
 
Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery (2008): A murdered millionaire and a mysterious watch-chain sets the Temples on the trail of an international counterfeiting gang. 
 
Paul Temple and Steve (2010): On the hunt for notorious criminal mastermind Dr Belasco, Paul and Steve find trouble at every turn... 
 
A Case for Paul Temple (2011): Braving booby traps, bullets and blazing houses, Paul pursues a shadowy drug dealer known only as ‘Valentine’. 
 
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair (2013): When a young woman disappears, Paul is drawn into a ruthless kidnapping racket run by the murderous ‘Mr Gregory’. 
 
These five dramas were originally broadcast in the late 1940s, but are now missing from the BBC archives. Using the same scripts, vintage sound effects and much of the original incidental music, these remakes have been engineered to sound as much like the lost serials as possible. 
 
Caution: these programmes contain language that may cause offense, and dated attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set.

The Sixties (1960-1968)

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Three

Paul Temple swings into the Sixties with five complete radio dramas.

Paul Temple swings into the Sixties in these five complete radio dramas starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury – plus bonus archive material 
 
Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case (1960): A dead girl's father is sure the police have placed the wrong man in the gallows. This 1960s remake version is published for the first time. 
 
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery (1961): The suave sleuth tries to connect his wife's kidnapping with a body dressed in an expensive designer coat. 
 
Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery (1963): After meeting an American couple on a flight, Paul Temple is soon investigating another murder in this 1963 remake. 
 
Paul Temple and Geneva Mystery (1965): A woman thinks her late husband is still alive – and someone would prefer Paul Temple dead... 
 
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair (1968): The debonair detective investigates three murders, all linked to the mysterious and elusive 'Alex'. 
 
This volume also includes the bonus 2005 radio feature Peter Coke and the Paul Temple Affair, introducing the man behind radio's smoothest and most sophisticated sleuth. Actor Peter Coke talks to Michaela Saunders about how he got the part, what he thinks of his famous catchphrase and more. 
 
Caution: these programmes contain language that may cause offense, and dated attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set.

Francis Durbridge ( 1912 – 1998) was an English playwright and author. In 1938 he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. With Steve Trent, a Fleet Street journalist and later his wife, Temple solved numerous crimes in the glamorous world of the leisured middle classes, first on radio, then in films and, from 1969 to 1971, in a television series. In addition to the Paul Temple series, Durbridge wrote other mysteries for radio and television, many of which were also produced for Dutch, German and Italian television and radio.e with seven plays, the last of which, Sweet Revenge, was written in 1991. He also wrote forty-three novels, many of which were adapted from his scripts, sometimes with the help of others.

The Fifties

Paul Temple: The Complete Radio Collection: Volume Two

Five complete radio dramas featuring writer-cum-amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material.

Five complete radio dramas featuring writer and amateur detective Paul Temple, plus bonus archive material. 
 
When it comes to classic crime partnerships, Paul Temple (Peter Coke) and his wife Steve (Marjorie Westbury) are the crème de la crème. Between 1938 and 1968 their glamorous exploits enthralled generations of radio listeners around the world. Here, presented in chronological order, are some of the amateur detective's adventures from the 1950s: The Gilbert Case (1954); The Lawrence Affair (1956); The Spencer Affair (1957); The Vandyke Affair (the 1959 remake) and The Conrad Case (1959). This collection also includes a number of bonus items. 
 
Caution: these programmes contain language that may cause offense, and dated attitudes that reflect the age in which they are set.

Francis Durbridge

Books by Francis Durbridge

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