Genre | Crime drama |
---|---|
Running time | 45 mins |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Language(s) | English |
Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
Syndicates | BBC Radio 4 Extra |
Starring |
|
Written by | David Ashton |
Directed by | Bruce Young |
Produced by | Bruce Young |
Recording studio | BBC Pacific Quay, Glasgow |
Original release | 26 July 1999 – 1 February 2024 |
No. of series | 14 |
No. of episodes | 54 |
Website | www |
McLevy is a British radio crime drama series, written by David Ashton, about the 19th century Edinburgh police detective James McLevy. Broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as part of its Afternoon Drama slot, the drama stars Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond, with Michael Perceval-Maxwell and David Ashton.
In the 1999 pilot play, Phyllis Logan played Jean and John Paul Hurley played Mulholland. Lieutenant Roach was not introduced until the actual first episode of Series One; in the pilot play, McLevy's superior was Lieutenant Moxey, with the change in command explained as Moxey having been "elevated" to The Haymarket (in the novel Shadow of the Serpent, the explanation is that Moxey "had left somewhat under a cloud and Roach had been swiftly drafted in from Haymarket to fill the gap ...").
While some of the series contain a thread connecting all of that series' stories into one storyline, the elements of each of the stories remain constant:
The historicity of the series is not always faultless. For example, an episode on 24 March 2015 involved a robbery of the British Linen Bank, although that bank did not obtain that title until 1906.
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [3] |
---|---|---|
1 | 21/12/2000 | For Unto Us |
2 | 28/12/2000 | The Trophy Club |
3 | 04/01/2001 | The Second Shadow |
4 | 11/01/2001 | The Burning Question |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [4] |
---|---|---|
1 | 19/06/2002 | A Good Walk Spoilt |
2 | 26/06/2002 | Wild Justice |
3 | 03/07/2002 | The Wild Spark |
4 | 10/07/2002 | Stab in the Back |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [5] |
---|---|---|
1 | 01/12/2003 | Behind the Curtain |
2 | 08/12/2003 | A Voice from the Grave |
3 | 15/12/2003 | The Dark Shadow |
4 | 22/12/2003 | Servant of the Crown |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [6] |
---|---|---|
1 | 03/04/2006 | A Piece of Cake |
2 | 10/04/2006 | The Sea Change |
3 | 17/04/2006 | Sins of the Fathers |
4 | 24/04/2006 | The Devil's Disguise |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [7] |
---|---|---|
1 | 27/01/2009 | To Keep Him Honest |
2 | 03/02/2009 | Picture of Innocence |
3 | 10/02/2009 | The Chosen One |
4 | 17/02/2009 | The Reckoning |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [8] |
---|---|---|
1 | 21/12/2009 | A Bolt From the Blue |
2 | 28/12/2009 | End of the Line |
3 | 04/01/2010 | Jack O'Diamonds |
4 | 11/01/2010 | Queen of Spades |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [9] |
---|---|---|
1 | 02/03/2011 | The Firebrand |
2 | 09/03/2011 | Dead Reckoning |
3 | 16/03/2011 | Prince of Darkness |
4 | 23/03/2011 | A Distant Death |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [10] |
---|---|---|
1 | 29/11/2011 | The Blue Gown |
2 | 06/12/2011 | Flesh and Blood |
3 | 13/12/2011 | A Fine Deception |
4 | 20/12/2011 | The Last Illusion |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [11] |
---|---|---|
1 | 26/11/2012 | A Dangerous Remedy |
2 | 03/12/2012 | No Looking Back |
3 | 10/12/2012 | A Pearl in the Oyster |
4 | 17/12/2012 | The Cross-Roads |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [12] |
---|---|---|
1 | 18/02/2014 | A Different Path |
2 | 25/02/2014 | The Cat's Claw |
3 | 04/03/2014 | A Sore Convulsion |
4 | 11/03/2014 | A Secret Life |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [13] |
---|---|---|
1 | 15/12/2015 | A Price to Pay |
2 | 22/12/2015 | The Seventh Veil |
3 | 29/12/2015 | The Night Walker |
4 | 05/01/2016 | The Devil Makes a Move |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [14] |
---|---|---|
1 | 10/10/2016 | A Matter of Balance |
2 | 11/10/2016 | A Man of Honour |
3 | 12/10/2016 | He Who Waits |
4 | 13/10/2016 | The Last Goodbye |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [15] |
---|---|---|
1 | 21/04/2022 | Shake Hands With The Devil |
2 | 28/04/2022 | A Stirring In The Blood |
Episode no. | Broadcast date | Episode title [16] |
---|---|---|
1 | 25/01/2024 | Fate Takes A Hand |
2 | 01/02/2024 | Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble |
Broadcast date | Episode title | Notes |
---|---|---|
26/07/1999 | Pilot episode | Originally titled 'McLevy', it was retitled 'Happy Land' for subsequent repeats. |
25/12/2006 | Christmas Special | 90-minute feature-length episode. |
08/10/2016 | Meet James McLevy | 60-minute re-make of the pilot episode, with "Lieutenant Roach" taking the place of "Lieutenant Moxey" and "Hannah Semple" taking a more prominent role in the story. [17] |
All episodes of series 1-12 are currently available on both CD, audio download [18] and with the exception of the pilot episode can be listened to for free on BBC Sounds. [19]
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