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Clive Merrison and Michael Williams are, so far, the only pair of actors to star as Holmes and Watson in adaptations of every single one of Conan Doyle's original stories. This 1999 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles was the closing chapter in this epic, which had begun eleven years earlier with a different production of the same story. That first play had starred Roger Rees and Crawford Logan, and the series had followed from it - though Rees and Logan did not reprise their roles. In stepped Merrison and Williams and the rest is history.
(That 1988 adaptation is also available on the channel, along with a couple of other really good ones that are worth checking out)
Clive Merrison remains my favourite Holmes - his voice lends the character a quality of particularly vulpine cunning, and Williams is excellent as the steadfast Watson. Sadly Michael Williams died fairly soon after his partnership with Merrison had reached this point of completion. He would, no doubt, have returned though - because Merrison's Holmes returned for further series of brand new adventures based on references to 'unseen' cases in the original stories. Andrew Sachs stepped in, making an excellent Watson - but Michael Williams can never be forgotten.
Williams had a small surprise during the making of this play because when they came to record a scene featuring Mrs Hudson, it was only then that he discovered they had cast his wife in the role. His wife, for those who don't know, was Dame Judi Dench - listen out for her brief cameo appearance!
MYSTERIOUS MAGPIE is a channel devoted to ghost and horror stories on British radio, and to dark tales of every kind. I have another channel, MYSTICAL MAGPIE, which is all about stories of fantasy, mythology, and adventure: / @mysticalmagpie-wo5fn
If you're interested to know more about the century-long history of ghost and horror stories broadcast at Christmas on British television and radio, you might like to check out HOLLY WRAITHS (and its companion volume HOLLY TERRORS), an A-Z guide available in paperback and ebook from Amazon and Lulu.com.
Holly Wraiths on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Holly-Wraith...