See How Britbox’s ‘Lynley’ Cast Compares to the Original ‘Mysteries’
Lynley’s four-episode first season proved to be such a success that the BritBox production got not just a Season 2 — which started filming in Dublin this spring — but also a linear airing on British TV via BBC One.
But it wasn’t so long ago that British telly viewers got another adaptation of Elizabeth George’s mystery novel series with The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, which ran 24 episodes across six series on BBC One between 2001 and 2008.
And as you’ll see below, the two versions have characters in common, though the characterizations can differ greatly. Check out the old and new cast below.
Leo Suter as DI Thomas Lynley in ‘Lynley’
Once again, Lynley is a posh detective paired with a rank-and-file sergeant. But Leo Suter told Country & Town House that the class differences in Lynley are not the same as those of Inspector Lynley Mysteries. “There is an interesting transformation of what an upper class-working class dynamic looks like now, and I think it will be interesting for fans of the original to see how that has modulated”
Nathaniel Parker as DI Thomas Lynley in ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’
“I think the dynamic of me, a boss, and an underling who is sergeant, who were different sexes and yet not being overly flirty, not playing on that, has … stood the test of time,” Parker said in a recent interview with Masterpiece. “I think the character is slightly arrogant and sexist in his moments. … But because it [the series] was based in honesty and respect, I think it does still stand the test of time.”
Sofia Barclay as DS Barbara Havers in ‘Lynley’
In the new version, Lynley’s sergeant partner is a woman of color, which adds another facet of her personality. “She has a habit of saying exactly what she thinks at any given point — probably, I reckon, because she’s faced a lot of pushback for being a mixed race Indian girl from the wrong side of town in an all-male environment,” Barlcay told Country & Town House. “All I can hope is that I transmit the same kind of energy, maverickness, willful, cheekiness, gremlinness that [Small] has — but maybe in a more modern way.”
Sharon Small as DS Barbara Havers in ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’
“The really important thing about the part is that the character had to be someone [Lynley] wouldn’t want to sleep with,” Small told The Herald in 2018. “That character description of Havers was my staring point. What that told me was I knew my character had to have low self-esteem and she was lonely. But that she covered this up with seeming a bit feisty. And I knew enough from my own psyche that I would be able to tap into that.”
Niamh Walsh as Helen Clyde in ‘Lynley’
Viewers of the updated version also meet Helen Clyde, who’s described as “cut from the same upper crust cloth as Lynley,” according to the Daily Express. Helen and Lynley reconnect when he investigates the disappearance of one of her employees, and the duo embark on a relationship they never dared pursue during their days together at university.
Lesley Vickerage as Helen Clyde in ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’
Three actresses portrayed Helen in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Emma Fielding did so in “A Great Deliverance,” the two-episode pilot. Vickerage took over the part for Inspector Lynley’s first three series, during which Helen married Lynley and the couple lost a baby in a shooting, per the BBC. And Catherine Russell took over the part of Helen in Season 5, during which Helen is separated from Lynley.
Joshua Sher as Simon St. James in ‘Lynley’
Simon, an old friend of Lynley, has a bigger presence in the update than he did in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. In this version, he’s a forensic scientist who excels in his field and has used a wheelchair since getting involved in a car accident.
Anthony Calf as Simon St. James in ‘The Inspector Lynley Mysteries’
In “A Great Deliverance,” Lynley serves as best man at Simon’s wedding, all the while pining after his bride, Deborah, played by Amanda Ryan. (Author Elizabeth George, disapproved of Deborah’s wedding dress, however. “If I look like that on my wedding day, shoot me now,” she told the Associated Press.)
Conversation10 Comments
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F
While the original series was far from perfect, the characters were at least recognizable as being from the source material (some of my favorite books). I watched the first episode of the new series and felt like they kept the character names and jettisoned everything else. If you want to create a new series from scratch, just do that. This isn’t even remotely Lynley.
22
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M
Agree.
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E
I was so disappointed in the "new" Lynley characters I could barely get through the first episode. I have not watched it since. The two main characters were SO lacking in charisma!
Lady Helen Clyde was just too bland. I will say she was better than Lady Helen in the first series. The character is supposed to be charming and clever; I have no idea why there is none of that in either series.
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T
I think the first incarnate was more true to the books which I highly recommend anytime someone asks what I read!
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K
I watches the Nathaniel Parker series years ago on PBS. Then caught a few on streaming again. I'm sorry I hated the Helen character! She was whiney, clingy and too much high maintainance for me! Maybe new series I will check it out.
9
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T
just Stop re-doing the originals. think up something New. the reboots are Never good.
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B
I am a great fan of all past Lynley series, but the recent one is not Lynley.
It does not even remotely echo the origin book series. The new Havers rendition is an abomination to the series. I will not watch more of the new series.
7
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J
"24 episodes across six series"??? That's six SEASONS. FOUR episodes each. That's not a season... that's a movie.
Anyway, I tried watching the Lynley Mysteries when they were aired in my area, but I couldn't get into them, I think the characters turned me off. Especially Lynley, he was a cold fish. Anyway, maybe the new version will 'grab' me better, if I happen to see it.
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C
Neither of these actors, however competent, LOOKS like Lynsey as described in the novels. They needed an Edward Fox type. Or at least a Damian Lewis.
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B
Not even close. The new one is very thin in the writing and acting department
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