| Maigret | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Georges Simenon |
| Written by | Georges Simenon 12 episodes, 1960-1961) Giles Cooper (7 episodes, 1960-1961) Margot Bennett (5 episodes, 1960-1962) Roger East (5 episodes, 1960-1962) Donald Bull (2 episodes, 1962-1963) Elaine Morgan (2 episodes, 1963) |
| Starring | Rupert Davies Ewen Solon Neville Jason Heather Chasen |
| Theme music composer | Ron Grainer |
| Opening theme | The Maigret Theme |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Andrew Osborn |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Picture format | 1.33 : 1 Black & White |
| First shown in | 1960 |
| Original run | 1960 – 1963 |
Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.
Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies as the Sûreté detective Commissaire Jules Maigret, and featured Ewen Solon as Lucas, Helen Shingler as Madame Maigret and Neville Jason as Lapointe.[1]
The choice of Davies to play Maigret was enthuiastically approved by Simenon himself. Remembering the role in a 1964 interview Davies said "When Andrew Osborn, the producer of the show, offered me the part on Good Friday in 1960, I knew very little about Maigret. I knew he was a famous French fictional detective, but that was all." Rather than read the books to get the feel for the character Davies thought it would be better to meet Maigret's creator and hear from him how he saw the character. The BBC agreed and a meeting was arranged between Davies and Simenon in Lausanne.[2]
"The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: "C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret. You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Enchandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies."[2]
The haunting theme music was composed by Ron Grainer. Georges Simenon wrote 12 episodes of the series during 1960-1961.[1]