Mine's A Paul Temple!

Crime novelist and detective Paul Temple made his first appearance on BBC Radio in 1938 and went on to appear in novels, film, television and a daily newspaper strip. Now, there's even a cocktail named after him...

Created by Francis Durbridge, Paul Temple inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats – a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard usually needed Temple’s help with his latest tricky case.

The Paul Temple newspaper strip, which appeared in the London Evening News, was published between 19 November 1951 and 1 May 1971 and was drawn variously by Alfred Sindall, Bill Bailey and John McNamara. On the continent, two short-lived comic-series by the Aachener Bildschriftenverlag and the Luna-Kriminalromane are rare collector's items. (More information and sample strips here).

MINE'S A PAUL TEMPLE... To celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the first Paul Temple radio series, Edward Viita, Manager of the Artesian Bar at London's prestigious Langham Hotel, has created a new cocktail: The Paul Temple, which will feature on the Bar's new autumn menu from October. The cocktail is whisky-based to reflect Paul Temple's drink of choice and is a variation of the classic whisky cocktail 'Blood and Sand', originally created for the 1922 film of the same name and reflective of the Paul Temple era. The Paul Temple • 30ml Scotch Whisky (for best results use a smooth slightly smoky scotch) • 20ml Dubonnet Rouge • 20ml Crème de Peche • 20ml White Peach Puree • 20ml Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice • Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass • Rub a short sprig of rosemary between your hands (to release the aromas) and lay it as a garnish over the drink

The Paul Temple radio serials proved so popular that their creator Francis Durbridge was inspired to write a series of novels featuring the character. On 13th November, BBC Audiobooks will release News of Paul Temple read by Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Merlin), in a story which centres on Temple meeting vivacious actress Iris Archer at a cocktail party. After agreeing to write a play for her, he is most surprised when she suddenly decides to pull out of the lead role days before the play is due to open. He is even more surprised when he glimpses her in the Scottish hotel where the Temples are holidaying – after she had told him that she was going to the South of France.

Does her sudden appearance have anything to do with the mysterious letter passed to Paul Temple by an excitable young man, with explicit instructions to deliver it to John Richmond? What does the enigmatic Doctor Steiner have to do with events? And, most importantly, who is operating under the codename Z4? It is up to Paul Temple to find out...

News of Paul Temple follows on the heels of the July release of Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery, a re-recording of the drama starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson, based on the scripts for the original production first broadcast in 1949.

The BBC Scotland Drama team tracked down the original Paul Temple scripts and went into meticulous detail to re-record Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery in an authentic vintage style. Producer Patrick Rayner explained that old pieces of recording kit, including period microphones were dug out and dusted down for a faithful recreation of the detective series and the team were able to retrieve period recordings of sound effects such as motorboats and the original incidental music to stay as true to the original dramas as possible.

In the story, the Temples enjoy the company of their fellow passengers on an ocena liner returning to England from America, only to find one of them dead the next morning – and when Paul and Steve get home to London, Sir Graham Forbes is waiting to plunge them into one of their most thrilling and dangerous adventures, the pursuit of a ruthless international gang of counterfeiters. As knives fly and bombs explode, the key to the puzzle seems to lie in a coin on the end of a watch-chain…

• Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery is available now. ISBN: 9781405678124
Duration 4 Hours on 4 CDs Download ISBN: 9781405608572

• News of Paul Temple will be published by BBC Audiobooks on 13th November 2008
ISBN: 9781405676960 Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes on 2 CDs
Download ISBN: 9781405679329