Wycliffe (1994)

Name: Wycliffe
Rating: 6.8

Rating: 6.8

Synopsis

Wycliffe is a British television series, based on W. J. Burley's novels about Detective Superintendent Charles Wycliffe. It was produced by HTV and broadcast on the ITV Network, following a pilot episode on 7 August 1993, between 24 July 1994 and 5 July 1998. The series was filmed in Cornwall, with a production office in Truro. Music for the series was composed by Nigel Hess and was awarded the Royal Television Society award for the best television theme. Wycliffe is played by Jack Shepherd, assisted by DI Doug Kersey and DI Lucy Lane. Each episode deals with a murder investigation. In the early series, the stories are adapted from Burley's books and are in classic whodunit style, often with quirky characters and plot elements. In later seasons, the tone becomes more naturalistic and there is more emphasis on internal politics within the police.

First Air Date: 1994-07-24

Last Air Date: 1998-07-06

Number of Seasons: 5

Number of Episodes: 36

Created By: W.J. Burley

Networks: ITV1

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Jack Shepherd as Detective Superintendent Wycliffe
Jimmy Yuill as DI Doug Kersey
Helen Masters as DI Lucy Lane
Tim Wylton as Franks
Aaron Harris as DS Dixon
Adam Barker as DC Potter
Lynn Farleigh as Helen Wycliffe
Michael Attwell as DCC Stevens
Charlie Hayes as Ruth Wycliffe
Gregory Chisholm as David Wycliffe

Seasons

Select a Season

None

None (1994)

In series one Wycliffe is called in to head up several murder investigations, delving into each case to discover the culprits and the true nature of those involved in the deaths.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: The Four Jacks (1994-07-24)

A young female archaeology student is found naked in bed with gunshot wounds, and lies in a critical condition in hospital. As surgeons try to save her life, Wycliffe digs into the life of a famous novelist, who claims his life is at risk. Then a man is shot dead while walking his dog on the beach, and Wycliffe is under pressure to act quickly if he is to prevent another murder.
Ep. 2: The Dead Flautist (1994-07-30)

When the body of an amateur flautist, Tony Miller, shot by his own gun, is found on the secluded estate of Lord & Lady Bottrell, it is assumed that he killed himself. But Wycliffe senses there is more to the case than first meets the eye. As he unravels the dead man's last days, another mystery is revealed - the disappearance of a maid from the Bottrell household. Family feuds and illicit relationships are uncovered - and then another body is found.
Ep. 3: The Scapegoat (1994-08-07)

A Cornish undertaker suddenly disappears. The missing man's body is found, washed up on the rocks, and a murder inquiry begins. A link is suspected between the undertaker's death and a strange local summer ritual, and the mystery ends with a figure strapped to a burning wheel plunging over the cliffs.
Ep. 4: The Tangled Web (1994-08-14)

Wycliffe is brought in when an elderly bedridden woman is found dead, her body locked in a freezer, and a pregnant teenager, Hilda Clemo, from a bizarre family vanishes from her Cornish village. As fears for her safety grow, Wycliffe questions the family, whose feuding uncovers some dark secrets. Wycliffe has to unpick the tangled web of intrigue and greed.
Ep. 5: The Last Rites (1994-08-21)

When the Reverend Jordan arrives at the village church, he discovers the partially clothed body of Jessica Dobell, the church cleaner, spreadeagled below the cross. A satanic cult is thought to be behind the gruesome death, but Wycliffe believes responsibility lies elsewhere. There is an air of violent hatred in the village, not all of it directed towards the dead woman.
Ep. 6: The Pea-Green Boat (1994-08-28)

When a fishing-boat owner, Harry Tremaine, is killed in the explosion of his fishing boat, suspicion falls on the man's son, who stands to inherit everything, but Wycliffe remains unconvinced. There's also a local developer who wants to build a marina on the quayside Tremaine owned; Tremaine's partner has been having an affair with his wife; and there is a mysterious recipient of £500 in cash from Tremaine on the first day of every month.