The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries: Four BBC historical crime comedies

Christopher Marlowe turns government spy in these four comedy crime dramas

Murder and intrigue are all in a day's work for Kit Marlowe, England's leading playwright and undercover agent in Her Majesty's Secret Service. Amid the squalor and splendour of Elizabethan London, he probes a series of baffling mysteries, aided by his trusty underworld accomplice Bartholomew Ratsbane.

The Curious Case of the Curs'd Quayside - Two of the navy's finest warships have been mysteriously sunk while moored in harbour. Sent by spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham to investigate, can Marlowe find the saboteur before more ships are scuppered?

The Turbulent Tale of the Troubl'd Tragedy - Spring, 1590, and the keen-witted spy is faced with two tricky cases. Who has stolen Mighty Meg from the Tower, and why has an unknown patron funded the worst play ever written?

The Perplex'd Plot of the Perilous Plague - Fleeing the epidemic that is ravaging London, Christopher Marlowe takes refuge with Walsingham at the Palace of Whitehall. But it seems the plague has followed them to the very heart of government...

The Murky Mystery of Murder at St Marks - When an eminent professor receives a death threat, Marlowe sets off to his Cambridge college to make enquiries. But no sooner has he arrived than the dons start dropping like flies. Can the murderer at large be outwitted?

Dominic Jephcott stars as Marlowe in these light-hearted comic mysteries, with Bill Wallis as Ratsbane, Paul Brooke as Sir Francis Walsingham and guest appearances from Roy Hudd, Hugh Bonneville (credited as Richard Bonneville), Peter Serafinowicz and Hugh Dennis.

Written by Ged Parsons
Produced and directed by Richard Wilson

Cast
Marlowe - Dominic Jephcott
Bartholomew Ratsbane - Bill Wallis
Sir Francis Walsingham - Paul Brooke
Admiral Downing/Beaumont - Garard Green
Captain Curtis/Dr Heywood - Brian Bowles
Captain Barnaby - Julian Dutton
Ned Peake - Roy Hudd
Fortescue - Simon Godley
Trump - Lionel Jeffries
Squires - Daniel Strauss
Gloriana Nonsuch - Victoria Carling
Faversham - Ronald Herdman
Ripley - Richard Bonneville
Dr Valentine - Hugh Dennis
Dr Darras - Peter Serafinowitz
Sir Hubert Sharpe - Gordon Reid
Mistress Parker - Sarah Thomas

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9-30 December 1993

© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd