Top Crime Fictionists Trash TV Adaptations

What do authors P.D. James and Ruth Rendell have in common? Well, a lot of things, really. But, most particularly, according to the London Times, both authors “took an instant dislike to the actors who played their fictional detectives on television because they did not resemble their vision of the characters.”

During a panel discussion yesterday at The Times Cheltenham Festival of Literature, both women spoke candidly about the fact that they had been unhappy with TV adaptations of their books. As the Times reported:

Dame Ruth, 79, said that Baroness James had not identified with Roy Marsden, the actor who played Inspector Adam Dalgliesh for 15 years. “You never liked Roy Marsden much, did you?” she said. Baroness James, 89, responded: “I didn’t like his moustache. You don’t ever see senior detectives with a moustache.” A spokeswoman for Mr. Marsden said that he would not comment.

Dame Ruth added: “I didn’t like George Baker [in the role of Inspector Reginald Wexford] at first but I got used to him. He didn’t look like him. I said in an early book that he is very ugly and George was not.”

The piece includes more from both bestselling authors, is very engaging and it’s here.