Paul Temple is a British-German television series which originally aired on BBC1 between 1969 and 1971. 52 episodes were made over four series, each episode having a running time of around 50 minutes.

Overview Paul Temple features Francis Matthews as Paul Temple, the fictional detective created by Francis Durbridge, who solves crimes with the assistance of his wife Steve (Ros Drinkwater). Series 1 of the Paul Temple television series was produced solely by the BBC, with all 13 episodes set in Great Britain. The first episode was transmitted in November 1969, becoming one of the first shows to be broadcast in colour on BBC1.

Starting with Series 2, Paul Temple became a co-production by the BBC and Taurus Films of Munich, West Germany, and was shown internationally, with many of the episodes using overseas locations in West Germany, France, Malta and elsewhere. During the production of the second series, the producer Peter Bryant successfully persuaded Derrick Sherwin, at short notice, to join him on Paul Temple from the BBC series Doctor Who, on which they had previously worked together. There was some disagreement between the BBC and Taurus over the casting of Steve Temple (who had been played in the radio series of Paul Temple from 1945 to 1968 by Marjorie Westbury): the BBC wished to drop Ros Drinkwater from the role, but Taurus favoured her retention.

According to Francis Matthews, both Paul and Steve Temple became fashion icons of sorts, creating a style that was to be imitated in ITV's The Persuaders!,Francis Matthews recalling conversation with Roger Moore, The Paul Temple Collection (Acorn Media DVD, 2009) while, in America, Ros Drinkwater's role was reportedly emulated by Susan Saint James in McMillan & Wife and Stefanie Powers in Hart to Hart.Matthews, interview for The Paul Temple Collection (Acorn Media DVD, 2009) According to Matthews, Drinkwater chose her own "very expensive" designer clothes for the part.Interview for The Paul Temple Collection (Acorn Media DVD, 2009)

The series was intended to run for five years, but despite its popularity, especially in West Germany, the BBC withdrew prematurely after two. Huw Wheldon, the BBC's managing director for television, later explained to Matthews that it was really "Lew Grade territory" and cited the BBC's preference for such historical dramas as The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.Francis Matthews, interview for The Paul Temple Collection (Acorn Media DVD, 2009), referring to a chance encounter with Wheldon while he was dining with comedian Eric Morecambe; The Daily Telegraph, obituary of Francis Matthews, 15 June 2014 The series was allowed to peter out, the final episodes at least of the last season all based in Great Britain.

Archive The BBC never repeated Paul Temple. The series suffered badly in the BBC's wiping policy of the 1970s. Of the 52 episodes of Paul Temple that were made, only 16 survive. 11 of the surviving 16 episodes exist in colour, and these were re-run on UK Gold in its formative years in the 1990s. The other five episodes only survive as black and white telerecordings. The loss of Paul Temple episodes was such that, of the first two series, only one episode exists ("Games People Play", 19 April 1970). That episode was made completely on film and therefore was archived in the BBC's Film Library. Videotapes of 25 episodes from the first two seasons were wiped. The only telerecordings that are known to exist are the last five episodes of series 4, which are in black and white.

The visuals of some of the 36 missing episodes survive in the ZDF TV archives in Germany. These come from series 2 to 4, which were BBC-ZDF co-produced; however, they only have dubbed German soundtracks. Any BBC tape copies of missing episodes with their original English soundtracks intact are believed to be long-gone from the ZDF archive, with one exception (see below).

In 2016, a DVD was released in Germany containing most episodes from the fourth and final series, with German dubbing. The final five episodes were included in colour, containing both the dubbed German and original English soundtracks. While not every episode on the release contains its original English language soundtrack, one, "A Family Affair", does. "A Family Affair" does not appear to have been returned to the BBC archive, for it was not included on the Acorn DVD releases in the UK.

DVD releases In July 2009, Acorn Media released the 11 existing colour episodes (still held within the BBC archives) on DVD. These were cleared at the BBFC on 17 March 2009.BBFC Clearance with Episode Titles In April 2012, Acorn Media released a DVD of the final five episodes. Although broadcast in colour, these five episodes were released in black and white, due to the BBC archive only having access to black-and-white copies of those episodes. Colour copies of the last five episodes do exist in an archive in Germany, and were released on DVD in Germany in 2016. However, Acorn Media did not use these recordings for the 2012 DVD release in the UK, instead relying on the BBC's monochrome copies. In August 2013, Acorn Media released all 16 of its previously issued episodes (11 in colour, five in black and white) on DVD, in a release titled Paul Temple: The Complete Collection.

In May 2016, the series began to appear in German-speaking countries, released by German DVD company Fernsehjuwelen (the name means 'TV jewels'). These DVD releases cover all the episodes of seasons 2, 3 and 4, across three different boxsets or as a complete set ('Gesamtedition'). This made many episodes from seasons 2–4 commercially available for the first time. The English audio - where available - has been added as an extra soundtrack.

Main cast Francis Matthews as Paul Temple Ros Drinkwater as Steve Temple June Ellis as Kate Balfour George Sewell as Sammy Carson Blake Butler as Eric Derek Martin as Paddy

Guest stars The series also features performances from several guest stars including Peter Sallis, Tenniel Evans, Terence Edmond, John Stratton and Derek Newark.

Episodes

Series 1 # Episode Writer Director Original airdate BBC archive status 1 Who Dies Next Peter Miller Douglas Camfield 23 November 1969 Missing Paul and Steve arrive home to find they have been burgled. Curiously, nothing of value seems to have been taken, but books have been removed from the bookshelves as if someone had been searching through them. Searching for what? 2 Message from A Dead Man John Roddick Paul Ciappessoni 30 November 1969 Missing Spending a weekend at Random Cottage, Paul and Steve are visited by a young American, who tells them he has heard a murder being arranged on the telephone. When Paul starts checking he finds that everything the American told him was untrue, but then a man is found dead. 3 There Must Be A Mr X David Ellis Eric Hills 7 December 1969 Missing After an evening at a gambling club, Paul takes a hostess, Sandra, back to her flat. When Paul arrives home in the early hours of the morning he tells Steve he has been talking over old times with a friend. What is Paul up to? 4 Missing Penny Cyril Abraham Tina Wakerell 14 December 1969 Missing Paul is told a strange story about a girl missing from a village not far from Random Cottage. He learns that she didn't drive a car and she didn't take the only bus to the nearest station. In fact, nobody saw her leave at all... 5 The Man Who Wasn't Really There John Tully Douglas Camfield 21 December 1969 Missing A man known to Paul and Steve is reported killed in an air crash in Rome, but Steve is positive that the man called at the Temples' home shortly after the time given for the crash. 6 Which One of Us Is Me? David Chantler Paul Ciappessoni 28 December 1969 Missing Paul is asked for help by a man called Howard Hawthorn. Apparently someone is intent on destroying Howard; his character, his marriage, his sanity. Paul asks who this someone is. Howard replies, 'Howard Hawthorn.' 7 Inside Information David Ellis Tina Wakerell 4 January 1970 Missing A private enquiry agent calls to see Steve, who tells him she wants him to watch Paul. When the agent asks why, Steve says she suspects Paul of being unfaithful, and requires evidence for a divorce. 8 The Masked Lady John Tully Rex Tucker 11 January 1970 Missing A film is being made in an ancestral home about the legend of the strange disappearance of the Masked Lady. A young girl playing the part also disappears. 9 Swan Song For Colonel Harp David Chantler Tina Wakerell 18 January 1970 Missing Colonel Harp is one of the regulars at the Falcon. One day a stranger comes to see him, and Eric observes that the Colonel seems frightened. Shortly, it is announced that the Colonel is selling his house and moving to a cottage in the country. The stranger asks Eric to take a trunk down to the cottage, but the Colonel is not present. The stranger says the trunk contains books... 10 Mr Wallace Predicts John Tully Eric Hills 25 January 1970 Missing Paul and Steve find themselves involved with Mr Wallace, a researcher into extra-sensory perception. But Mr Wallace has another talent that interests Paul: he can predict accidents. Unfortunately, the victims never seem to get his warnings in time. 11 Letters From Robert John Tully Prudence Fitzgerald 1 February 1970 Missing Miss Rose Martin was once in love with a man called Robert Stanlake, who disappeared mysteriously 20 years ago. She starts getting letters, from someone who seems to know all about her, signed as Robert Stanlake. 12 The Man From the Sea Cyril Abrahams Philip Dudley 8 February 1970 Missing Kate is taking a holiday at the seaside. Walking along the beach, she discovers a body washed up by the tide. A lighthouse keeper tells her he has sent for the police, but Kate later discovers the police have no knowledge of the body. 13 The Victim David Whitaker Douglas Camfield 15 February 1970 Missing Peter Tremayne, a rich industrialist, is being persecuted by someone. He thinks his persecutor is an old enemy, but Paul has other ideas.

Series 2