| Genre: | Crime drama |
| Creator: | Georges Simenon |
| Theme Music Composer: | Ron Grainer |
| Opentheme: | The Maigret Theme |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Seasons: | 4 |
| Num Episodes: | 52, (plus a pilot episode in 1959) |
| Executive Producer: | Andrew Osborn |
| Runtime: | 50 minutes |
| Company: | BBC |
| Channel: | BBC TV |
Maigret is a British television series made by the BBC and which – following a pilot episode broadcast in 1959 – ran for 52 episodes from 1960 to 1963.
Based on the Maigret stories of Georges Simenon, the series starred Rupert Davies in the title role.
Unlike most BBC series produced in the 1960s, all episodes (bar the pilot) have survived intact, and are available as a complete set on DVD and Blu-ray.
In 2022 the series was broadcast by UK television channel Talking Pictures TV.
Rupert Davies took up the role as the Police Judiciaire detective Commissaire Jules Maigret in 1960, after Basil Sydney, who had played Maigret in the pilot episode, was unable to continue.
Although staying largely true to the storyline of the books, the series featured only three of Maigret's team of detectives (the "faithful four"[2]), omitting any casting for Janvier, although the character is mentioned in several episodes.The choice of Davies to play Maigret was enthusiastically approved by Simenon himself. Remembering the role in a 1964 interview Davies said "When Andrew Osborn, the producer of the show, offered me the part on Good Friday in 1960, I knew very little about Maigret. I knew he was a famous French fictional detective, but that was all." Rather than read the books to get the feel for the character, Davies thought it would be better to meet Maigret's creator and hear from him how he saw the character. The BBC agreed and a meeting was arranged between Davies and Simenon in Lausanne.[3]
"The moment Simenon saw me he shouted: "C'est Maigret, c'est Maigret. You are the flesh and bones of Maigret!" Davies later remembered. "That was a wonderful beginning. Then he drove us to his lovely château in the village of Échandens, where I met his wife. Later he began to coach me in Maigret's idiosyncrasies."[3]
Simenon himself said of Davies "At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!"
The series was written by a set of ten writers, each contributing individual episodes; the most prolific being Giles Cooper, credited with nineteen episodes, and Roger East, with twelve.
Directing was similarly shared by sixteen directors, with Gerard Glaister and Terence Williams responsible for eight each, Andrew Osborn seven, and Eric Tayler six.Each episode was shot in black-and-white and lasted 50 minutes, and (as it was made for the BBC) was intended to be screened without commercial breaks. It was shot mainly in studio, though many of the exteriors were filmed on location in Paris. Interior set designer Eileen Diss spent months scouring France for French items to be used on set, including furniture, ornaments, posters, and cigarette packets; she noted in a 1961 interview that, "Half these things may never be in sharp focus on the screen. But when in a close-up you see a terribly French door-knob behind someone's left ear, it does make just that much extra difference."[4]
Series costar Ewen Solon broke his leg in a stunt while jumping from a wall. Subsequent scripts had to be rewritten to account for the obvious damage which could not be hidden or shot around.[5]
Theme music and various incidental music was composed by Ron Grainer[6] for which he won an Ivor Novello award.[6] Apart from the pilot, all 52 episodes remain within the BBC's archives.[7]
On Sunday, February 9, 1969, BBC One London aired Maigret at Bay as part of its series BBC Play of the Month.[8] This feature-length movie was based on the 1964 novel Maigret Defends Himself (Maigret se défend), and featured Rupert Davies, Helen Shingler, and Neville Jason reprising their series roles of Commissaire Maigret, Madame Maigret, and Lapointe, respectively.[9]
(with dates of first broadcast on BBC TV)
| Title | First shown | Based on | Notes[10] | |
| Maigret and the Lost Life | 12 April 1959 | 1954 novel: Starring Basil Sydney as Maigret | ||
| Title | First shown | Based on | Notes[11] | |
| Murder in Montmartre | 31 October 1960 | 1951 novel: Rupert Davies takes over as Maigret | ||
| Unscheduled Departure | 7 November 1960 | 1958 novel | ||
| The Burglar's Wife | 14 November 1960 | 1951 novel | ||
| The Revolver | 21 November 1960 | 1952 novel | ||
| The Old Lady | 28 November 1960 | 1950 novel | ||
| Liberty Bar | 5 December 1960 | 1932 novel | ||
| A Man of Quality | 12 December 1960 | 1931 novel | ||
| My Friend the Inspector | 19 December 1960 | 1949 novel | ||
| The Mistake | 26 December 1960 | 1953 novel | ||
| On Holiday | 2 January 1961 | 1948 novel | ||
| The Experts | 9 January 1961 | 1952 novel | ||
| The Cactus | 16 January 1961 | 1951 novel | ||
| The Children's Party | 23 January 1961 | 1931 novel | ||
| Title | First shown | Based on | Notes | |
| Shadow Play | 23 October 1961 | 1932 novel | ||
| The Simple Case | 30 October 1961 | 1955 novel | ||
| Death of a Butcher | 6 November 1961 | 1956 novel | ||
| The Winning Ticket | 13 November 1961 | 1948 novel | ||
| Inspector Lognon's Triumph | 20 November 1961 | 1946 short story | ||
| The Lost Sailor | 27 November 1961 | 1932 novel | ||
| The Golden Fleece | 4 December 1961 | 1933 novel | ||
| Raise Your Right Hand | 11 December 1961 | 1960 novel | ||
| The Liars | 18 December 1961 | 1954 novel | ||
| A Crime for Christmas | 26 December 1961 | 1950 short story | ||
| The Reluctant Witnesses | 1 January 1962 | 1959 novel | ||
| The White Hat | 8 January 1962 | 1950 novel | ||
| Murder on Monday | 15 January 1962 | 1953 novel | ||
| Title | First shown | Based on | Notes | |
| Voices from the Past | 24 September 1962 | 1960 novel | ||
| The Madman of Vervac | 1 October 1962 | 1932 novel | ||
| The Countess | 8 October 1962 | 1932 novel | ||
| The Wedding Guest | 15 October 1962 | 1931 novel | ||
| High Politics | 22 October 1962 | 1954 novel | ||
| Love from Felicie | 29 October 1962 | 1944 novel | ||
| The Dirty House | 5 November 1962 | 1947 novel | ||
| The Crystal Ball | 12 November 1962 | 1944 novel | ||
| The Crooked Castle | 19 November 1962 | 1931 novel | ||
| Death in Mind | 26 November 1962 | 1931 novel | ||
| Seven Little Crosses | 3 December 1962 | Sept Petites Croix dans un Carnet | A non-Maigret short story included in the 1951 collection Maigret's Christmas (Un Noël de Maigret) | |
| The Trap | 10 December 1962 | 1955 novel | ||
| The Amateurs | 17 December 1962 | 1961 novel | ||
| Title | First shown | Based on | Notes | |
| Poor Cecile | 1 October 1963 | 1940 novel | ||
| The Fontenay Murders | 8 October 1963 | 1953 novel | ||
| The Lost Life | 15 October 1963 | 1954 novel: (remake of 1959 pilot) | ||
| The Cellars of the Majestic | 22 October 1963 | 1939 novel | ||
| A Man Condemned | 29 October 1963 | 1959 novel | ||
| The Flemish Shop | 5 November 1963 | 1932 novel | ||
| A Taste of Power | 12 November 1963 | 1949 novel | ||
| The Log of the Cap Fagnet | 19 November 1963 | 1931 novel | ||
| The Judge's House | 26 November 1963 | 1940 novel | ||
| Another World | 3 December 1963 | 1957 novel | ||
| The Crime at Lock 14 | 10 December 1963 | 1931 novel | ||
| Peter the Lett | 17 December 1963 | 1931 novel | ||
| Maigret's Little Joke | 24 December 1963 | 1957 novel |
In May 2021, Network Distributing announced the Blu-Ray release of the series (to be released August 2021), with a DVD release soon to follow.[12]
The DVD set of 14 discs does not include the booklet found in the Blu-Ray edition. Sleeve notes inform that the series has been "remastered from original film elements", most likely meaning Kinescope films as distributed world-wide, "original fullscreen TV format".
In 2023, Kino Lorber released the series on Blu-Ray for Region A.[13]