Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse"

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

s by British author

Colin Dexter Norman Colin Dexter (29 September 1930 – 21 March 2017) was an English crime writer known for his ''Inspector Morse'' series of novels, which were written between 1975 and 1999 and adapted as an ITV (TV network), ITV television series, ''Inspec ...

, a

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Chief Inspector in the

Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley region, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in South East England. It is the largest non-metropolitan police force ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. On television he was portrayed by

John Thaw John Edward Thaw (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor in television, stage and cinema, best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in '' The Sweeney'' (1975—78) and as Detective Chief ...

in a 33-episode drama series, ''

Inspector Morse Endeavour Morse, GM, is the namesake character of the series of "Morse" detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, a Detective Chief Inspector in the Thames Valley Police in Oxford, England. On television he was portrayed by John ...

'' (1987–2000), and by

Shaun Evans Shaun Evans (born 6 March 1980) is an English actor. He is best known for playing a young Endeavour Morse in the ITV drama series '' Endeavour'' and Coxswain Elliot Glover in ''Vigil''. Early life Evans was born on 6 March 1980. He is a Li ...

in the (2012–2023)

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

series '' Endeavour''. The older Morse is a senior

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes criminal investigation, detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is disti ...

(CID) officer, while the younger is a detective constable rising through the ranks with the

Oxford City Police Oxford City Police was the police force of the City of Oxford, England. It policed the city from 1 January 1869 until 31 March 1968. It was established to succeed a "watch and ward" force that had been founded in 1835. On 1 April 1968 it and fo ...

and, in later seasons, the Thames Valley Police. Morse presents, to some, a reasonably sympathetic personality, despite his sullen and snobbish temperament. He is known for his classic

Jaguar Mark 2 The Jaguar Mark 2 is a mid-sized luxury sports saloon built from late 1959 to 1967 by Jaguar in Coventry, England. The previous Jaguar 2.4 Litre and 3.4 Litre models made between 1955 and 1959 are identified as Mark 1 Jaguars.Eric Dymock, The ...

Lancia Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is the European subsidiary of Stellantis. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganise ...

in the early novels), thirst for English

real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for ale that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous ca ...

, and love of classical music (especially opera and

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

), poetry, art and cryptic crossword puzzles. In his later career he is usually assisted by Sergeant Robbie Lewis, a partnership and formal friendship which is fundamental to the series. Morse uses Lewis’ first name, Robbie for the first time in S5, E5 “Promised Land” before going to face a kidnapper and potential killer.

Biography

Family

Morse's father was a taxi driver. In the episode of the television adaptation '' Cherubim and Seraphim'', it is revealed that Morse's parents divorced when he was 12. He remained with his mother until her death three years later, upon which he had to return to his father. Morse had a dreadful relationship with his stepmother Gwen. He claims that he only read poetry to annoy her, and that her petty bullying almost drove him to suicide. He has a half-sister named Joyce with whom he is on better terms. Morse was devastated when Joyce's daughter Marilyn took her own life. Morse prefers to use only his surname, and is generally evasive when asked about his first name, sometimes joking that it is ''Inspector''. “Everyone just calls me Morse. I do have a first name.” In ''The Dead of Jericho'' and ''The Wench Is Dead'' it is noted that his initial is E. At the end of ''

Death Is Now My Neighbour ''Death Is Now My Neighbour'' is a crime fiction, crime novel by Colin Dexter, the 12th novel in the Inspector Morse series. Plot summary At 17 Bloxham Drive, Kidlington, Oxfordshire, a pretty 29-year-old Physical therapy, physiotherapist named ...

'', his name is revealed to be Endeavour. Two-thirds of the way through the television episode based on the book, he gives the cryptic clue "My whole life's effort has revolved around Eve, nine letters". In the series, it is noted that Morse's reluctance to use his Christian name led to his receiving the nickname ''Pagan'' (Deceived by Flight) while at

Stamford School Stamford School is a co-educational independent school (UK), independent school in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition. Founded in 1532, it has been a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

(which

, the author of the Morse novels, attended). In the novels, Morse's first name came from the vessel HMS ''Endeavour''; his mother was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

) who have a tradition of "

virtue name Virtue names, also known as grace names, are used as personal names in a number of cultures. They express virtues that the parents wish their child to embody or be associated with. In the English-speaking world, beginning in the 16th century, the P ...

s", and his father admired

Captain James Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

. Dexter was a fan of cryptic crosswords and named Morse after champion setter

Jeremy Morse Sir Christopher Jeremy Morse KCMG (10 December 1928 – 4 February 2016) was an English banker, cruciverbalist and chess composer who was Chancellor of the University of Bristol from 1989 to 2003, and was chairman of Lloyds Bank. Early life ...

, one of Dexter's arch-rivals in writing crossword clues. Dexter used to walk along the bank of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

at Oxford, opposite the boathouse belonging to 22nd Oxford Sea Scout Group; the building is named '' T.S. Endeavour''.

Education

Although details of Morse's education are kept vague, it is hinted that he won a scholarship to study at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. He lost the scholarship as the result of poor academic performance stemming from a failed love affair, which is mentioned in the second episode of the third series, "The Last Enemy", and recounted in detail in the novel '' The Riddle of the Third Mile'', Chapter 7. Further details are revealed piece-by-piece in the prequel series. He often reflects on such renowned scholars as

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classics, classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in ''literae humaniores'' and t ...

who, like himself, failed to get an academic degree from Oxford.

Career

After university, he entered the army on

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. This included serving in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

with the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

as a

cipher In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode i ...

clerk. Upon leaving, he joined the police at Carshall-Newtown, before being posted to Oxford with the

. He was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

in the last episode of '' Endeavour'' Series 4, which he refrains from wearing on his uniform. He is assigned to a uniformed position in Series 6 despite having his opinions and observations disregarded by CID.

Habits and personality

Morse is the embodiment of middle-class Englishness, with a set of prejudices and assumptions to match, although his background, being the son of a taxi driver, might be considered working class. He claims to have a private income from his father driving for the

Aga Khan Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...

, but this may be a joke. Due to his manners and bearing, he is sometimes considered

gentleman detective The gentleman detective is a type of fictional character. He (or she) has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in the United Kingdom in the Golden Age. While not necessarily aristocracy, the ...

, the staple of British

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

, in contrast to the working-class lifestyle of his assistant

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

. In the novels, Lewis is

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

, but in the TV series this is altered to a

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

(

Geordie Geordie ( ), sometimes known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English, is an English dialect and accent spoken in the Tyneside area of North East England. It developed as a variety of the old Northumbrian dialect and became espe ...

) background, appropriately for the actor

Kevin Whately Kevin Whately OBE (born 6 February 1951) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Neville "Nev" Hope in the comedy drama ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''; Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the British crime drama ''Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000) ...

. Morse is in his forties at the start of the books (''Service of all the Dead'', Chapter Six: "… a bachelor still, forty-seven years old …"), and Lewis slightly younger (e.g. ''The Secret of Annexe 3'', Chapter Twenty-Six: "a slightly younger man – another policeman, and one also in plain clothes"). John Thaw was 45 at the beginning of shooting the TV series and Kevin Whately was 36. Morse's relationships with authority, the establishment, bastions of power and the status quo, are markedly ambiguous, as are some of his relations with women. He is frequently portrayed as patronising female characters, and once stereotyped the female sex as not naturally prone to crime, being caring and non-violent, but also often empathises with women. He is not shy to show his liking for attractive women and often dates those involved in cases. Indeed, a woman he falls in love with sometimes turns out to be the culprit. Morse is highly intelligent. He is a

crossword A crossword (or crossword puzzle) is a word game consisting of a grid of black and white squares, into which solvers enter words or phrases ("entries") crossing each other horizontally ("across") and vertically ("down") according to a set of cl ...

addict and dislikes grammatical and spelling errors; in every personal or private document that he receives, he manages to point out at least one mistake. He claims that his approach to crime-solving is deductive, and one of his key tenets is that "there is a 50 per cent chance that the person who finds the body is the murderer". Morse uses immense intuition and his fantastic memory to apprehend the perpetrator. Among Morse's conservative tastes are that he likes to drink

and

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

, (which he calls “brain food”) and likes to drink while thinking about cases despite doctors’ advice on cutting down. In the early novels, Morse drives a

. In the television and radio productions (and reprints of the novels), this is altered to a

. His favourite music is opera, which is echoed in the soundtracks to the television series. The original music is by Barrington Pheloung. Which has been made into Morse Code and spells out Inspector Morse. His dying words, said to Jim Strange, (who liked calling Morse, “matey” due to their long working relationship together), are "Thank Lewis for me." Morse is portrayed as being an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. However, in some scenes, he does entertain the possibility of God and/or quote the Bible from memory, agreeing with the phrases, as he does with lines from various literary books/texts.

Novels

The novels in the series are: * ''

Last Bus to Woodstock ''Last Bus to Woodstock'' is a Crime fiction, crime novel by Colin Dexter, the first of 13 novels in his ''Inspector Morse'' series. Plot summary Two young women are waiting in Oxford for a bus to the nearby town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, Woo ...

'' (1975) * '' Last Seen Wearing'' (1976) * '' The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn'' (1977) * ''

Service of All the Dead ''Service of All the Dead'' is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the fourth novel in his Inspector Morse series. Setting The novel describes a series of murders in and around St Frideswide's Church, Cornmarket, which corresponds to St Mary Magdal ...

'' (1979) * ''

The Dead of Jericho ''The Dead of Jericho'', published in 1981, is a work of English detective fiction by Colin Dexter. It is the fifth novel in the Inspector Morse series. In 1987 it was adapted as the first episode of the highly successful television series insp ...

'' (1981) * '' The Riddle of the Third Mile'' (1983) * '' The Secret of Annexe 3'' (1986) * ''

The Wench is Dead ''The Wench Is Dead'' is a historical crime novel by Colin Dexter, the eighth novel in the Inspector Morse series. The novel received the Gold Dagger Award in 1989. Plot summary In 1859, the body of a young woman was found floating in the Oxfo ...

'' (1989) * ''

The Jewel That Was Ours ''The Jewel That Was Ours'' is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the ninth novel in Inspector Morse series. This novel was written by Dexter after he wrote a screenplay for an episode titled ''The Wolvercote Tongue'' in series 2 of the television ...

'' (1991) * ''

The Way Through the Woods ''The Way Through the Woods'' is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the tenth novel in the Inspector Morse series. It received the Gold Dagger Award in 1992. The novel was adapted for television in 1995, as an episode of the ''Inspector Morse'' s ...

'' (1992) * '' The Daughters of Cain'' (1994) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

The Remorseful Day ''The Remorseful Day'' is a crime novel by Colin Dexter, the last novel in the Inspector Morse series. The novel was adapted as the final episode in the Inspector Morse television series. Title The title derives from a line in the poem "XVI � ...

'' (1999) Inspector Morse also appears in several stories in Dexter's short story collection, '' Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories'' (1993, expanded edition 1994).

In other media

Television

''Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000)

The Inspector Morse novels were made into a

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

(also called ''Inspector Morse'') for the British commercial TV network

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

. The series was made by

Zenith Productions Zenith Productions (later Zenith Entertainment) was a British independent film and television production company. Zenith created content for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and UKTV, including a number of series such as '' Inspector Morse'' for ...

for Central (a company later acquired by Carlton) and comprised 33 two-hour episodes (100 minutes excluding commercials)—20 more episodes than there are novels—produced between 6 January 1987 and 15 November 2000. The last episode was adapted from the final novel ''The Remorseful Day'', in which Morse dies from a heart attack. Morse was played by

and Lewis by Kevin Whateley.

''Lewis'' (2006–2015)

A spin-off series, similarly comprising 33 two-hour episodes and based on the television incarnation of

, was titled ''

''; it first aired on 29 January 2006 and last showed on 10 November 2015. The spin-off consisted the following cast members:

as DI Robbie Lewis,

Laurence Fox Laurence Paul Fox (born 26 May 1978) is an English actor and right-wing political activist. A member of the British entertainment industry's Fox family, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and debuted in the film '' The Hole'' ...

as DS James Hathaway,

Clare Holman Clare Margaret Holman (born 12 January 1964) is an English actress. She portrayed forensic pathologist Dr. Laura Hobson in the crime drama series ''Inspector Morse'' and its spin-off '' Lewis'' from 1995 to 2015. Career Holman started her ac ...

as Dr Laura Hobson and

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

as CS Jean Innocent.

''Endeavour'' (2012–2023)

In August 2011, ITV announced plans to film a

drama called '' Endeavour'', with author Colin Dexter's participation. English actor

was cast as a young Morse in his early career. The pilot episode was broadcast on 2 January 2012 on ITV. The prequel was made by

Mammoth Screen Mammoth Screen Limited is a UK-based production company that was established in 2007 by Michele Buck and Damien Timmer. It produces drama for key UK broadcasters, especially ITV, and international distribution. ITV announced on 1 June 2015 t ...

. Four new episodes were televised from 14 April 2013, showing Morse's early cases working for DI Fred Thursday (

Roger Allam Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical ''Les Misérables'', First Officer D ...

) and with Jim Strange (

Sean Rigby Sean Rigby (born 15 August 1989) is a stage and television actor from Preston, Lancashire, England. He is best known for playing Jim Strange in '' Endeavour''. Career Rigby graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2012.< ...

), initially as PC Jim Strange, later DS Jim Strange, and pathologist Max De Bryn ( James Bradshaw), plus Chief Superintendent Reginald Bright (

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', Clement Attlee in '' A United Kingdom'', Chief Superintendent Bright in '' E ...

), DS Peter Jakes (

Jack Laskey Jack Laskey is an English actor best known for his theatre work and his role as DS Jakes in the ITV drama series '' Endeavour''. He is the third son of Michael Laskey, a poet. Laskey trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). Telev ...

), WPC Shirley Trewlove (

Dakota Blue Richards Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her film debut at the age of 13 was in '' The Golden Compass'', as the lead character Lyra Belacqua. Other lead roles include the wayward teenager April in '' Dustbin Baby'' and ...

), DC George Fancy (Lewis Peek), DI Ronnie Box (Simon Harrison) and DS Alan Jago (Richard Riddell). Alongside the police department, the prequel also consisted of Fred Thursday’s family members: Win Thursday, (Caroline O’Neill), Sam Thursday (

Jack Bannon John Bannon John Charles Bannon (7 May 1943 – 13 December 2015) was an Australian politician and academic. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch), South Australian Branch of t ...

), Joan Thursday (

Sara Vickers Sara Louise Vickers (born 1985) is a Scottish theatre, television and film actress best known for playing Joan Thursday in the British television detective drama series '' Endeavour'' (2013–2023). Early life and education Vickers was born in ...

) and the newspaper editor Dorothea Frazil (

Abigail Thaw Abigail J. Thaw (born 1 October 1965) is an English actress known for her role of investigative journalist Dorothea Frazil in detective drama series '' Endeavour''. Thaw has appeared in numerous TV series, such as ''Casualty'', ''Midsomer Murde ...

). A second series of four episodes followed, screening between 30 March 2014 and 20 April 2014. On 3 January 2016, the third series aired, also containing four episodes. A fourth series was aired, once again with four episodes, on 8 January 2017. Filming of a fifth series of six episodes began in early 2017 with the first episode of the fifth series aired on 4 February 2018. On 10 February 2019 the sixth series aired, which comprises four 1-hour-30-minute episodes. A seventh series of three episodes was filmed in late 2019, aired on 9 February 2020 and in August 2019 ITV announced that the series has been recommissioned for an eighth series, screened on 12 September 2021, also containing three episodes. Morse was voted number two on the top 25 list in

's Britain's Favourite Detective first broadcast on 30 August 2020. On 23 May 2022, a day after filming began for the ninth series, ITV announced that ''Endeavour'' would end production after a decade on air at the conclusion of the ninth series, bringing the total number of ''Endeavour'' episodes to 36. The ninth and final series comprised the final three episodes, which aired from 26 February 2023 to 12 March 2023.

Radio

An adaptation by Melville Jones of ''

'' featured in

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's ''

Saturday Night Theatre __NOTOC__ ''Saturday Night Theatre'' was a long-running radio drama strand on the BBC Home Service and its successor, BBC Radio 4. Launched in April 1943 the strand showcased feature-length, middlebrow single plays on Saturday evenings for mor ...

'' series in June 1985, with

Andrew Burt Andrew Thomas Hutchison Burt (23 May 1945 – 16 November 2018) was a British actor, voiceover artist, and counsellor. Early life and education Andrew Burt was born on 23 May 1945 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Hutchison B ...

as Morse and Christopher Douglas as Lewis. In the 1990s, an occasional BBC Radio 4 series (for ''The Saturday Play'') was made starring the voices of

John Shrapnel John Morley Shrapnel (27 April 1942 – 14 February 2020) was an English actor. He is known mainly for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre in the United Kingdom and for his many television appearances. On ...

as Morse and

Robert Glenister Robert Lewis Glenister (born 11 March 1960) is an English actor. He is best known for his television roles as Ash "Three Socks" Morgan in the crime drama series '' Hustle'' (2004–2012) and Nicholas Blake in the spy drama series '' Spooks'' (2 ...

as Lewis. The series was written by Guy Meredith and directed by

Ned Chaillet Edward William Chaillet, III ( ; born 29 November 1944) is a radio drama Producer (radio), producer and director, writer and journalist. Chaillet, American by birth, was born in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, but is a "native of Washington" acco ...

. Episodes included: ''

'' (23 March 1992); '' Last Seen Wearing'' (28 May 1994); and '' The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn'' (10 February 1996). In 2017, Alma Cullen dramatised her 2010 Morse stage play ''House of Ghosts'' as a Radio 4 production starring

Neil Pearson Neil John Pearson (born 27 April 1959) is a British actor, known for his work on television. He was nominated for the 1994 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for '' Between the Lines'' (1992–1994). His other television roles include '' Drop the ...

as Morse, and

Lee Ingleby Lee David Ingleby (born 28 January 1976) is an English actor who first gained attention with his leading role in the BBC Two miniseries ''Nature Boy'' (2000). His other notable roles include Detective Insp. John Bacchus on the BBC's ''Inspector ...

as Lewis. A year later, Cullen penned an original drama entitled ''Morse: In The Shallows'', with Pearson and Ingleby reprising their roles.

Theatre

An Inspector Morse stage play appeared in 2010, written by Alma Cullen (writer of four Morse screenplays for ITV). The part of Morse was played by

Colin Baker Colin Charles Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series ''The Brothers (1972 TV series), The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the Sixth Doctor, sixth incarnation of The Doctor (Do ...

. The play, entitled ''Morse—House of Ghosts'', saw DCI Morse looking to his past, when an old acquaintance becomes the lead suspect in a murder case that involves the on-stage death of a young actress. The play toured the UK from August to December 2010. Subsequent stagings include

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Dorset (district), Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, Dorset, River Wey, south of the county town of ...

in 2015 with

Nigel Fairs Nigel Fairs is a British actor and writer. He trained at Bretton Hall College of Education, Bretton Hall College and his theatre credits include stage production of ''Translations (play), Translations'' at Royal National Theatre, The National ...

, and an upcoming touring production starring Tom Chambers.