He's solved more crimes than Miss Marple, he's smoother than Sherlock and slicker than Bergerac.

Paul Temple, crime novelist turned private detective, ruled the airwaves for 30 years and went on to appear in novels, television, films and even a daily comic strip. And it wasn't just the Brits who loved the English private eye; the series was also a massive success in countries as diverse as Finland, Australia, Germany and Israel.

Paul Temple inhabited a world of fast cars, glamorous women, cravats and chilled cocktails where he solved case after case assisted by his chic wife Steve, a Fleet Street journalist.

So successful was the series that it ran from 1938 to 1968 on BBC radio making the suave sleuth one of the most popular detectives of all time. And its popularity continues: thanks to cassette and CD sales of over 200,000 since BBC Audiobooks published the first title in 1999, Paul Temple has a whole new generation of fans.

Paul Temple and the Curzon Case is an abridged reading by acclaimed actor Anthony Head, well known for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Little Britain amongst others. Rumour has that BBC Radio 4 will bring back the series after a gap of 38 years. Six different actors have played Paul Temple, including Carl Bernard and Peter Coke. Anthony Head now becomes the voice of Paul Temple for the Paul Temple mystery audiobooks.

The Curzon Case is a gripping story of kidnapping, intrigue and sudden death. Boys disappear from a public school, an aeroplane crashes near by and a murder occurs. Paul Temple has his work cut out trying to find out if all the events are connected and tracking down the mysterious Curzon.

"The Paul Temple radio series was a big hit in Israel in the early sixties. Streets were empty on Mondays when it was broadcast (in Hebrew, of course). I remember myself in my own Bat-Mitzvah sneaking out of the banquet hall with my transistor, determined not to miss the weekly programme ," recalls an Israeli fan.

The series was so popular abroad that Germany made their own TV versions when Paul Temple finally hit the small screen in 1969.

Mr and Mrs Temple's sleuthing became more international and they even became a tad trendy during the sixties, which disconcerted their older fans. A former actor from the TV series claimed that the Americans were also offered the show but turned it down because it was too English, too parochial.

He believed that they copied the formula with McMillan and Wife (Rock Hudson and Susan St James) and later did another version called Hart to Hart (Robert Wagner as Jonathan Hart, a writer of thrillers, and Stephanie Powers).

The interest in Paul Temple is so great that last year BBC Audiobooks launched "The Mystery of the Missing Mystery Tapes" - a search for tapes that have disappeared from the archives.

The 14 lost recordings date from the start of the series in1938 to 1954. BBC Audiobooks are keen to offer Paul Temple enthusiasts the complete series and have appealed to foreign broadcasters and fans who might have recordings of the shows tucked away in their attic but alas, none so far have turned up. A case for Paul Temple if ever there was one!

About the author:

Francis Durbridge was born in Hull, Yorkshire. He studied English at Birmingham University and worked briefly as a stockbroker before becoming a full-time writer. At the age of 21, he sold his first radio play to the BBC. Durbridge's first book, Send for Paul Temple (1938), was a novelisation of a radio serial.

Durbridge wrote Temple stories for BBC from 1938 to 1968 and published 35 novels.

Other Paul Temple titles, available on cassette and CD, published by BBC Audiobooks:

Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
Paul Temple and the Conrad Case
Paul Temple and The Geneva Mystery
Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case
Paul Temple and the Jonathan Mystery
Paul Temple and the Lawrence Affair
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
Paul Temple and the Spencer Affair
Paul Temple and the Vandyke Affair
Paul Temple Intervenes
Paul Temple Classic Radio Serials 1954 - 1968