Anthony Read planned out the show's format. Read had previously been a script editor and writer on the 1965
Sherlock Holmes series starring
Douglas Wilmer. He claimed to have long wondered what the Irregulars got up to when not in the service of Sherlock Holmes and the series deals with this subject. Although Holmes was always absent (explained on-screen by his being too busy working on another case, being held captive by Professor Moriarty, or confined to bed by illness), Dr. Watson was always around to assist the Irregulars when necessary. Holmes was only ever seen obliquely (Roger Ostime provided the character's voice) while
Dr. Watson,
Inspector Lestrade and
Mrs. Hudson all featured more prominently. A year prior to playing Watson in this series,
Hubert Rees has briefly appeared as
Inspector Lestrade in
a 1982 adaptation of
The Hound of the Baskervilles. The part of Professor Moriarty was portrayed by
Colin Jeavons, who would later go on to play Inspector Lestrade in the acclaimed
Granada Television adaptation.
Pat Keen, who played Mrs Hudson, would go on to play the same character in the 1988 spoof
Without a Clue. ==Cast==