In the 1990 pilot episode, the character of Alleyn was played by
Simon Williams.
William Simons was cast as Alleyn's right-hand man and "
Dr Watson", Detective Inspector Fox, and
Belinda Lang starred as painter Agatha Troy, Alleyn's love interest. When a full series finally came to screen three years later in 1993, Simon Williams was unavailable, and the role of Alleyn was filled by
Patrick Malahide, while Simons and Lang reprised their roles. Over the course of two series, eight episodes were broadcast, each focusing on a separate novel in the series. Both Malahide series were released on DVD in 2007, via
Acorn Media. In 2011, Acorn acquired the rights to the pilot, and in 2012, issued a repackaged version of the set containing the Williams pilot. This set was also released in
Australia. Unlike the original novels, whose first story takes place as early as 1934, after World War I, the pilot and thus all subsequent episodes take place after World War II, with "Artists in Crime" being set in late 1948. ==Cast==