50 Fun Facts About Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV Series)

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, which painting does Moriarty steal to sell fakes to collectors?

The Mona Lisa theft appears nowhere in Conan Doyle's story; Granada added it. Holmes recovers the original just before Moriarty sells a fake to a millionaire called Mr Morgan.

Which future film Dr Watson played a servant in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in 1991?

Jude Law was still a teenager when he played Joe Barnes, a servant who impersonates Lady Beatrice in Shoscombe Old Place. He returned to the stories as Watson opposite Robert Downey Jr. in 2009.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Blue Carbuncle, a stolen gem turns up inside which Christmas bird?

A goose taken home for Christmas dinner turns out to have the stolen gem in its crop. The trail leads to James Ryder, head attendant at the hotel it was taken from.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Red-Headed League, what is Jabez Wilson paid to copy out each day?

An encyclopedia keeps Wilson out of his shop for four hours a day while thieves dig from his cellar towards a bank vault. Granada's version makes Moriarty the mastermind.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, a burglar steals and smashes identical busts of which historical leader?

Napoleon busts are smashed because the thief is hunting a stolen gem hidden inside one of them. The comedian Eric Sykes guest-starred as the journalist Horace Harker.

Which habit did Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes give up on screen, a change Conan Doyle's daughter approved?

Cocaine is abandoned in The Devil's Foot because Granada found many children were watching. In the books the change is only mentioned, in a story the series never filmed.

At which Swiss waterfall does Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes seem to die fighting Professor Moriarty?

Reichenbach Falls, near Meiringen, hosts the struggle that ends The Final Problem. The episode was also David Burke's farewell as Dr Watson before a new actor took over.

Which Inspector Morse star played convict Jonathan Small in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes film The Sign of Four?

John Thaw played the one-legged Jonathan Small in the 1987 film, the same year Inspector Morse began. The role of Mary Morstan went to Jenny Seagrove.

In which 1964 musical film did Jeremy Brett, later TV's Sherlock Holmes, play lovestruck Freddy Eynsford-Hill?

My Fair Lady paired Brett with Audrey Hepburn, but his songs were dubbed by Bill Shirley, even though Brett was a good singer.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Speckled Band, which animal has Dr Roylott trained to kill?

A snake, a venomous swamp adder, is sent through a ventilator and down a bell cord to reach the victim's bed. Angered by Holmes's blows, it turns back and kills Roylott instead.

Which singer, played by Gayle Hunnicutt, outwits the detective in Jeremy Brett's first Sherlock Holmes episode?

Irene Adler sees through Holmes's disguise in A Scandal in Bohemia, then trails him home dressed as a man. By morning she has left England, leaving a letter for Holmes.

In The Man with the Twisted Lip, where does Watson find Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes hunting a missing husband?

An opium den near the London docks is where Watson, there on an errand, finds Holmes in disguise. Holmes is searching for Neville St Clair, who was last seen at a second-floor window.

Which henchman of Moriarty tries to assassinate Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in The Empty House?

Colonel Sebastian Moran, ranked by Holmes as London's second most dangerous man, is arrested by Lestrade. In Granada's version he also shoots at Holmes in Switzerland.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Musgrave Ritual, which servant vanishes after studying a family document?

The butler, Brunton, was caught poring over the ritual and disappeared days later. Granada swapped the story's real oak tree for an oak-shaped weathervane on the house.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, stolen plans for which new invention turn up on a body on the Underground tracks?

A submarine's blueprints are found on a dead civil servant, and Mycroft brings the case to his brother. Granada swapped the story's Lestrade for Inspector Bradstreet.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes film The Sign of Four, what does Mary Morstan receive in the post every year?

A pearl arrives each year from an unknown sender after her father's disappearance. The gifts lead Holmes to a pact made by four convicts during the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

On which English moor is Jeremy Brett's feature-length Sherlock Holmes film The Hound of the Baskervilles set?

Dartmoor, in Devon, is where a demonic hound is said to haunt the Baskerville family. Granada's 1988 film cast Kristoffer Tabori as the heir, Sir Henry.

In The Red Circle, which regular asks Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes to help a friend with a reclusive lodger?

Mrs Hudson, played throughout the series by Rosalie Williams, brings the case on behalf of her friend Mrs Warren. The lodger insists that nobody enters the room.

Which Colditz actor took over as Dr Watson from David Burke in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Edward Hardwicke, son of the actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke, was suggested for the part by Burke himself. He played Watson from The Empty House until the last episode in 1994.

In which English city did Granada build a full-scale Baker Street to film Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Manchester's Quay Street studios housed the outdoor replica, which later became part of the Granada Studios Tour, a visitor attraction that closed in 1999.

In Silver Blaze, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes hunts which missing animal after its trainer is found dead?

A racehorse called Silver Blaze vanishes on the eve of an important race, and its trainer is found bludgeoned to death. Peter Barkworth played the owner, and Malcolm Storry was Inspector Gregory.

In Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, which mysterious drawings terrify Hilton Cubitt's American wife, Elsie?

Dancing stick figures turn out to be a substitution cipher, which Holmes cracks by frequency analysis. Granada moved the Cubitts' manor from Norfolk to Derbyshire.

Which English county is the setting of The Devil's Foot, where Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes stays at Poldhu?

Cornwall is where a woman is found dead with a look of horror on her face and her two brothers are driven insane. Denis Quilley guest-starred as Dr Leon Sterndale.

In The Second Stain, who asks Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes to recover a stolen letter that could lead to war?

The Prime Minister, Lord Bellinger, was played by Harry Andrews. The letter had vanished from the dispatch box of his minister Trelawney Hope, whose wife was played by Patricia Hodge.

In The Master Blackmailer, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes woos Milverton's housemaid disguised as which tradesman?

A plumber is Holmes's cover for courting the maid and learning the layout of the house. Granada expanded the romance to hint at the detective's buried tenderness.

In The Greek Interpreter, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes meets Mycroft at which London retreat where talk is banned?

The Diogenes Club forbids talking anywhere except its Stranger's Room, which looks onto Pall Mall. Members may not even acknowledge one another.

Which actor, Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever, played Mycroft in four episodes of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Charles Gray had already played Mycroft in the 1976 film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. He was also the narrating Criminologist in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Which future Parent Trap star played governess Violet Hunter in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Natasha Richardson, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, was 22 when The Copper Beeches aired. Her character is offered a generous salary on condition that she cut her hair short.

Which All Creatures Great and Small star played the blackmailer Milverton in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Robert Hardy, television's Siegfried Farnon and later Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films, starred in The Master Blackmailer. His face is kept hidden until Watson meets him at an art gallery.

Which future Downton Abbey star played Victor Savage in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Dying Detective?

Hugh Bonneville was credited as Richard Bonneville, the stage name he used early in his career. His character dies, and Holmes suspects a cousin with expert knowledge of rare diseases.

Which American broadcaster first showed Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, as part of its long-running Mystery! strand?

PBS stations ran the episodes under the Mystery! banner, and the Boston station WGBH later helped fund new series as a co-producer. Cable repeats followed on A&E and the Disney Channel.

David Burke left the role of Dr Watson in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes to join which stage troupe?

The Royal Shakespeare Company invited Burke along with his wife, the actress Anna Calder-Marshall. Their son Tom, then about three, grew up to be an actor too.

Granada's Sherlock Holmes made Dr Watson a capable man of action, defying the stereotype set by which earlier actor?

Nigel Bruce played Watson in all 14 films of the 1939–1946 series opposite Basil Rathbone. Granada went back instead to the young, slim, capable doctor of Conan Doyle's stories.

Which actor, a BAFTA winner as Soames in The Forsyte Saga, played Moriarty in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Eric Porter appeared as Moriarty in The Red-Headed League, The Final Problem and The Empty House. Granada reused footage of him in two later episodes.

Which Blackadder actor played bank robber John Clay in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes episode The Red-Headed League?

Tim McInnerny, Blackadder's bumbling Lord Percy, played the Eton-educated tunneller. Granada's script makes Clay the star pupil of Moriarty, a link Conan Doyle never wrote.

Before playing Sherlock Holmes, Jeremy Brett was Dr Watson on stage in Los Angeles opposite which Hollywood star?

Charlton Heston played Holmes in the 1980 production of The Crucifer of Blood, making Brett one of the few actors to have played both the detective and the doctor.

Jeremy Brett, Granada's Sherlock Holmes, was born Peter Huggins; where did he find his stage surname?

A suit label reading Brett & Co. supplied the name after his father insisted he change it for the sake of family honour.

What name did Jeremy Brett give the 77-page dossier on Sherlock Holmes that he kept on set?

The Baker Street File covered everything from the detective's mannerisms to his eating and drinking habits. Brett used his research to challenge scripts that strayed from Conan Doyle.

Which condition, treated with lithium, was Jeremy Brett diagnosed with midway through playing Sherlock Holmes?

Bipolar disorder, then called manic depression, was diagnosed after alarming mood swings in late 1986. Days before his death in 1995 Brett spoke openly about it in a BBC radio charity appeal.

In The Abbey Grange, which objects tell Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes that a tale of burglars is false?

Wine glasses undo Lady Brackenstall's story of thieves sharing a drink: only one glass holds any dregs. Granada cast Anne-Louise Lambert as the lady and Oliver Tobias as Captain Croker.

In The Creeping Man, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes links a professor's odd behaviour to thefts of which zoo animals?

Primates vanish from London's zoos in a subplot Granada invented for Lestrade. Holmes works out that the animals supply a serum the professor has been taking.

Which Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes episode, guest-starring Ciarán Hinds, was the very last to be broadcast?

The Cardboard Box, in which Susan Cushing is sent two severed ears, closed the series on 11 April 1994. Brett died the following year, with A Study in Scarlet among the stories still unfilmed.

Which 1994 Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes episode has no Dr Watson, with Mycroft investigating instead?

The Golden Pince-Nez gave Watson's place to Mycroft because the actor who played the doctor was busy on another project. Frank Finlay guest-starred as the professor at the heart of the case.

Which title did Granada give Jeremy Brett's last six detective episodes, shown in spring 1994?

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes shares its name with the Conan Doyle collection that includes The Final Problem. Earlier runs were called The Adventures, The Return and The Case-Book.

Which West End play by Jeremy Paul put Jeremy Brett's Baker Street detective on stage in 1988?

The Secret of Sherlock Holmes was a two-hander written for Brett and his television Watson. It ran at Wyndham's Theatre and then went on tour.

Which composer, a BAFTA winner for Smiley's People, scored Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes series?

Patrick Gowers also scored both feature-length films of the novels. His children include the mathematician Sir Timothy Gowers and the violinist Katharine Gowers.

Which actor, Moriarty in The Baker Street Boys, played Inspector Lestrade opposite Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes?

Colin Jeavons was hailed by the producer Michael Cox as the best Lestrade of his generation. He had also played Uriah Heep in a 1966 BBC David Copperfield.

Which future Counselor Troi of Star Trek guest-starred in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in 1986?

Marina Sirtis played a member of the Venucci family in the year she emigrated to Los Angeles, where Star Trek: The Next Generation made her famous.

Which future Aunt Petunia of the Harry Potter films appeared in Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes in 1984?

Fiona Shaw played Miss Morrison in The Crooked Man, decades before her BAFTA-winning turn as Carolyn Martens in Killing Eve.

In The Man with the Twisted Lip, Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes finds Neville St Clair has a hidden career as what?

A beggar known to the police as Boone turns out to be St Clair himself. Holmes proves it by washing the sleeping prisoner's grimy face with a bath sponge.