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Last Updated on September 14, 2024 by Stefanie Hutson

Jonathan Creek is a delightful late-90s/early-2000s comedy-drama-mystery series about a man who designs magic tricks for a living, lives in a windmill, and solves murders on the side – typically some form of locked room mystery. It might be a silly premise for a show, but it's a fun, light-hearted mystery I'd recommend to any British TV fan who wants a break from the usual dark and gritty mysteries.

RELATED: 9 of the Most Delightfully Absurd British Mysteries

If you've never had the pleasure of watch Jonathan Creek, you can stream it HERE on BritBox in the US. You can also get the DVD HERE if you have a region-free DVD player (a relatively inexpensive and worthwhile investment for any British TV fan).

15 Things You Might Not Know About Jonathan Creek

Jonathan Creek lived in the Shipley Windmill in Shipley, West Sussex.

At one time, you could visit and go inside the windmill, but it's no longer open to tourists. There was a planning application to turn the windmill into a 2 bedroom private home a few years back, but as of the last time we checked, the application had been declined. 

Jonathan Creek was produced by Verity Lambert – the same Verity Lambert who served as the first producer of Doctor Who.

In her later years, she worked as an independent producer, and partnered with writer David Renwick on both Jonathan Creek and Love Soup, a 2005 comedy-drama starring Tamsin Greig (of Friday Night Dinner fame). Love Soup is another one of those hard-to-find shows that's only available to those with a region-free DVD player (Series 1-2 on US Amazon | Series 1-2 on UK Amazon).

Alan Davies was so emotional after Verity Lambert's funeral that he bit off part of a homeless man's ear.

No really, he did. He'd been to the funeral, had a number of drinks, and then someone chose the wrong moment to give him a hard time (reportedly calling him Jonathan Creek and the “c word”). According to The Standard, he offered the following explanation for his horrible behaviour:

I was very upset and emotional. I had a lot to drink over many hours. Far too much really and a lot more than normal but it was an upsetting day. 

In spite of that one-time hunger for flesh, Jonathan Creek star Alan Davies (who we will NOT call Jonathan Creek) is a vegetarian.

In this Independent interview, he talks about a previous vacation where he didn't eat for 3 days because everything had been cooked in pig fat.

Alan Davies also stars in a program called The Dog Rescuers on Channel 5 (UK).

You can watch it HERE on Amazon. So yes, he chomped an ear in a dark moment, but it sounds like he's also done some good in the world.

Jonathan Creek is a real place in Kentucky.

Writer David Renwick drove through it once on a trip with his wife. He liked the sound of the name and kept it in mind for a future project. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer stole the original Adam Klaus.

Those who have seen Series 1 probably noticed that Anthony Head starred as Adam Klaus in episode 1, but the character was played by Stuart Milligan in all subsequent episodes. Head was busy with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which no doubt paid much, much better than the BBC) and unable to continue in the role.

Jonathan Creek is Full of Now-Famous Faces

Like many older shows with a number of seasons, Jonathan Creek is a great place to spot actors who are now much more famous – along with many actors who were well-known then, but who are easily missed if you're not paying attention. Some of the most notable actors to appear in Jonathan Creek include Sheridan Smith (Gavin & Stacey), Rik Mayall (The Young Ones), Bill Bailey (Black Books), Amanda Holden (Wild at Heart), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), Annette Crosbie (One Foot in the Grave), Peter Davison (All Creatures Great & Small), Sophie Thompson (Detectorists), Gina Bellman (Coupling), Colin Baker (Doctor Who),  Nicola Walker (Unforgotten), Selina Cadell (Doc Martin), Celia Imrie (Better Things), Jonathan Ross (The Jonathan Ross Show), Tamsin Greig (Friday Night Dinner), Maxine Peake (Silk), June Whitfield (Absolutely Fabulous), Warwick Davis (Harry Potter), Ian McNeice (Doc Martin), Judy Parfitt (Call the Midwife), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd), and Sanjeev Bhaskar (Unforgotten).

Hugh Laurie and Nicholas Lyndhurst both turned down the role of Jonathan Creek.

Though Caroline Quentin was always the intended actor for the role of Maddy, Davies claims he was the 38th person to be interviewed for the title role. Nicholas Lyndhurst was among the top choices, but he was busy with Goodnight Sweetheart at the time (another equally delightful late 90s/early 2000s British TV series).

Other actors considered included Rik Mayall, Angus Deayton, Nigel Planer, and Alex Jennings. When producer Susie Belbin saw Alan Davies rehearsing a sitcom in a church hall, she had him read with Caroline Quentin and everything came together.

American Novelist John Dickson Carr Helped Inspire the Series

Though technically American, John Dickson Carr is often grouped in with many of the Golden Age British mystery novelists. He lived in England for nearly two decades, and some of his best known characters, like Dr. Gideon Fell and Sir Henry Merrivale, were English. Writer and creator David Renwick had read many of his works, and he thought the puzzle-based locked room mysteries of authors like John Dickson Carr would make a far more interesting sort of TV mystery than the usual gritty police dramas. In fact, he even gave a nod to Carr's work – the character DI Gideon Pryke was named after Gideon Fell.

The character of Maddy was originally written as Jonathan Creek's stepmother.

Given the relationship between the two characters, I think I can speak for most everyone when I say, “Ewww.”

Both Alan Davies and Caroline Quentin have spoken up about their willingness to continue the series.

Though Quentin left in 2000 to have children, she's stated since then that she would happily return. They might have to do something about his wife Polly, though…

Alan Davies has complained on numerous occasions about the difficult shooting schedules and relatively poor pay for his work on Jonathan Creek, but despite those things, he's also expressed a willingness to return (as recently as 2023). He told Radio Times: 

People still ask if we’re going to make more. If David wrote another script, I’d do it like a shot. The show changed my life. And it’s the only BAFTA I’ve ever won.

Sadly, creator David Renwick is probably the one who'd need to be convinced. He's happily retired from TV writing, and at the age of 73, it seems increasingly unlikely that he'd come back to the series. Perhaps he has an apprentice or favourite writer to whom he could pass the baton? Our hopes aren't high, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Writer David Renwick has appeared on the show.

In The Clue of the Savant's Thumb, look for the bow-tie wearing guy interviewing Franklin Tartikoff.

Alan Davies is a great fan of magic.

In fact, he did a special called “The Magic of Houdini”, which you can watch HERE on Amazon.

Creator David Renwick's First Meeting With Producer Verity Lambert Was a Drunken One

In an interview with Comedy.co.uk, Renwick mentioned that his only meeting with Lambert prior to their collaboration on Jonathan Creek was a “drunken moment at the BAFTA Awards”, which he didn't feel to be particularly auspicious. Despite that, the two got on wonderfully.