Dirk Gently - BBC4 Comedy Drama - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)

Stephen Mangan stars as the detective. He is joined by Darren Boyd as his unwitting sidekick Richard MacDuff, with Helen Baxendale playing Richard's girlfriend Susan.

Anti-hero Dirk Gently operates his eponymous detective agency based on the fundamental interconnectedness of all things. Perpetually broke, hopelessly chaotic and utterly infuriating, most people suspect Dirk is nothing more than a cheap conman. And they might be right - but nevertheless his methods, though unusual, do often produce surprising results...

When Dirk sets out to solve an apparently simple and harmless disappearance of a cat from an old lady's house, he unwittingly uncovers a double murder which, in turn, leads to a host of even more extraordinary events.

Stephen Mangan says: "I've been a fan of Douglas Adams ever since the Hitchhiker's radio series which I used to record as a child and listen to over and over again in my bedroom. It's such a thrill to now be playing one of his brilliant characters."

"Dirk is a chaotic, anarchic force of nature with a totally unique take on the world. He is described as 'lazy, untidy, dismissive and unreliable'. I've absolutely no idea why they thought I'd be right for the role."

Additional details

Also known as

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Original novel title)

Production

Location

Camera set-up

Single camera

Picture

Colour

Website links

Broadcast details

First broadcast

Thursday 16th December 2010 at 9pm on BBC Four

Most recent repeats

Thursday 9th July 2015 at 1:55am on BBC4 - Episode 3
Wednesday 8th July 2015 at 10:00pm on BBC4 - Episode 3
Thursday 2nd July 2015 at 1:55am on BBC4 - Episode 2

View all 30 repeats

Recording details

Bristol - Pilot filmed on location in October 2010