The bicycle-riding, houseboat-inhabiting dyslexic detective inspector that Adrian Scarborough plays in the crime drama The Chelsea Detective has caught on with the locals of the upscale London neighborhood where the series is set and shot. He encountered some while filming Season 2 — but not at the most opportune moment.
“People came up to me and said, ‘Oh, Chelsea Detective, we thought it was marvelous,’” he recalls. “And I’m standing there going, ‘Yes, I’m terribly sorry, but the camera is over there rolling.’”
Joining Scarborough’s Max Arnold to help solve the district’s murders is Vanessa Emme as Layla Walsh, his plucky new detective sergeant. It’s a partnership marked by trust and alive with banter.
“It took us about 48 hours to get one another’s sense of humor,” the actor says. “Then it was plain sailing.” Their cases: the killing of an art gallery manager, a death at a retirement home, the murder of a psychotherapist, and the stabbing of a food delivery company owner.
Scarborough says his favorite place to shoot was an 18th century home once artist-owned, with lots of original features and art. “It was like an Aladdin’s cave of the most fantastic stuff. Very old and slightly dusty and full of atmosphere.” So, where’s the corpse?
The Chelsea Detective, Streaming Now, Acorn TV
This is an excerpt from TV Insider’s September issue. For more in-depth, reported coverage devoted to streaming shows from the publishers of TV Guide Magazine, pick up the issue, currently on newsstands, or purchase it online here. You can also subscribe to TV Insider Magazine here now.