Inspector Ganesh Ghote, of the Bombay C.I.D., made his debut in the 1964 novel A Perfect Murder by H.R.F. Keating. Keating’s rich depiction of Bombay life was so vivid that it came as a surprise to learn that at that point he’d never visited India (simply relying on books to provide all the dashes of local colour which peppered his early novels).

From the first, Ghote was an appealing figure. A hardworking, diligent but frequently put-upon man, in most of his cases he begins as an underdog but eventually, through sheer persistence, manages to solve the mystery and emerge with his dignity largely intact.

Following the success of A Perfect Murder, Keating continued to regularly pen Ghote novels, so it was unsurprising that television would eventually show an interest. Although given the budget problems inherent in a Bombay based series, it makes sense that both the BBC and ITV chose to temporarily relocate Ghote to London …

Missing from the archives, Detective – Inspector Ghote Hunts The Peacock was broadcast on BBC1 in 1969. Adapted by Hugh Leonard, from Keating’s fourth Ghote novel, it’s a tale that may have worked well on the small screen. Ghote, in Britain to attend a  Scotland Yard conference on drugs, reluctantly becomes involved in the search for a missing relative (a flightily young teenager nicknamed the Peacock) which leads him into drug-dealing coffee bars and encounters with mini-skirted teens, a fading pop star and a group of gangster brothers who love their mother (loosely based, I assume, on the Krays).

Ghote would next return to television in 1983, courtesy of ITV’s Storyboard in Inspector Ghote Moves In, written by H.R.F. Keating himself. Given that the Detective adaptation no longer existed, a rehash of that might have worked well – but instead Keating penned an original story.

Whether this was intended as the pilot for a possible series I’m not sure (Storyboard did later spawn the likes of The Bill, Lytton’s Diary and Mr Palfrey of Westminster) but after this episode Ghote presumably returned to Bombay and (on television at least) was never heard from again.

Although he only receives third billing (behind Alfred Burke and Irene Worth) Sam Dastor is an endearing Ghote. True, the script doesn’t allow Ghote much freedom of movement, but Dastor does his best. Although Dastor wouldn’t play him again on television, his Ghote would reappear on radio (1984’s Inspector Ghote Hunts The Peacock, for example) and he would also narrate numerous audiobooks from the series  – so he remains firmly identified with the good Inspector.

When I think of Alfred Burke, it’s his pitch-perfect performances in series such as Public Eye and Enemy at the Door that come to mind. Which means that his scenery chewing turn as Colonel Bressingham came as a bit of a shock. Bressingham is a last days of the Raj type, convinced at times that he’s back in India and fighting numerous imaginary battles. Irene Worth, as his long-suffering wife, is desperately scrabbling around for money to pay for carers to look after her increasingly erratic husband whilst the impassive servant Ayah (a somewhat underused Zora Segal) completes the household.

Inspector Ghote Moves In is set entirely in the Bressingham’s flat, which certainly helped to keep the budget down (although this also impacts the drama too). Normally I wouldn’t reveal the “whodunnit” part of a mystery but it’s so obvious here that I don’t feel I’m giving away any spoilers (given that Keating was an old hand at this sort of thing, it must have been intentional).

Mrs Bressingham tells Ghote that in the night a burglar has stolen her jewels, but the kindly Ghote quickly works out that she’s hidden them in order to claim on the insurance money (in order to finance the care her husband needs). Ghote deals with this and works out a way to find the cash she needs, so we’re left with a happy ending.

Although this part of the story lacks suspense (to put it mildly) it’s not a total write-off, thanks to the performances of Tony Doyle (as the insurance man) and Patrick Durkin (playing an officious policeman who’s politely, but firmly, put in his place by Ghote).

There wasn’t a great deal of critical response. This might have something to do with the fact that Storyboard launched in July, traditionally a rather dead period for new shows (anything decent would normally be held back until the new season launch in September). Hilary Kingsley did take a passing swipe at the play though. “I’m enjoying The Chinese Detective on Sunday, repeats or not, especially as there are no other tv cops around. I’m forgetting the Indian detective in the Tuesday play Inspector Ghote Moves In. I think it’s kindest” (Daily Mirror, 30th July 1983).

Much as it pains me to agree with her, I think she has a point. Whilst the Ghote novels offer plenty of scope for a series, it possibly wouldn’t have happened on Thames’ limited budget – which means that this first Storyboard goes down as a flawed curio.