LLovejoy LedgerA researched screen archive
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Behind the screen

Broadcast history, production records and open questions

04

Lovejoy Ledger / research archive

The production archive

A working inventory of broadcast, credit, location and documentary evidence. It records what survives in the public research trail—and what still requires archival access.

Archive at a glance

The broadcast spine contains all 71 BBC1 transmissions across six series. Dates are reconciled from a secondary episode catalogue; richer claims are added only when their source supports the exact field.

  1. Broadcast records: title, series, order and first-transmission date.
  2. Expanded credits: writer, director and selected guest performers for 19 episodes.
  3. Production geography: 8 confirmed place records plus clearly separated story-setting leads.
  4. Literary links: three confirmed mappings and one probable adaptation lead.

Research statistics

Broadcasts indexed
71 / 71 Index complete
Series covered
6 / 6 Index complete
Expanded credit records
19 / 71
Detailed story records
18 / 71
Confirmed place records
8
Object records
17
CREDIT DEPARTMENTS

Who made Lovejoy

A department-by-department production register. Open fields are published because a missing credit is a research task, not permission to guess.

Production leadership

Producers, executive producers and production companies

Selected names only; full credit reconciliation open

Writing

Writers, script editors and literary adaptation credits

18 episode writer records expanded

Direction

Directors and episode groupings

18 episode director records expanded

Design

Production design, art direction, set decoration, costume and props

Primary end-credit review open

Picture & sound

Photography, editing, music, sound and title design

Primary end-credit review open

Transmission

Schedules, repeats, audience figures and regional variations

BBC/Radio Times/BARB evidence required

Distribution

Home video, international versions and current streaming availability

Territory and edition audit open
BROADCAST

Six-series chronology

1986 · 10 episodes

10 Jan–14 Mar 1986. Titles and dates can be explored in the complete episode index.

1991 · 11 episodes

6 Jan–24 Mar 1991. Titles and dates can be explored in the complete episode index.

1992 · 13 episodes

12 Jan–26 Dec 1992. Titles and dates can be explored in the complete episode index.

1993 · 13 episodes

10 Jan–11 Apr 1993. Titles and dates can be explored in the complete episode index.

1993 · 14 episodes

5 Sep–27 Dec 1993. Titles and dates can be explored in the complete episode index.

1994 · 10 episodes

2 Oct–4 Dec 1994. Titles and dates can be explored in the complete episode index.

ORIGINAL RUN CALENDAR

All 71 working first-transmission dates

Dates follow the archive’s secondary episode-guide reconciliation and remain distinct from repeats, overseas releases and platform dates. Clock times are not shown because they have not been verified.

Series 1 · 1986 10 broadcasts
  1. S1 E1The Firefly Cage
  2. S1 E2The Axeman Cometh
  3. S1 E3The Sting
  4. S1 E4Friends, Romans and Enemies
  5. S1 E5The Judas Pair
  6. S1 E6To Sleep No More
  7. S1 E7The Real Thing
  8. S1 E8The March of Time
  9. S1 E9Death and Venice (Part 1)
  10. S1 E10Death and Venice (Part 2)
Series 2 · 1991 11 broadcasts
  1. S2 E1Just Desserts
  2. S2 E2The Italian Venus
  3. S2 E3Bin Diving
  4. S2 E4Montezuma's Revenge
  5. S2 E5Who Dares Sings
  6. S2 E6One Born Every Minute
  7. S2 E7National Wealth
  8. S2 E8Sugar and Spice
  9. S2 E9Raise the Hispanic
  10. S2 E10Lily's Pearls
  11. S2 E11The Black Virgin of Vladimir
Series 3 · 1992 13 broadcasts
  1. S3 E1Friends in High Places
  2. S3 E2Out to Lunch
  3. S3 E3No Strings
  4. S3 E4Angel Trousers
  5. S3 E5Benin Bronze
  6. S3 E6Eric of Arabia
  7. S3 E7Scotch on the Rocks
  8. S3 E8Loveknots
  9. S3 E9Smoke Your Nose
  10. S3 E10Kids
  11. S3 E11Members Only
  12. S3 E12Highland Fling
  13. S3 E13The Prague Sun
Series 4 · 1993 13 broadcasts
  1. S4 E1The Napoleonic Commode
  2. S4 E2The Ring
  3. S4 E3Second Fiddle
  4. S4 E4The Colour of Mary
  5. S4 E5Fly the Flag
  6. S4 E6The Judgement of Solomon
  7. S4 E7The Galloping Major
  8. S4 E8God Helps Those
  9. S4 E9They Call Me Midas
  10. S4 E10Irish Stew
  11. S4 E11Dainty Dish
  12. S4 E12Taking the Pledge
  13. S4 E13Lovejoy Loses It
Series 5 · 1993 14 broadcasts
  1. S5 E1Pig in a Poke
  2. S5 E2Who Is the Fairest of Them All?
  3. S5 E3A Going Concern
  4. S5 E4The Kakiemon Tiger
  5. S5 E5Three Men and a Brittle Lady
  6. S5 E6Ducking and Diving
  7. S5 E7Stones of Destiny
  8. S5 E8Poetic Licence
  9. S5 E9The Peking Gun
  10. S5 E10Goose Bumps
  11. S5 E11Swings and Roundabouts
  12. S5 E12Never Judge a Book by Its Cover
  13. S5 E13The Price of Fish
  14. S5 E14The Lost Colony
Series 6 · 1994 10 broadcasts
  1. S6 E1Fair Exchange
  2. S6 E2Day of Reckoning
  3. S6 E3Somewhere – Over the Rainbow?
  4. S6 E4Double Edged Sword
  5. S6 E5Guns and Roses
  6. S6 E6The Last of the Uzkoks
  7. S6 E7Breaking the Broker
  8. S6 E8Fruit of the Desert
  9. S6 E9Holding the Baby
  10. S6 E10Last Tango in Lavenham
SPECIAL FORMATS

Christmas and feature-length evidence

Comparison is limited to what the current sources actually establish; missing regular-episode runtimes are not filled by assumption.

RecordWorking BBC indexFormat evidenceWhat remains open
The Black Virgin of VladimirS2 E11 · 24 March 1991Secondary catalogue describes a feature-length transmission.Primary running time and edition differences.
The Prague SunS3 E13 · 26 December 1992Christmas placement in the working index; Apple’s Canadian record carries an 85-minute presentation.Apple lists 27 December and different numbering, so its platform metadata is preserved as a conflict rather than substituted.
Regular broadcastsSeries runs in 1986 and 1991–94Titles and first-transmission dates are indexed.Consistent original runtimes and clock times for the regular run.

Open the Apple TV platform record · checked 14 September 2026.

HOME VIDEO & AVAILABILITY

Dated release comparison

These are catalogue records, not permanent availability promises. Prices, stock, subscriptions and territorial rights can change; verify them on the linked service.

Edition or serviceTerritorySupported detailsAccess boundary
Old Gold Media DVD box setRegion 2Released 1 July 2024; English; English subtitles; 1:1.33 picture ratio; 3,776 minutes; certificate 12; barcode 5060952892370.HMV markets the set as 73 episodes while this archive indexes 71 BBC broadcasts. The mismatch is unresolved; no disc order is inferred.
Prime Video catalogueVaries by storefront and accountAn authorised Series 1 catalogue page is live; linked season records exist on the service.A catalogue page does not guarantee playback, purchase or subscription access in a visitor’s territory.
HMV physical-edition record Prime Video Series 1 catalogue Both checked 14 September 2026.
MUSIC RESEARCH

Cue identification queue

Wise Music’s catalogue identifies the Lovejoy theme as a two-minute work composed by Denis King. It does not establish every series credit or incidental cue.

1 · Transmitted music credits

Check opening and closing titles series by series before assigning theme, arranger, performer or incidental-music roles.

2 · Cue sheets

Locate production cue sheets that distinguish commissioned score from licensed source music.

3 · Identifiable songs

Record a song only with an end credit, cue sheet or authorised release source; add episode and scene context without reproducing lyrics.

4 · Version differences

Compare original broadcasts, physical editions and authorised platform versions for substitutions only after lawful access to each edition.

Search the Wise Music catalogue · Lovejoy theme record checked 14 September 2026.

SURVIVING RECORD

Documented production evidence

Belchamp continuity material

Belchamp Hall reports that original location continuity boards survive there, alongside the Lovejoy Antiques shop sign. The property also identifies the fictional Felsham Hall and later workshop.

East Anglian location trail

The property history names the Half Moon, Finchingfield, Hedingham Castle, Coggeshall, Townsford Mill, Long Melford and St Mary’s Church as production locations.

The 1986–1991 interruption

A contemporary 1993 report attributes the gap to a funding dispute, quoting producer Allan McKeown. The archive preserves this as an attributed account, not an uncontested BBC statement.

Book origins

Publisher and Crime Writers’ Association records establish Jonathan Gash as John Grant’s pen name and document The Judas Pair’s 1977 John Creasey award.

EVIDENCE BOUNDARIES

What is not claimed

No invented production codes

Production codes, recording dates and studio paperwork are omitted until a primary catalogue or surviving document supports them.

No unsourced audience figures

Ratings and chart positions require contemporary BARB or broadcaster records with enough context to interpret them accurately.

No presumed international history

Overseas titles, edits, dubbing and transmission dates need territory-specific listings rather than memories or retailer metadata.

No rights assumptions

Photographs, scripts, listings and publicity material require a usable rights statement before reproduction on the site.

Archive verification queue

The most useful next records, ordered by research value.