The Times,

October 13, 2009
P.D James and Ruth Rendell reveal dislike for TV adaptions of their books

P. D. James, pic left, and Ruth Rendell took an instant dislike to the actors who played their fictional detectives on television because they did not resemble their vision of the characters.
The crime authors also admitted to an audience at The Times Cheltenham Festival of Literature yesterday that they did not care for the television adaptations of their books because producers took liberties with their source material.

Dame Ruth, 79, said that Baroness James had not identified with Roy Marsden, the actor who played Inspector Adam Dalgliesh for 15 years. “You never liked Roy Marsden much, did you?” she said. Baroness James, 89, responded: “I didn’t like his moustache. You don’t ever see senior detectives with a moustache.” A spokeswoman for Mr Marsden said that he would not comment. Dame Ruth added: “I didn’t like George Baker [in the role of Inspector Reginald Wexford] at first but I got used to him. He didn’t look like him. I said in an early book that he is very ugly and George was not.”

Read the full report at The Times.