The eccentric Sherlock Holmes is without a doubt Britain's most famous detective. Created in 1887 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he featured in over 56 short stories and four novels, before Doyle finally packed him off to spend his retirement bee-keeping.
Three decades after the creation of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie's Monsieur Poirot strode onto the literary (crime) scene. Christie admitted that the the Holmes tradition of the "eccentric detective, stooge assistant" was a strong influence on her Belgian detective, known for his punctual time-keeping.
Despite jokes that his first name was "Inspector", the full name of Colin Dexter's Jaguar-driving, ale-loving Morse, revealed in the book Death is Now My Neighbour, was actually "Endeavour Morse." Those who know the Thames Valley Police station in Oxford have long been amused by a sign announcing "Inspector Morse's Office" in one of its windows.
The star of more than 20 novels, Inspector Reginald Wexford was created by Ruth Rendell in 1964. Unlike poor old Morse, who popped his clogs after 13 books, he's still going strong. Here he is played by George Baker in a television adaptation
Smugglers' hide-outs, hidden coves and secret tunnels: no adventure was too big for Enid Blyton's Famous Five, who loved nothing better than solving a mystery. Provided, of course, there was plenty of ginger ale, and that nasty cook's son, Edgar, didn't come along.
Elderly spinster Miss Marple might not have been agile enough to take on a smugglers' tunnel, but her razor-sharp logic couldn't be beaten.
Jonathan Creek, played by Alan Davies. According to producer Susan Belbin, almost a dozen actors were considered for the part of Creek before Alan Davies "turned up in his duffle coat with straggly hair and a broad grin [and] was self-evidently the closest match yet to Creek as we had always seen him".
Helen Mirren as Detective Inspector Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect, a complicated mixture of cynicism, ambition and vulnerability.
Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus, played by Ken Stott. The Scotland portrayed in the Rebus novels is so dark that they have been assigned a genre of their own, tagged "tartan noir." Rankin has described his character as a "professional misanthrope, made cynical by the job he does".
Priestly detective Father Brown, played here by Alec Guiness, first appeared in G.K Chesterton's story The Blue Cross. Often described as wearing baggy clothes and carrying a large umbrella, he used his experiences as a confessor to gauge human motives.
Father Brown probably wouldn't approve too highly of Detective Randall's crime-solving methodology in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), which largely consisted of taking advice from a ghostly former colleague.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby, played by John Nettles (left) is the protagonist of Midsomer Murders, an ITV series based on a series of books by Caroline Graham. The show takes place in the quiet county of Midsomer, a scenic place with a quite staggering crime rate.
Patricia Routledge took the lead role in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, a much-loved comic detective series which ran on the BBC for only four series between 1996 and 1998. Routledge played a slightly barmy do-gooder who solved local mysteries with the help of toyboy sidekick Dominic Monaghan.
John Nettles as Bergerac in the BBC show of the same name, which ran between 1981 and 1991. Set in the tax haven of Jersey, the show followed the alcoholic, troubled detective as he tracked down millionaire criminals in his red Triumph Roadster - a totally unsuitable car for Jersey's roads, as critics liked to point out.
Sir Roger Moore in The Saint, a popular drama series about a disguise-loving adventurer. Sir Roger was apparently offered the role of James Bond several times during the seven years the series ran for, but always turned it down.
John Thaw and Dennis Waterman in The Sweeney, a 1970s drama series which focused on two detectives in London's Flying Squad. It is often described as one of the first detective dramas to show the brutal nature of police detective work.
If you like a bit of medieval in your mysteries, the wise monk Cadfael could be right up your street. Here he is played by Derek Jacobi.
Jack Warner, Jeanette Hutchinson and Peter Byrn in Dixon of Dock Green, a BBC series produced between 1955 to 1976. Though much-loved in its heyday, the show's rose-tinted view of the police force and mellow storylines eventually began to look extremely dated.
Helen Baxendale as P.D. James' feisty sleuth Cordelia Gray in the TV adaptation of An Unsuitable Job For a Woman.
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