Hitching a murderous ride with master of crime Francis Durbridge

Trying to remain on trend, I tuned into BBC One's suburban noir Wild Cherry. Ten seconds of 'entitled' Gen Zs in an expletive explosion and dizzying Smartphone camera work was enough.

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That, combined with graphic scenes of murderers scrubbing blood off their hands in a luxury bathroom, had me reaching for the remote.

Sanctuary was sought and found in the form of Taking Pictures TV. It is rerunning Francis Durbridge Presents, a mystery series first shown on the BBC between 1959 and 1980.

The Passenger from 1971 is a three-part whodunnit starring the lovely Peter Barkworth as the inspector, Martin Denson, who calls. He has more than a touch of Morse about him. He lives a semi, furnished with leather armchairs, listens to opera, does crosswords, drives a nice car and is awkward around women.

He is on the case of Judy Clayton, a hitchhiker found dead after being given a lift by toy company owner David Knight. To reveal every spit and cough of the plot would be to spoil what is an involving, intriguing if, compared to more modern mystery shows including Wild Cherry, slow and steady.