Working alongside John Thaw in the classic TV detective series Inspector Morse had a sobering effect on Dundee acting great Brian Cox.
Cox played reclusive millionaire-bookmaker Michael Steppings in Deadly Slumber, which was written by Danny Boyle and broadcast 30 years ago in January 1993.
Deadly Slumber is regarded as one of the best Morse episodes of all time.
Cox and Thaw shared the screen together in an episode that highlights obsession, a parent’s unwavering love for their child and the arrogance of the medical profession.
The thespians were the true mark of professionalism during the filming and slightly older and wiser than they were when they were both treading the boards in Edinburgh.
That was back in the 1960s.
Cox still blames Thaw for getting him “drunk as a skunk” before the Succession actor took to the stage at the Lyceum Theatre to perform in a Shakespeare play.
In his autobiography, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, Cox wrote: “It was at the Lyceum that I played Dromio in The Comedy of Errors.
“John Thaw was in town at the time, starring in a play called The Square at the Traverse Theatre.
“One afternoon we were at John’s digs, where for some reason he decided to make an afternoon of it. John, at the time, was another one who was fond of the drink.
“The fact that he was great pals with Nicol Williamson said it all.
“So anyway, on this particular afternoon, John had a case of wine and he endeavoured to make short work of it. He was determined to get me plastered, and in short order, I was drunk as a skunk. Worse, I had to go on stage that night.
“Staggering to the theatre, I first encountered the actor, Paul Chapman.
“Two of him, in fact!”
Chapman realised Cox was drunk but he assured him that he was fine.
Shakespeare’s comedy of two twin masters and two twin servants continually mistaken for one another is both farce and more than farce.
Perhaps not so farcical as this comedy of errors, however.
Cox recalled: “I was supposed to walk on stage and say: ‘Hello, Master’.
“Only when I eventually heard my cue, I stumbled on and slurred: ‘Hello…m…m…master’, in slow motion, as though this were The Comedy of Errors as directed by Sam Peckinpah. Paul was on stage, too, both of him.
“They looked at me. I looked at them, and we both knew it was going to be a very long and hard performance indeed.
“And that – thank you very much John Thaw – was the one and only time I have ever been drunk on stage.”
Cox mastered the art of diplomacy
So did they reminisce about what happened on the set of Morse?
“It was all very professional,” said Cox.
“As the star of the show he had a huge amount on his shoulders and so I decided it best not to mention The Comedy of Errors incident.
“Such, ladies and gentlemen, is my famed diplomacy at work.”
ITV brought us brilliant action-filled, hour-long cop shows such as The Professionals and The Sweeney in the 1970s, but it also invented the two-hour quality detective show.
And the first, and best, of the lot was Inspector Morse.
Thaw was perfect as the irascible beer-drinking, classical music-loving detective who drove an iconic burgundy Mark 2 Jaguar around the streets of Oxford.
Thaw was 44 when he started playing Morse in 1987 and the character’s popularity was destined to eclipse even that of his earlier triumph of Flying Squad Inspector Jack Regan.
Should 1993 have been the final series?
Fast-forward to 1993 and the end was in sight when Deadly Slumber was filmed with Thaw and co-star Kevin Whately having discussed finishing after that seventh series.
Thaw later suggested he didn’t feel too nostalgic about Morse finally saying goodbye to his crossword during the publicity interviews for the three-episode 1993 run.
“I’m getting too old – they retire when they get to my age!” he said.
“I’d be terrified if I met him. He lives on a pretty short fuse.
“He’s very clever and well-read. I’ve no idea why Morse was so popular.
“It’s a mixture of things.
“There’s thousands of producers trying to work out what it was and do it again. If you get the chemistry right, the actors, the script and the cameraman, then it works.”
Whately, who played Sergeant Robbie Lewis, had started filming Peak Practice and said he had got used to the idea that the seventh series would mark the end for Morse.
“I’ve exploited my character as much as I could,” he said.
“That’s not to say I wouldn’t play him again but, from my view, it wouldn’t be a shame if we didn’t do any more. It’s not in the actor’s make-up to keep doing the same thing.
“You become an actor to play different roles and that’s part of the excitement.”
On the red carpet together at the Baftas
Cox and Thaw were back amid the wine glasses again later that year.
Both men were nominated in the Best TV Actor category at the 1993 Bafta Awards.
The Dundee actor was up for his role in The Lost Language of Cranes but lost out to Thaw whose performance as the real ale-drinking detective was chosen by the judges.
Cox could surely argue that he played a part in now-teetotal Thaw’s triumph.
Based, of course, on the novels of Colin Dexter, the show returned from 1995 until 2000, when Morse met his maker in The Remorseful Day after 33 episodes over 13 years.
Thaw said before that final episode: “He had a lot of good qualities but they were undermined by the other side of him, which was a bit unforgiving, a bit hard, a bit snobby and patronising.
“But he meant well.”
Thaw died at the age of 60 in 2002 following a battle with cancer of the oesophagus.
His famous character was so loved that his faithful sidekick, Sergeant Lewis, gained a spin-off series of his own that later ran for 33 episodes from 2006 to 2015.
So much for Whately having exploited the character as much as he could.
Lewis gave way to Endeavour, the story of Morse’s early days on the force, starring Shaun Evans, which will return in 2023 for its ninth and final three-episode season.
Goodbye, Sir.
