A man is murdered on the eve of his best friend’s wedding and a young woman is found dead at the scene of a fatal road accident in which a wealthy businessman is also killed. Wexford and Burden discover a possible connection between the deaths in this tale of adultery, blackmail and greed…

  • Mike and Jenny’s wedding originally featured in the short story When the Wedding Was Over. The scene with Inspector Burden and the stripper did not appear in Ruth Rendell’s original story.
  • The filming of Dora’s cancer scare in Southampton General Hospital cruelly coincided with George Baker’s own wife, Sally Home’s struggle with the disease: Louie asked for news of Sal and, I told her that Sal was in the hospital at that very moment and was about to see the surgeon, she was very concerned and a little tearful….
  • Two months before shooting The Best Man to Die, 15 year-old Noah Huntley, who plays Burden’s son was involved in a motorbike crash that left him with a damaged pancreas: “The doctors wanted me to stay on at the hospital for a couple more weeks, but I had to rush off to shoot Wexford. I threw myself into the work and coped somehow.”

Related Articles

Related Books

Book jacket image
  • Published by John Long in 1969
  • The Best Man to Die was the final book to appear under the John Long imprint and this edition plus the other John Long Crime titles with their William Randall designed jackets are now highly collectable.

Cast + Credits

  • DCI Wexford

    George Baker

  • DI Burden

    Christopher Ravenscroft

  • Dora Wexford

    Louie Ramsay

  • Jenny Ireland

    Diane Keen

  • Maurice Cullam

    Tony Haygarth

  • Dr Crane

    John Vine

  • Dr Crocker

    John Burgess

  • Nurse Rose

    Clara Salaman

  • Mrs Fanshawe

    Barbara Leigh-Hunt

  • Nora Fanshawe

    Julia Ormond

  • DS Martin

    Ken Kitson

  • Sheila Wexford

    Deborah Poplett

  • Policeman

    David Michaels

  • Nurse Lewis

    Nina Marc

  • Lillian Hatton

    Shirin Taylor

  • Jack Pertwee

    Jonathan Barlow

  • Marilyn Thompson

    Tracie Bennett

  • Mr Pertwee

    John Carter

  • George Carter

    John Bleasdale

  • Jolyon Virgo

    Stephen Boxer

  • Dr Crocker

    John Burgess

  • Policeman

    Paul Kynman

  • Charlie Hatton

    Richard Graham

  • John Burden

    Noah Huntley

  • Pat Burden

    Emma Smith

  • Script Executive

    Corinne Cartier

  • Music composed by

    Brian Bennett

  • Casting Director

    Doreen Jones

  • Production Manager

    Graeme MacArthur

  • Location Manager

    Ian Strachan

  • 1st Assistant Director

    James Greville

  • P.A./Continuity

    Alison Black

  • Stage Manager

    Mike Fisher

  • Production Secretary

    Debra Tomlinson

  • Production Buyer

    Graham Curtis

  • Costume Designer

    Rita Angell

  • Make Up Supervisor

    Toni Holmes

  • Dubbing Mixer

    Tony Cunningham

  • Dubbing Editor

    Peter Dansie

  • Sound Recordist

    Maurice Hillier

  • Camera Operator

    Julian Barber

  • Lighting Cameraman

    Michael D Smith

  • Designer

    Mark Ward

  • Film Editor

    Christopher Wentzell

  • Executive Producer

    Graham Benson

  • Producer

    Neil Zeiger

  • Directed by

    Herbert Wise

  • A Television South Production