Francis Durbridge, a renowned British crime novelist and playwright, was born in Hull and educated at Bradford and Birmingham University, where he studied English.
His first play, "Promotion", was broadcast by the BBC in 1933, and its success led to further commissions, with "Send For Paul Temple" receiving an astonishing 7,000 letters requesting more.
The popular "Adventures of Paul Temple" series ran for over 30 years, and in 1969, the BBC commissioned Durbridge to write a 26-part series of Paul Temple starring Francis Matthews, shortly after introducing color television broadcasting.
However, it wasn't until 1971 that Durbridge wrote his first thriller directly for the theatre, "Suddenly at Home", which starred Gerald Harper and Penelope Keith and was a huge success in London's West End.
Throughout his career, Durbridge penned several thrillers, including "Murder With Love" (1976),"House Guest" (1980),and "Fatal Encounter" (1996),which, although often criticized by critics, continued to delight audiences.
In his own words, Durbridge described his thrillers as not being traditional "whodunits", but rather "will-he-get-away-with-it" stories, which seemed to resonate with the public.
