Arthur and George, TV review: Ghostly goings-on make this mystery a guilty pleasure

Arthur & George wisely opted for a tone more Victorian ghost story than modern whodunit

The sleuth is out there: Martin Clunes in 'Arthur & George' (Neil Genower/ITV)

During the long wait for a new Sherlock series to start, fans get used to the mild disappointment that accompanies all other TV viewing experiences: it's good, but it's just not Sherlock, is it? Still, ITV's new series Arthur & George does seem to be rubbing it in. Despite all the superficial similarities, this definitely isn't Sherlock.

Adapted from the novel of the same title by Julian Barnes, the three-parter stars Martin Clunes as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, during a period in which the writer decided to turn detective himself. The "George" of the title is George Edalji, an Anglo-Indian solicitor and son of the Rev Shapurji Edalji, who was convicted of a grisly series of animal mutilations in a 1903 case that became known as the "Great Wyrley Outrages". Seeking distraction from his own life, Sir Arthur became involved, quickly concluded that Edalji was the victim of small-minded prejudice and set out to prove his innocence.

Was Edalji innocent? The obvious fallibility of Sir Arthur, as Clunes plays him, makes this by no means certain. He shares with his fictional creation a gentleman's confidence in his own astounding powers of deduction and a trusty sidekick, his butler Alfred "Woody" Wood (Charles Edward), but there the similarities end. Sir Arthur was apparently more sentimental than the "world's greatest detective", distracted both by his wife's recent death and an ongoing affair with a Miss Jean Leckie (Hattie Morahan).

Consequently Woody is called upon to play "Jeeves" as often as he is "Watson". "I'm keen to visit a theatrical costumier and equip myself with a false beard," announced Sir Arthur, for instance. "I wonder if it might draw more rather than less attention?" suggested Woody gently.

Doyle may have courted the comparison, but Arthur & George wisely opted for a tone more Victorian ghost story than modern whodunit. They were misty graveyards and dark figures who lurked at the window before disappearing into the night. In Wyrley, all the locals seem to know more than they let on, not least George Edalji himself, played by Arsher Ali. Ali made an impression as the ruthless reporter Malik Suri in The Missing and this series should be yet more evidence of what he can do.