Peter Coke (1913-2008)

Actor Peter Coke, best known in his role on BBC radio as Paul Temple, died on Wednesday, July 30, at the age of 95. Coke, born in Southsea on April 3, 1913, was the son of a naval commander who left England for Kenya to plant linen; this proved to be an unsuccessful venture and he subsequently switched to coffee. Coke was educated at Stowe then moved to southern France to live with his grandmother and work, briefly, as an unpaid assistant vice-consul.

Returning to England he took acting lessons and attended RADA, graduating at the age of 24. His initial success in theatre and films was interrupted by the war. Demobbed in 1946 after serving with the Royal Signals in Italy, he opened a market stall in Portobello Market selling antiques, later opening a shop in New King's Road.

By the end of the decade, his acting career in theatre had revived. His beautifully modulated voice made him a natural for radio. In 1954 he took over the role that he was to be associated with for over 50 years, recording Paul Temple and the Gilbert Case for the BBC. Temple was the creation of Francis Durbridge, a radio playwright, screenwriter and novelist. The suave amateur detective, a writer by trade, was accompanied on his action-packed adventures by his wife, Steve (played by Marjorie Westbury). Not the first actor to play the role (Temple had been appearing on wireless since 1938 and two movies had already been made), Coke was the definitive portrayal for many. 11 serials were broadcast between 1954 and 1968, disappearing from radio when the BBC turned Temple into a TV star in 1969 where he was played by Francis Matthews.

Paul Temple was no full-time job and Coke began writing as well as acting, his first play, Breath of Spring, performed in Cambridge in 1958; ten further plays followed. He also appeared on television and in movies but, increasingly, he became fascinated with shell sculpture, travelling widely to collect tiny shells from which he would create pictures. He moved to Sharrington Hall in north Norfolk and there is a gallery in Sheringham devoted to his work.

Paul Temple went through a revival in the late 1990s thanks to repeats of the show broadcast on BBC7. Nine surviving episodes have also been released on CD. A new version of the 1938 (pre-Coke) serial Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery was broadcast in 2006 with Crawford Logan playing Temple in very much the style of Peter Coke. The 93-year-old Coke was interviewed that same year on BBC7.

Obituaries: Daily Telegraph (1 August), The Independent (13 August), The Times (23 August); The Guardian (5 September).