HE is one of the most iconic figures in modern crime fiction. Detective Inspector Endeavour Morse won the hearts of the nation in the long-running TV drama series starring the late, great John Thaw.

When the character finally met his maker in November 2000’s A Remorseful Day, there was such sadness that a state funeral might have been appropriate. Now he’s back, brought to life onstage in Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, which has just opened at the Birmingham Rep, ahead of a UK tour.

Written by the late Alma Cullen, who collaborated with much-missed Morse author Colin Dexter on four episodes of the TV series, the play finds Oxford’s most irascible investigator questioning his career choices as a case dredges up memories of his time at university, and of the academic circles in which he once moved.

Although billed as “the first-ever major stage adaptation of the iconic detective”, a bit of detective work reveals that the play has what the Thames Valley CID might call “previous”. Colin Baker, he of Dr Who fame, starred as Morse in a 2010 touring production, and it was a BBC Radio drama in 2017, both of which attracted favourable reviews.

This, however, is a brand new production from Birmingham Rep and Melting Pot, starring family favourite Tom Chambers, the likeable veteran of TV hits such as Holby City and Waterloo Road, not to mention winner of the sixth series of Strictly Come Dancing, a contest which he won with pro dance partner Camilla Dallerup. 

Chambers, already versed in police procedure as hapless Inspector Edgar Sullivan in Birmingham-made Father Brown, has, of course, big boots to fill. Morse remains a national treasure, with regular re-runs rubbing shoulders with successful small screen spin-offs Lewis and Endeavour. There’s much truth to the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

Happily, neither the script nor the cast seek to re-invent the character. Chambers went to great pains to study Thaw’s portrayal and replicates many of his mannerisms, right down to body language and speech patterns, while simultaneously managing to make Morse his own for a couple of hours.

A clever immersive opening effectively recruits the audience as members of the cast as the play opens within a play. We’re watching a production of Hamlet – but before you can say ‘Alas, poor Yorick’ it’s alas, poor Ophelia, who collapses and dies onstage. Luckily, there’s an off-duty detective in the audience, too. Cue Barrington Pheloung’s iconic Morse Code theme.

What follows is two hours of craftily convoluted plot, clues hidden within plain sight, more red herrings than the Russian trawler fleet, and a whodunnit of intelligence and wit. Set in 1987, with Chambers’ Morse assisted by Tachia Newall’s Detective Sergeant Lewis (thankfully resisting temptation to do a Geordie accent) it evokes its less politically correct era well.

The two ‘tecs are a great double act, serving up self-aware asides that enhance the script. “There are a lot of people lying,” says one to the other after an initial interrogation of suspects. “There are a lot of people acting,” says the other. There are wry references, too, to the possibility that one day phones might be portable, and that computers might somehow be linked.

So, is Ophelia’s death suicide? Or is it murder? To be or not to be, that’s the question. There are plenty of suspects, ranging from Robert Mountford’s scene-stealing dictatorial director Lawrence Baxter and his American wife Harriet, played stylishly by Olivia Onyehara to Morse’s lost love Ellen Underwood (Teresa Banham) and fading diva Verity Carr (Charlotte Randle).

Being Morse, there are more suspects, too, including late arrival Monsignor Paul Kincaid, who is also played by the excellent Mountford, masterfully managing to distance his two characters from each other. Morse has to reach back into his own past to solve the clues and, in the process, indulge in some serious self-reflection.

The two hours fly by, and the case is cracked before you know it, leaving Morse and Lewis to muse over their deductions over a crossword and a half of real ale in The Crown. It’s nice to have the old feller back if only for a brief encounter. As theatrical whodunnits go, this is a fair cop, guv’nor.

• Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts is now running at Birmingham Rep until September 14 before taking off on tour, calling at Richmond, York, Brighton, Woking, Aylesbury, Oxford, Milton Keynes and Glasgow.