Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes faithful adherence to the original characterization. One famous radio appearance starred Orson Welles as Sherlock Holmes in an adaptation of one of William Gillette's plays. This was broadcast in September 1938 as part of "The Mercury Theater on the Air" series on CBS Radio. Throughout the early 1940s on American Radio, Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce performed as Holmes and Watson, respectively, in several series of canonical and original Sherlock Holmes stories on "The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" radio show. These broadcasts were loosely based on Doyle's cases. When Rathbone finally departed the role before the 1947 season, Tom
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Patrick Rayner of BBC Scotland. Clive Merrison stars as Holmes, having portrayed the detective in a complete canonical run for Radio 4 (the only actor to successfully do so to date). Andrew Sachs appears as Dr. Watson, replacing Michael Williams after Williams died following the Radio 4 run of Sherlock Holmes adaptations. Each of the stories is based on a throwaway reference from an actual Conan Doyle short story or novel. The first two series are repeated regularly on BBC Radio 4 Extra. The 2010 story "The Marlbourne Point Mystery" brings to seventy-five the number of times Clive Merrison has