Night Train to Surbiton

The BBC2 comedy-thriller series Night Train to Surbiton marked a significant shift for its two lead actors and its writer, John Chapman, as all three were primarily known for their out-and-out comedy work. Chapman was behind the hit sitcom Hugh and I, while Peter Jones had appeared in several sitcoms, including The Rag Trade and Beggar My Neighbour. Nicholas Parsons had appeared for years alongside Arthur Haynes in The Arthur Haynes Show.

Buying a ticket for an evening train from Waterloo to Surbiton is not usually synonymous with being handed a passport to adventure. But it turns out that was for two city gentlemen, Guy Bretherton and Matthew Pilbeam. Slightly merry after a few drinks, they take the 8.20 on a Friday evening and settle back in their compartment to contemplate a weekend of comfortable leisure. Guy (Parsons - in his first acting role for the BBC in six years), who is a bachelor in his late thirties, is the managing director of a shipping company, and he is going to stay with Matthew (Jones), who is a member of Lloyd's and happily married. As the two friends collect their umbrellas and briefcases at their stop, they attempt to wake a fellow passenger who seems to be asleep. To their shock, the man slumps over, motionless. Upon closer inspection, they realize he’s dead—seemingly since they boarded the train. They hurriedly seek out a railway official, but when they return with a guard, the body has mysteriously disappeared, and they are scolded for what they’re told is a childish prank.

Just as they’re about to catch a cab and head back to Pilbeam’s home, they’re confronted by a group of men, and Pilbeam narrowly escapes having his briefcase stolen. They’re fortunate enough to be saved by the arrival of a cab and quickly flee the scene. Once inside the taxi, Pilbeam realizes he’s mistakenly ended up with the dead man’s briefcase instead of his own. A quick glance through the contents reveals an address card with the name Martinez. Upon reaching Pilbeam’s home, his worried wife, Hester (Eleanor Summerfield), informs them that her mother, Mrs. Banks (Fabia Drake), has not returned home that evening.

Making a tentative connection between the current situation and the events at the train station, the two men are about to head to Martinez’s home when they hear a noise coming from a cupboard in the hall. Upon opening the door, they are horrified to discover Martinez’s body inside. Leaving Hester to handle things on her own—she quickly calls the police—they head to Martinez’s house, only to find it has been thoroughly ransacked.

Inside Martinez’s home, they discover a photograph of a young woman, and a closer look at an address book near the telephone reveals contact information for a London nightclub, along with the woman’s name. After a brief questioning by the police, they are no closer to any answers. Once the officers leave, they quickly rush Hester into the car and drive her to a safe location in the countryside.

They make their way back to London, determined to track down Stella Craine (Christine Finn), the name from the address book, who is the niece of the murdered man. When they find her, she hands over a crucial, highly-sensitive document that was in her uncle’s possession. He had entrusted her with it for safekeeping on the night of his tragic death. With the document in hand, they return home, planning to seek the advice of the police.

However, their return is soon overshadowed by a more immediate threat. One of the men from the gang who had previously accosted them at the train station breaks into Pilbeam's house, demanding the document with violent intent. In a tense confrontation, the two men deny having the document, insisting they know nothing about its whereabouts. As proof of their innocence, they return the empty briefcase that had once belonged to Martinez, hoping to convince the intruder that they no longer have any evidence. But it’s clear that the danger they face is only escalating.

They are soon taken to meet Frobisher (John G. Heller) and Ward (John Bluthal), two ruthless criminal masterminds who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the document. If the men fail to produce it, they’ll pay with their lives. Frobisher and Ward give them a strict deadline to recover the document for a clandestine late-night meeting before releasing them.

Back home, the two men finally examine the document, which turns out to be filled with intricate equations and technical details outlining the creation of what appears to be a powerful and potentially catastrophic chemical weapon. Realizing the gravity of what they’re dealing with, they decide to make a dangerous return visit to the place where they were held by Frobisher and Ward, hoping to learn more about the two criminals. But their investigation barely escapes disaster when the building is suddenly destroyed in a violent explosion, narrowly avoiding death.

With little time left, no solid evidence, and their suspicions growing, they turn to Scotland Yard detectives (Robert Raglan and Frank Sieman) for help in setting a trap to catch the criminals. However, their investigation hits another obstacle when they discover that Mrs. Banks is still missing. Pilbeam attempts to reach his wife in the countryside, but when he receives no response, he begins to fear that she, too, may be tangled in the sinister web they’ve uncovered.

Night Train to Surbiton also featured another well-known comedy actress, Joan Sanderson, who would later gain fame for her role as Doris 'Bloody' Ewell in Please Sir! and become a television icon as Mrs. Richards in the Fawlty Towers episode "Communication Problems." Although the serial was broadcast internationally, it was never commercially released and became one of the many BBC television programmes lost during the widespread archival purging of the 1960s and 1970s.