Jack Frost (detective)


William Edward "Jack" Frost, GC QPM, is a fictional detective created by R. D. Wingfield—characterised as sloppy, untidy, hopeless with paperwork—but unmatched at solving mysteries. The character has appeared in two radio plays, ten published novels, and a TV series spanning 42 episodes between 1992 and 2010.
"Jack" is a nickname, alluding to Jack Frost.

Radio plays

The character first appeared in a radio play entitled Three Days of Frost first transmitted on BBC Radio 4 on 12 February 1977. He was portrayed by Leslie Sands. The character's second appearance was also on BBC Radio 4, in a play entitled A Touch of Frost, transmitted on 6 February 1982. In the second radio play the character was portrayed by Derek Martin.

Novels

Wingfield published six novels about DI Frost, starting with Frost at Christmas in 1984. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, three new Frost books were published under the name James Henry. In the case of First Frost, this pseudonym refers to James Gurbutt and Henry Sutton, but in Fatal Frost and Morning Frost it refers to Gurbutt only.
  1. Frost at Christmas,
  2. A Touch of Frost,
  3. Night Frost,
  4. Hard Frost
  5. Winter Frost
  6. A Killing Frost
  7. First Frost
  8. Fatal Frost
  9. Morning Frost
  10. Frost At Midnight

    Television series

Beginning in 1992, television adaptations of the novels, and further stories based on the characters have been transmitted on ITV in the UK. The series stars David Jason as Frost. This series has been broadcast under the umbrella title A Touch of Frost. To date, there have been thirty-eight stories broadcast. These have been released on VHS and DVD internationally.
Three endings were filmed for the final episode. The first ending saw Frost the victim of a hit-and-run on his wedding day, and later suffering a fatal heart attack in hospital. The second ending saw his colleague George Toolan die instead, as a result of the car crash. The third was similar to the second with Superintendent Mullet being the victim. The second ending was the one officially used. The ending in which Frost dies was screened during a tribute to the show on ITV1 on 6 April 2010.