Van Der Valk: Barry Foster played the original Amsterdam detective before Marc Warren
Many Van Der Valk fans are still pining for the original
Van Der Valk is back on ITV this August, and it’s Marc Warren’s fourth series as the iconic detective – but many fans of the original are still pining for Barry Foster.
The Amsterdam-set detective drama was a hugely successful ITV series in the 70s, which ran for two decades up to 1992. ITV then rebooted it in 2020 with a new cast, and new theme tune.
There’s a reason it ran for 20 years. Here we take a look at the original Van Der Valk, which ran on and off from 1972 to 1992…
Barry Foster played the original Piet Van der Valk
The original Van Der Valk starred Barry Foster as Commissaris Simon ‘Piet’ Van der Valk. Sadly he passed away aged 74 in February 2002.
Nottinghamshire-born Barry had an extensive career in film, radio, stage and television over almost 50 years. Although he was most famous for playing the Dutch detective, he was also known for his roles in Thunder in the West, Nicholas Nickleby, The Infamous John Friend, The Troubleshooters, and A Family Affair.
His film roles included Robert Rusk in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Frenzy, and Squadron Leader Edwards in Battle of Britain. Barry also portrayed Dean Cornwallis in the Hugh Grant film Maurice, based on the E.M. Forster novel.
What happened to the original Van Der Valk star Barry Foster?
Sadly, Barry Foster became ill while appearing in a play in the West End. On February 08, 2002, he was rushed to hospital. However he died of a heart attack on 11 February 2002.
He was aged 74 when he died at the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford, Surrey, not far from where he lived.
A funeral service was held for him on 21 February 2002 at St Stephen’s Church at the village of Shottermill, near Haslemere. His body was cremated at Guildford Crematorium, and his ashes divided, part being interred at St Stephen’s and the remainder being interred in France.
Who else starred in the original Van Der Valk?
Additional stars included Michael Latimer as Inspector Johnny Croon, and Susan Travers as Arlette Van der Valk (Simon’s French wife Arlette).
As the series continued, his wife was played by two additional actresses – Joanna Dunham and then Meg Davies for the series revival from 1991 to 1992.
The series were based on the novels by Nicolas Freeling. It focused on the then gritty atmosphere of Amsterdam rather than the exact plot of the novels. Casework often involved exploring crimes centred around prostitution, drug deals and murder.
The series is often hailed as a predecessor to the current trend for Nordic noir dramas.
Who is in the new Van der Valk on ITV?
The series was rebooted in 2020, starring Marc Warren as the famous detective, opposite Maimie McCoy’s sidekick Lucienne Hassell.
You’ll recognise Marc from his past roles in Hustle, Band of Brothers, Mad Dogs, Flack, Safe and State of Play.
Meanwhile, Maimie is best known for her roles in White House Farm, A Confession, The Musketeers, and DCI Banks.
Now on its fourth series, each run consists of four episodes. ITV described the series as: “Van Der Valk centres on the investigations of detective Piet Van der Valk in and around the city of Amsterdam as he investigates a series of high profile cases.”
What were the Van der Valk 2020 reviews like?
The reboot of Van der Valk received somewhat mixed reviews. Indeed, some reviewers said it lacked the oomph and strong cast of the original series.
The Independent argued: “The Dutch capital is captured here in all its tawdry beauty, but plot contrivances and a distracting lead make this Seventies re-hash a hard sell.”
While the Scotsman savaged the reboot with: “Even after half an hour the show was looking like generic detective mush, only with added canals.
“I didn’t understand why ITV had revived VDV because, despite the waterways, it didn’t feel very Amsterdam. Unless the Head of Drama had simply got bored with the same South London lock-ups and the usual rolling Yorkshire hills and ordered his locations team to find somewhere new.”
However, not everyone was so unconvinced as The Times gave it four stars out of five. Yet the reviewer still concluded with: “The writing was mostly sound and Warren has enough heft to lure me back. Whether it will succeed in this slot for ITV in the same way that Endeavour did is another question.”
