"Maigret and the Madman of Bergerac" - Maigret investigates from his bed as terror grips Bergerac.

Classic Old Time Radio, Vintage radio shows, the Golden Age of radio, murder, mystery, drama, comedy, sci-fi, westerns. While traveling through the Dordogne, Maigret is shot and wounded in the town of Bergerac—a place gripped by fear after a series of brutal attacks on local women. Confined to a hospital bed, the injured detective must rely on intuition, observation, and the help of others to unravel the mystery. His presence alone seems to provoke unease, and the townspeople are reluctant to speak freely. Yet Maigret’s mind remains sharp, and he begins to piece together the strange behavior of those around him. As the investigation deepens, Maigret suspects that the violence may be rooted in something more complex than madness alone. The killer’s motives seem tangled in local secrets, and someone appears determined to keep Maigret from uncovering the truth—even if it means silencing him for good. Adapted for BBC Radio by Aubrey Woods from Georges Simenon’s novel, this episode blends psychological tension with Maigret’s trademark quiet persistence, turning a hospital room into the nerve center of justice. Maigret, wounded and bedridden, must solve a string of violent attacks in Bergerac—where silence and secrets prove more dangerous than bullets. 13 - "Maigret and the Madman of Bergerac" (Sunday 10th July 1977) Maigret is taking a trip to Villefranche-en-Dordogne, to visit his old friend Leduc. At the same time he can go to Bordeaux, and take care of some business. Mme Maigret is in Alsace, where her sister is having her third baby. Maigret takes the bottom bed in a 2nd class sleeping car, but is kept awake but the man above. In the morning the man gets up to go, and Maigret notices he"s about to jump off the train. Without thinking, Maigret follows, also jumping off the train. When he yells to the man, he shoots Maigret in the shoulder. Maigret makes his way to a farm, and wakes up in a hospital in Bergerac, where it"s been assumed he"s the Madman of Bergerac, who"d already strangled two women to death, and then stabbed them through the heart with a needle. Leduc comes to his rescue, but he"ll have to spend two weeks recuperating. He gets moved to a hotel, the Hôtel d"Angleterre, and Mme Maigret comes to care for him. She finds a 2nd class train ticket, Paris-Bergerac under the mat of the door, and Maigret pursues the investigation from his bed, believing that one of his visitors is the killer. First published in 1932 as "Le Fou de Bergerac". Translated in 1940 as "Madman of Bergerac" by Geoffrey Sainsbury and adapted for radio by Aubrey Woods. With Maurice Denham [Chief Inspector Jules Maigret], Michael Gough [Georges Simenon], Irene Sutcliffe [Madame Louise Maigret], Malcolm Hayes [Duhourceau, the Public Prosecutor], Timothy Bateson [Leduc], Gavin Campbell [Dr. Jacques Rivaud], Anne Rosenfeld [Germaine Rivaud, the doctor"s wife], Jane Knowles [Françoise Beausoleil], Joyce Lathan [Joséphine Beausoleil], Nicolette McKenzie [Rosalie], and Jeffrey Segal [Hotel Propietor]. Produced and directed by Betty Davies 45 minutes Georges Simenon, the prolific Belgian writer who created the iconic detective Jules Maigret. Simenon wrote 75 Maigret novels and 28 short stories, blending psychological depth with atmospheric settings and understated suspense. His work has been translated into more than 50 languages and adapted across radio, television, and film—making him one of the most widely read European authors of the 20th century.