Poor Morse.

One of my all time favourite TV characters was Inspector Morse. He was a Romantic who hid the fact well most of the time. Intolerant, outspoken and even a little pompous on the surface, he was flawed, vulnerable and even a little emotional underneath. He was also a bit of a romantic on the side.

In one episode, the attractive young pathologist is keen to go out for a drink with him, and Morse is a bit made up about it. So off they go to a quiet English country pub and sit in the beer garden on a warm summer’s evening. Perfect. Lo and behold, along comes one of the pathologist’s old student friends and says ‘Fancy seeing you here.’

Morse has to play the gentleman, of course. ‘No, no, not at all. You two go off and have a good time. Enjoy yourselves.’ And we all know that the smile is just a cover.

That was Morse’s perennial problem. For all he was good at his job, and an interesting, intelligent, sensitive, multi-faceted personality, nobody ever wanted to get close to him. There was always something better to do, or somebody else to hang out with.