Bookish is a crime drama starring Mark Gatiss as a crime-solving bookshop owner while Polly Walker plays his wife.
Bookish is a stylish crime drama starring Mark Gatiss and Polly Walker.
Set in London in 1946, the series is created by Mark Gatiss himself , and he's also the main star playing gay antique book seller Gabriel Book, who helps the police solve crimes by finding the answers to puzzles in the thousands of books that line his shelves.
Bridgerton's Polly Walker plays his wife Trottie while the show also boasts a stellar line-up of guest stars including Daniel Mays, Joely Richardson and Jonas Nay.
Bookish release date Bookish starts in the UK on the UKTV channel Alibi, with an opening double bill on Wednesday July 16 2025 at 8.10pm and 9pm.
Double episodes will then run weekly each Wednesday at the same times.
Bookish plot Bookish is set in London 1946 andfollows the eccentric and unconventional Gabriel Book (Mark Gatiss) who owns an antique bookshop but is also a self-appointed detective to the local police, acquiring all the knowledge he needs from the books around him.
Gabriel surrounds himself with loveable, damaged misfits who he informally protects, cajoles, and mentors.
He cares deeply for his wife Trottie (Polly Walker) who runs the wallpaper shop next door.
However, theirs is a "lavender marriage" designed to hide Gabriel’s sexuality at a time when it was illegal to be gay.
Gabriel is happily married to his childhood best friend Trottie in an arrangement that suits them both.
However, when Book hires a new assistant, Jack (Connor Finch), who’s just been released from prison, what will he make of his boss’s unconventional set-up?
The two-part opening story, which guest stars Daniel Mays and Rosie Cavaliero, sees Book helping the police investigate the death of local chemist Mr Harkup. Inspector Bliss (Elliot Levy) assumes the death was a suicide, but Book isn’t sure, and gathers evidence suggesting Harkup was murdered.
Bookish cast — Mark Gatiss on playing Gabriel Book Mark Gatiss plays the hero of Bookish — bookseller and sleuth Gabriel Book. "Post-war London is my favourite period," says Mark. 'It’s such an interesting time - the whole world has been turned upside down, and nobody knows their place any more.
It’s very exciting, but also kind of frightening. "Every detective has their own thing, and Book’s is that he can draw on all the world’s books - either physically, or in his head.
It’s difficult to come up with something that hasn’t been done before, but the fact that he’s gay and in an arranged marriage is unusual!"
Mark Gatiss previously shot to fame with the comedy show The League of Gentlemen and has also starred in Nighty Night, Funland, Wolf Hall, Sherlock and Game of Thrones. He’s appeared in Doctor Who, Good Omens, 3 Body Problem, Operation Mincemeat, Nolly (https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/nolly-starring-helena-bonham-carter-everything-we-know-about-the-new-drama-about-noele-gordon)and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.