As the ever-popular mystery dramas trundle around the country’s theatres, they can be disappointingly lacklustre and leave you wishing you’d stayed at home for a re-run of Midsomer Murders.

The Connaught’s current offering, however, oozes quality from the moment the curtain rises on an elaborately convincing set of a country house drawing room and study, complete with staircase and landing.

With a cast largely comprising hard-working soap actors, you expect a certain level of expertise, although not every TV star translates well to the stage. In this case, Leslie Grantham, the infamous Dirty Den of EastEnders, proves his skill as a deliciously creepy entrepreneur – Charlie, an ex-delivery boy determined to oust the local gentry from their ancestral pile, even if it means haggling over the price before the old lord is cold.

As the elder brother takes the money and runs, the younger, David, sets his sights on the usurper’s lovely young wife Julie, played perfectly by Maxine Gregory, the one lead not from soapland. Her impeccable stage credentials are borne out by a commanding but natural delivery.

Charlie tasks David, a writer, with helping Julie produce a winning short story for a newspaper competition. The pair develop a murder plot set in Charlie’s new house and using the worthy local doctor, nicely played by Emmer-dale’s Helen Weir, as a key witness. What follows is not quite as predictable as you may suppose.

This classy production offers a very entertaining evening away from the box – but still with its stars.