Information: - Van der Valk is a British television series that was produced by Thames Television for the ITV network. It starred Barry Foster in the title role as Dutch detective Commissaris "Piet" (real name Simon) van der Valk. Based on the characters and atmosphere (but not the plots) of the novels of Nicolas Freeling, the first series was shown in 1972. - Nicolas Freeling , born Nicolas Davidson ( March 3 , 1927 -- July 20 , 2003 ) , was a British crime novelist , best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels . A television series based on the character was produced for the British ITV network by Thames Television during the 1970s , and revived in the 1990s . - Nicolas Freeling (born Nicolas Davidson; 3 March 1927 20 July 2003), was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the Van der Valk series of detective novels. A television series based on the character was produced for the British ITV network by Thames Television during the 1970s, and revived in the 1990s. - Thames Television was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding area on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. What is the relationship between 'nicolas freeling' and '20 july 2003'?
date of death