Martin Waddy

Martin Waddy is a non-canonical character created for the 2009 ITV adaptation of Nemesis. He and his wife Rowena are passengers on the "Daffodil Mystery Coach Tour" which Jason Rafiel had arranged for Miss Marple. Martin Waddy is portrayed by Will Mellor. Martin Waddy was formerly a captain in the Royal Tank Regiment. He had been badly wounded during the war, an event which led him to spend a long time in hospital. Because of his injuries, which included shrapnel in the head, he has a very poor memory what happened before he got injured. According to his wife, he also lost his sense of rhythm and could no longer dance the foxtrot which the two used to enjoy together.

Jason Rafiel had asked Miss Marple to solve a possible crime or put right an unknown injustice. Through the course of events in the tour, it becomes apparent that the crime or injustice has to do with the fate of a young girl named Verity Hunt. It also becomes apparent that all the passengers in the bus (which Rafiel contrived in various ways to bring on to the tour) are somehow linked to the girl. However, Martin and Rowena's link is not immediately apparent. The mystery of the Waddys increases when, about halfway into the show, Rowena is found murdered at the Bonaventure Rocks, a scenic area near the village of Medhurst, the second stop on the tour. Someone had pushed her off a viewing spot on top of a high rock. Although Miss Marple found evidence to convince her that it was a murder and not an accident, there did not seem to be any motive.

The first inkling of a link turns up when, after his wife's death, Martin Waddy tells Miss Marple that he had for years been haunted by the name "Verity". He had advertised in the newspapers asking if anyone could shed light on this for him. Shortly thereafter he received two tickets for the "Daffodil Mystery Tour" with the name "Verity" on a card. This explained the presence of himself and Rowena on the tour.

Later, at St. Elpeth's convent, Martin seems to have a sense that he has been there before. He also tells Miss Maple that he had bad dreams during the night. He saw the face of another woman, not Rowena, calling out to him. He also admits that he cannot feel what he should be feeling at the death of his wife and wonders if he was ever truly in love with her.

Only at the end does Martin slowly regain his memory and he realises he is not Martin but someone else by the name of Flying Officer Ralph Collins. He had been used by Sister Clotilde Merryweather in an elaborate scheme to cover up her murder of Verity Hunt. At that time, Sister Clotilde had been a nun at St. Elspeth's Convent which was being used as a hospital. Collins had recovering from severe injuries at the convent, being nursed by Verity Hunt. However, at that time he was an unidentified patient whose name the nuns did not know. After Clotilde had killed Verity, she wrapped her up in bandages and pass her body off as that of the unidentified soldier and was buried in a grave marked "Known but to God". Clotilde moved Collins to a hidden location and later brought him to Rowena and told her he was her husband Martin (see article on Rowena Waddy for details).

Following the burial, the real wife of Flying Officer Collins came to the convent searching for her husband. The nuns told her he had already been buried. However they had kept his signet ring and she was able to identify it as his. His name was thus added to the tombstone.

At the end of the show Martin/Collins is shown being reunited with his real wife.