Jonathan Creek's return to BBC1 this Easter after a three year gap is good news, even if the plots often are outlandish nonsense

"Jonathan Creek? Is that still on?". That will doubtless be the surprised declaration uttered over many a TV listings page this Easter. But after an almost three-year break Alan Davies is once more donning his duffel coat to appear as the as the grumpy, frizzy-haired magician sleuth in a new special: The Clue of the Savant's Thumb.

The show's return even shocked writer David Renwick – who presumed that the show, which first aired 16 years ago, was destined never to come back after its final full series in 2004. There was a five-year wait for the next single adventure in 2009. "We thought it was over when the BBC had issued this cellophane-wrapped definitive box set and then we upset it all with two more specials," he said.

The show seems to have refound favour with the BBC, with a further three more one-off mysteries to be filmed this autumn – BBC1 controller Danny Cohen is apparently a fan. Creek, it seems, has risen from the dead in a manner that would have the man himself struggling for a rational explanation. Presumably it would involve swapped bodies, carefully concealed clues and two or three other twists of outlandish improbability – although a more pragmatic reason may be Renwick's habit of agonising over the plot.

But do we still care about the curly-haired detective? Should we be pleased to see his return to screens?

Personally speaking, I love Creek. There is nothing quite like it: a detective story without a detective; more a howdunnit than a whodunnit. But it's fresh in other ways as well. Along with a dose of creepiness, it's no surprise that Renwick, writer of One Foot in the Grave and Not the Nine O'Clock News, also slips some dry, funny moments under the door. The moment in the 2009 special when Creek pours a cup of tea into his groin worked perfectly – you can see it coming, the cup poised, making the inevitable moment it does all the more delicious.

Essentially Creek is posh hokum – Midsomer Murders with brains and genuine criminal ingenuity – but what's wrong with that? All the crimes seem impossible at first, and ingenious when you find out what happened. And, while I consider myself a pretty good sleuth when it comes to Marples and Morses, I have never come close to guessing how a Creek crime was committed. Renwick has also never borrowed one of his nutty ideas from anyone else – magician Ali Bongo did work as a consultant on early shows, but only to advise on technical details. "I have never even met Derren Brown," Renwick assures me.

Of course, Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock has rather stolen JC's thunder in recent years, but there is more to Creek than ingenious plot devices. I am not going to pretend Davies is the greatest actor in the world, but he's helped create a definite one-off, delightfully at odds with the crazy worlds he confronts.

And I mean crazy. A show that has guest stars ranging from Jim Bowen to John Bird; Griff Rhys Jones to Tamsin Greig can not be accused of taking itself too seriously, whatever else. Renwick, never afraid to have a joke at his own expense, packs Creek with gothic mansions, creaking staircases, crunching gravel and moonlit thunderstorms. The magician's faraway look frequently and hilariously reminds me of Velma from Scooby Doo.

And it's survived. Creek has had three female sidekicks – Caroline Quentin, Julia Sawalha and now Sheridan Smith, who, for all her brassy breeziness, contributes more than her fair share of detective work to the cases.

"Once you are hooked into the story you want to find out what happens," explains Davies. "It's because it's so well crafted that we don't have that many," he adds. "There should be a bust of David at MediaCity, there really should."