Hannay (TV series) Hannay (TV series) Hannay was a 1988 ITV television series, a spin-off from the 1978 film version of John Buchan's novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps". The film and series starred Robert Powell as Richard Hannay. In the series, Powell reprised the role of Hannay, an Edwardian mining engineer from Rhodesia of Scottish origin. It features his adventures in pre-World War I Great Britain. These stories had little in common with John Buchan's novels about the character, although some character names are taken from his other novels. There were two series, the first with six episodes, the second with seven. "Hannay" was
James Hannay James Hannay James Hannay FRSE (17 February 1827 – 9 January 1873), was a Scottish novelist, journalist and diplomat. Hannay was born at Dumfries, Scotland, on 17 February 1827. His father, David Hannay (1794-1864), a member of the Speculative Society at Edinburgh University, 1813–14, and author of "Ned Allen, or the Past Age," 1849, was engaged in business in Dumfries. The family had some reason for believing that they were descended from the Hannays of Sorble. In James Hannay, the belief was sufficiently strong to influence his studies, inclining him to study heraldry and family history. Hannay entered the navy