Rumpole of the Bailey debut on 17 December 1975 to good reviews by the critics. Aware of the potential for further stories centred on Rumpole, Irene Shubik approached the BBC's Head of Plays, Christopher Morahan, and obtained permission from him to commission a further six "Rumpole of the Bailey" scripts from John Mortimer. However, Morahan left his post at the BBC a short time later and his successor was not interested in turning "Rumpole of the Bailey" into a series. At around this time, Shubik was contacted by Verity Lambert, Head of Drama at Thames Television, who was looking for ideas for an up-market
Guy Henry (actor) Schiller's "Mary Stuart", which transferred to the West End. He had previously played the same character in the 1986 TV drama "Lady Jane". From December 2008 to March 2009 he appeared as Andrew Aguecheek (alongside Derek Jacobi) in the Donmar: West End production of "Twelfth Night". In April and May 2009 he appeared in "Hay Fever" at the Chichester Festival Theatre. In 1987, Henry appeared in the episode 'Rumpole and the Official Secret' from Season 4 of "Rumpole of the Bailey". In the early 1990s, he played the acerbic, demonic Dr Walpurgis in "The Vault of Horror", a BBC Halloween