Rumpole of the Bailey public school) and studied law at either Keble College or the fictional "St Joseph's College", Oxford, coming away with "a dubious third". He would not be eligible to be called to the Bar in England today, as a lower second is the minimum requirement. He was called to the bar at the "Outer Temple" (a fictional Inn of Court, named on the analogy of the Inner Temple, where John Mortimer was called, and the Middle Temple). Apart from the legal drama in each story, Rumpole also has to deal with his relationships with family and friends. His wife Hilda was
Rumpole of the Bailey 1980 (65 minutes and 103 minutes respectively) that aired outside of the regular seasons but that are considered part of the overall Rumpole television canon. The seven seasons of the programme and the "Rumpole's Return" special episode are available on DVD and as part of a single DVD box set, published by Fremantle Media. The "Play for Today" ("The Confession of Guilt") is also available on DVD, released separately by Acorn Media. A&E Home Video released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 between 2004–2006. It was initially released in season sets then on 28 February 2006, they released