Rumpole of the Bailey Other Staff at 3 Equity Court, London: Frequent courtroom allies and adversaries: Others in Rumpole's life: The origins of "Rumpole of the Bailey" lie in "Infidelity Took Place", a one-off filmed television play for the BBC's 1960s television anthology drama series, "The Wednesday Play" that was written by John Mortimer and broadcast by BBC TV on 18 May 1968. This satirical play – a comment on newly enacted English divorce laws – told the story of a happily married couple who decide to get divorced to take advantage of the more beneficial tax situation they would enjoy were they legally
Rumpole of the Bailey character traits that are constant. First and foremost, Rumpole loves the courtroom. Despite attempts by his friends and family to get him to move on to a more respectable position for his age, such as a Queen's Counsel (QC) or a Circuit Judge (sarcastically referred to respectively as "Queer Customers" and "Circus Judges" by Rumpole), he only enjoys the simple pleasure of defending his clients (who are often legal aid cases) at the Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court: "the honour of being an Old Bailey Hack," as he describes his work. A devotee of Arthur Quiller-Couch's "Oxford Book of