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
Hilary Bailey called "Miles and Flora", which takes place some time after the original and resurrects one of the main characters. Bailey edited volumes 7–10 of the "New Worlds Quarterly" series, and was coauthor of "The Black Corridor" (1969) with Michael Moorcock, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1978. She was editing "North Sea Island", the sequel to her book "Fifty-First State", when her heart stopped. Bailey had three children, Sophie, Kate and Max and three grandchildren Alex, Tom and Bobby. Hilary Bailey Hilary Bailey (19 September 1936 – 19 January 2017) was a British writer, critic and editor. Bailey