Rumpole of the Bailey enjoyed his accounts of his cases and "harmless legal anecdotes". But as Nick grows older, father and son start to grow apart, because Nick doesn't agree with Rumpole's attitudes towards the law, criminals, judges, justice or his own family life. In total, seven series of "Rumpole of the Bailey" were made from 1978 to 1992, each consisting of six episodes. A special two-hour film, "Rumpole's Return", was made and aired in 1980, between the 2nd and 3rd series. The author, John Mortimer, occasionally appeared as an extra. Rumpole and his family: Members of Rumpole's Chambers at 3 Equity Court, London:
Rumpole of the Bailey separated. The play features a character, Leonard Hoskins (played by John Nettleton), a divorce lawyer with a domineering mother, who can be seen as an early prototype of Horace Rumpole. In the mid-1970s, Mortimer approached BBC producer Irene Shubik, who had overseen "Infidelity Took Place" and who was now one of the two producers overseeing "Play For Today" – the successor series to "The Wednesday Play" as the BBC's strand for contemporary drama. Mortimer presented an idea for a new play, titled "My Darling Prince, Peter Kropotkin", that centred on a barrister called Horace Rumbold. Rumbold would have a particular