Rumpole of the Bailey (radio series) Rumpole of the Bailey (radio series) Rumpole of the Bailey is a radio series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer based on the television series "Rumpole of the Bailey". Five different actors portrayed Horace Rumpole in these episodes: Leo McKern, Maurice Denham, Timothy West, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Since 1980 there were a number of different BBC radio productions derived from the Rumpole stories. Essentially there were two different series and three Christmas specials – yielding a grand total of 40 episodes. Some were new radio adaptations of scripts previously produced for TV; some
Rumpole of the Bailey acclaimed ("Not to be missed. Leo McKern is superb as the wild and witty barrister Rumpole" – "The Times"; "I wouldn't say the BBC threw away a pearl richer than all its tribe but it has mislaid a tasty box of kippers" – Nancy Banks-Smith, "The Guardian") and Thames quickly commissioned a second season. However, upset to see that her pay had reduced while McKern and Mortimer had received increases for the second season, Shubik's relationship with Verity Lambert deteriorated and, in the end, she quit Thames after commissioning three of the six scripts for the second season. Shubik moved